Table of Contents Budget 1 Railway Budget 2014-15 1 Union Budget 2014-15 2

Budget
Railway Budget 2014-15
The Union Railway Budget for 2014-15 was presented by Mr D V Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister for Railways, Government of India, on July 8, 2014.
Budget Highlights:

Railways hope to achieve total receipts of Rs 1,64,374 crore and would peg total expenditure at Rs. 1,49,176 crore," he said. Earnings from Freight Traffic are estimated at Rs 1,05,770 crore and from Passenger Traffic Rs 44,645 crore,

Indian Railways earned approximately Rs. 1,40,485.02 crores in fiscal 2013-14, as compared to Rs. 1,21,831.65 crores in fiscal 2012-13. Total goods earnings were Rs. 94925.02 crores in fiscal 2013-14, as compared to Rs. 82852.54 crores in fiscal 2012-13. It had a net income of 10,400 crore in 2013-13 and

* Railways will play a role in building a dynamic India * Target to make India the largest freight carrier of the world * Highest-ever plan outlay of Rs 65,445 crore (US$ 10.95 billion) with budgetary support of Rs 30,100 crore (US$ 5.03 billion) * Leveraging of Railway PSU resources by bringing in their investible surplus funds in infrastructure projects of the Railways * 58 new trains .5 new Jansadharan trains, 5 Premium and 6 AC trains, 27 new Express trains, 8 new passenger services, 5 DEMU services and 2 MEMU services to be introduced and run of 11 trains to be extended * Bullet train proposed on identified Mumbai–Ahmedabad sector * Increasing of speed of trains to 160–200 km/h in select 9 sectors * 23 projects underway in the Northeast; Rs 5,100 crore (US$ 853.8 million) allocated for Northeast projects * Diamond Quadrilateral network to connect major metros through High Speed Rails (HSR); funds worth Rs 100 crore (US$ 16.74 million) allocated for high speed project * 18 surveys for new lines, 10 for doubling and extending previous lines to be initiated * Provision of Rs 1,785 crore (US$ 298.8 million) for Road-over-bridges and Road-under-bridges; speedy clearances, online design standardisation and decentralised sanctioning powers * Provision of foot-over bridges, escalators, lifts, etc., at all major stations, including through PPP route. * E-ticketing to support 7,200 users per second * 70,000 RPF constables recruited to ensure security in stations; 4,000 women RPF constables to escort women-only coaches * Ready-to-eat meals of reputed brands to be served in trains * Outsourced cleaning activities in 50 stations; up to 40 per cent hike in allocation for cleanliness * Advanced technology for rail-flaw detection – Vehicle Borne Ultrasonic Flaw Detection System to detect rail and weld fractures and pilot trials on Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System (UBRD) at two locations * Harnessing of solar energy by utilising rooftop spaces of stations, railway buildings and land including through PPP mode * Paperless office in Railways in next five years * All trains to be wi-fi enabled. Mobile based wakeup call system * Dedicated freight corridors on eastern and western routes * Eco tourism education tourism for northeastern states * Separate housekeeping wings at 50 major stations * 17,000 rail police constables, 4,000 women police for security

Union Budget 2014-15
The Union Budget for 2014-15 has been announced by Mr Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance, Government of India, in Parliament on July 10, 2014
Highlights of Union Budget 2014-15

* Overview of the Economy * Aiming at 7-8 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 3-4 years. * Decline in fiscal deficit from 5.7 per cent in 2011-12 to 4.5 per cent in 2013-14 mainly achieved by reduction in expenditure rather than by way of realisation of higher revenue. * Road map for fiscal consolidation outlines fiscal deficit of 3.6 per cent for 2015-16 and 3 per cent for 2016-17. * Improvement in current account deficit (CAD) from 4.7 per cent in 2012-13 to year end level of 1.7 per cent mainly achieved through restriction on non-essential import and slow-down in overall aggregate demand.

* Administrative Initiatives * A stable and predictable taxation regime which will be investor friendly and spur growth. * Resident tax payers enabled to obtain on advance ruling in respect of their income-tax liability above a defined threshold. * New Urea Policy would be formulated. * Introduction of GST to be given thrust. * High level committee to interact with trade and industry on regular basis to ascertain areas requiring clarity in tax laws is required to be set up. * Employment exchanges to be transformed into career centres. A sum of Rs 100 crore (US$ 1.67 million) provided.

* Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) * The composite cap in the insurance sector to be increased up to 49 per cent from 26 per cent with full Indian management and control through the FIPB route. * Requirement of the built up area and capital conditions for FDI to be reduced from 50,000 square metres to 20,000 square metres and from US$ 10 million to US$ 5 million respectively for development of smart cities.

* Bank Capitalization * Requirement to infuse Rs 240,000 crore (US$ 40.09 billion) as equity by 2018 in our banks to be in line with Basel-III norms. * Capital of banks to be raised by increasing the shareholding of the people in a phased manner.

* PSU Capital Expenditure * PSUs will invest through capital investment a total sum of Rs 2,47,941 crore (US$ 41.41 billion) in the current financial year.

* Smart Cities * A sum of Rs 7,060 crore (US$ 1.17 billion) is provided in the current fiscal for the project of developing ‘one hundred Smart Cities’.

* Agriculture * A sustainable growth of 4 per cent in Agriculture will be achieved. * Government to establish two more Agricultural Research Institute of excellence in Assam and Jharkhand with an initial sum of Rs 100 crore (US$ 1.67 million). * An amount of Rs 100 crore (US$ 1.67 million) set aside for ‘Agri-tech Infrastructure Fund’. * Rs 200 crore (US$ 33.41 million) provided to open Agriculture Universities in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and Horticulture Universities in Telangana and Haryana. * Technology driven second green revolution with focus on higher productivity including “Protein revolution” will be area of major focus. * To provide institutional finance to landless farmers, it is proposed to provide finance to 500,000 joint farming groups of “Bhoomi Heen Kisan” through NABARD. * A target of Rs 8 trillion (US$ 133.61 billion) has been set for agriculture credit during 2014-15. * Corpus of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) raised by an additional Rs 5,000 crores (US$ 835.02 million) from the target given in the Interim Budget to Rs 25,000 crores (US$ 4.17 billion).

* Education * Government would strive to provide toilets and drinking water in all the girls’ schools in the first phase. An amount of Rs 28,635 crore (US$ 4.77 billion) is being funded for Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rs 4,966 crore (US$ 828.37 million) for Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). * Rs 500 crore (US$ 83.40 million) provided for ‘Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme’ to infuse new training tools and motivate teachers. * Jai Prakash Narayan National Centre for Excellence in Humanities to be set up in MP. * Rs 500 crore (US$ 83.40 million) provided for setting up five more IITs in the Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. * Five IIMs in the States of HP, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Rajasthan.

* Health and Family Welfare * Free Drug Service and Free Diagnosis Service to achieve ‘Health For All’. * Two National Institutes of Ageing to be set up at AIIMS, New Delhi and Madras Medical College, Chennai. * A national level research and referral Institute for higher dental studies to be set up. * AIIMS like institutions in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Vidarbha in Maharashtra and Poorvanchal in UP. A provision of Rs 500 crores (US$ 83.40 million) made. * 12 new government medical colleges to be set up. * 15 Model Rural Health Research Centres to be set up for research on local health issues concerning rural population.

* Housing Sector * Extended additional tax incentive on home loans shall be provided to encourage people, especially the young, to own houses. * Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing anchored in the National Housing Bank to be set up. * A sum of Rs 4,000 crores (US$ 667.27 million) for NHB from the priority sector lending shortfall with a view to increase the flow of cheaper credit for affordable housing to the urban poor/EWS/LIG segment is provided

* Infrastructure and Industry * Central Government Departments and Ministries to integrate their services with the e-Biz—a single window IT platform—for services on priority by December 31, 2014. * Rs 100 crore (US$ 16.68 million) provided for setting up a National Industrial Corridor Authority. * Proposed to establish an Export promotion Mission to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella. * An institution to provide support to mainstreaming PPPPs called 4PIndia to be set up with a corpus of Rs 500 crore (US$ 83.40 million). * Rs 11,635 crore (US$ 1.94 billion) will be allocated for the development of Outer Harbour Project in Tuticorin for phase I. * Scheme for development of new airports in Tier I and Tier II Cities to be launched. * An investment of an amount of Rs 37,880 crore (US$ 6.31 billion) in NHAI and State Roads is proposed which includes Rs 3,000 crores (US$ 500.44 million) for the North East. * Rs 100 crore (US$ 16.68 million) is allocated for a new scheme ‘Ultra-Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology’. * Rs 500 crore (US$ 83.40 million) provided for Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Laddakh. * For venture capital in the MSME sector, a Rs 10,000 crore (US$ 1.66 billion) fund to act as a catalyst to attract private Capital by way of providing equity , quasi equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies with suitable tax incentives to participating private funds to be established. * Rs 500 crore (US$ 83.40 million) provided for developing 5 tourist circuits around specific themes. * Sum of Rs 500 crore (US$ 83.40 million) for developing a Textile mega-cluster at Varanasi and six more at Bareilly, Lucknow, Surat, Kutch, Bhagalpur and Mysore. * Pan India programme ‘Digital India’ to with an outlay of Rs 500 crore (US$ 83.40 million) to be launched.

* Skill Development * Skill India to be launched to skill the youth with an emphasis on employability and entrepreneur skills. * A programme for the up gradation of skills and training in ancestral arts for development for the minorities ‘Up gradation of Traditional Skills in Arts, Resources and Goods’ to be launched.

* Budget Estimates * Total expenditure of Rs 17,94,892 crore (US$ 299.49 billion) estimated. * Gross Tax receipts of Rs 13,64,524 crore (US$ 227.68 billion) estimated. * Net to centre of Rs 9,77,258 crore estimated. * Fiscal deficit of 4.1 per cent of GDP and Revenue deficit of 2.9 per cent estimated. Current fiscal deficit was 4.5 % down from 4.9% * New Statement to separately show plan allocation made for North Eastern Region. * Allocation of Rs 53,706 crore (US$ 8.96 billion) for North East Regions.

* Direct Taxes Proposals * Personal Income-tax exemption limit raised by Rs 50,000 (US$ 834.42) that is, from Rs 200,000 (US$ 337.69) to Rs 250,000 (US$ 4,170.43) in the case of individual taxpayers, below the age of 60 years. Exemption limit raised from Rs 250,000 (US$ 4,170.43) to Rs 300,000 (US$ 5,004.51) in the case of senior citizens. * Investment limit under section 80C of the Income-tax Act raised from Rs 100,000 (US$ 1,668.17) to Rs 150,000 (US$ 2,502.26). * Investment allowance at the rate of 15 percent to a manufacturing company that invests more than Rs 25 crore (US$ 4.17 million) in any year in new plant and machinery. The benefit to be available for three years i.e. for investments upto March 31, 2017.

* Indirect Tax Proposals * To encourage production of LCD and LED TVs below 19 inches in India, basic customs duty on LCD and LED TV panels of below 19 inches reduced from 10 per cent to Nil. * To give an impetus to the stainless steel industry, increase in basic customs duty on imported flat-rolled products of stainless steel from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent. * Reduction in the excise duty from 12 per cent to 6 percent on footwear of retail price exceeding Rs 500 (US$ 8.33) per pair but not exceeding Rs 1,000 (US$ 16.66) per pair. * Reduction in basic customs duty from 10 per cent to 5 per cent on forged steel rings used in the manufacture of bearings of wind operated electricity generators.

ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14

* Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow at 5.4–5.9 per cent in FY15. * India has the second fastest growing services sector with compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9 per cent. * Services constituted a 57 per cent share in GDP at factor cost (at current prices) in FY 14, an increase of 6 per cent points over FY01. * Foreign exchange reserves grew to US$ 304.2 billion by March 2014 from US$ 292 billion at the end of March 2013. * Annual average exchange rate of the rupee went up from Rs 47.92 (US$ 0.8) per US dollar in 2011–12 to Rs 54.41 (US$ 0.91) per US dollar in 2012–13 and further to Rs 60.5 (US$ 1.01) per US dollar in 2013–14. * Revenue receipts in 2013–14 were Rs 1,015,279 crore (US$ 169.85 billion), 8.9 per cent of the GDP. The gross tax revenue in 2013–14 was estimated at Rs 1,133,832 crore (US$ 189.68 billion), 10 per cent of the GDP. * Fiscal deficit for 2013–14 has been contained at Rs 508,149 crore (US$ 85.01 billion) (provisional) – 4.5 per cent of the GDP (4.9 per cent in 2012–13). * Indirect tax collection for 2013–14 stood at Rs 496,231 crore (US$ 83.02 billion) as compared to Rs 473,792 crore (US$ 79.26 billion) in 2012-13. * Direct tax collection for 2013–14 was Rs 633,473 crore (US$ 105.98 billion) * 88,537 megawatt (MW) power capacity is planned to be added over the next five years. * US$ 1 trillion investment is required in infrastructure in the next five years. * The agriculture and allied sectors achieved a growth of 4.7 per cent in 2013–14 against its long-term average of around 3 per cent (between 1999–2000 and 2012–13). * A record food grains production of 264.4 million tonnes expected in 2013-14. An increase of more than 20 million tonnes over the average production during the previous five years. * The passage of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Act, the shift of commodity futures trading, Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) report, were the three major milestones of the year 2013–14. * The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified five sectors – infrastructure, iron and steel, textiles, aviation, and mining – as the stressed sectors. * Till May 7, 2014 a total of 67.11 lakh members have been enrolled under the NPS with a corpus of Rs 51,147 crore (US$ 8.55 billion). * Proportion of working age population to increase from 58 per cent in 2001 to over 64 per cent in 2021 * India ranks first in global milk production and accounts for 17 per cent of world production. India recorded a peak production of milk at 132.43 MT in the year 2012-13. * Milk production has become an important secondary source of income for 70 million rural households engaged in dairying and for 70 per cent of the workforce that comprises women. * India ranks second in world fish production, contributing about 5.4% of global fish production. * India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. * India is the largest producer and exporter of spices. * India is the largest producer of mango, banana, coconut, cashew, papaya, and pomegranate.

FDI limits in different sectors 1. Telecom 100% 2. Single brand retail 100% 3. Multi brand retail 51% 4. Civil aviation 49% 5. Defence production 49% 6. Insurance Sector 49%
How much is the FDI in software sector?