Here is an analysis on Budget 2019 by 'Niveshak', the finance and investment club of IIM-Shillong:
The Budget 2019 was historic in its own sense, as it dared to address areas which were left untouched by the previous government.
While keeping the upcoming elections in mind, the Budget aimed at the lower and middle-class segment of the economy. The Finance Minister started the presentation by highlighting the various achievements of the incumbent government in the last couple of years.
However, it was not all talks as the Government took some major steps, especially for the agricultural sector. One such scheme is the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, which aims to help around 12 crore farming families, who own up to 2 hectare land, by providing them with a direct income support of ₹6000/year.
The extension of the Kisan Credit Card Scheme to Animal Husbandry and Fisheries sector along with a 2% loan waiver will augment the growth of the scheme, which contributes around 1.1% to the Indian GDP empowering 1.45 crore people involved in this venture.
The infrastructure sector also saw a generous spending along with an additional capital support of ₹65,587 crore in the financial year 2019-20. This financial help was allocated for the railways while mentioning that the operating ratio is expected to fall to 95%. An additional capital of ₹19,000 crore is said to be contributed towards the Sadak Yojana.
Individual taxpayers got a relief under the Section 87A of the Income Tax Act, where the amount of tax rebate was increased to ₹12,500 from the existing ₹2,500. This will benefit only people who fall within the income limit of ₹5 lakh . Since, there is no change in the slab, it will not impact the individual taxpayers.