Highlights of the Budget 2017-18

 

Public Finances

·         Fiscal deficit pegged at 3.2 percent of GDP

·         Revenue Deficit target at 1.9% of GDP

·         Total expenditure for 2017-18 at Rs 21,47,000 crore,

·         The net tax revenue grew by 17% in 2015-16

·         Total resource transfer to States and UTs with legislature at Rs 4.11 lakh crore up from Rs 3.6 lakh crore in BE 16-17

·         Plan, non-plan classification of expenditure done away with in the Budget for 2017-18 to give a holistic picture 

Taxation

·         We are largely a tax non-compliant society & the burden of tax-evaders falls on honest taxpayers Only 1.72 lakh people show income above Rs 50 lakh: FM

·         1.5 crore people show income between Rs 2.5-5 lakh; 52 lakh people between between Rs 5-10 lakh; 24 lakh above Rs 10 lakh

·         Existing rate of taxation of those with income between 2.5 lakh to 5 lakh to be reduced from 10% to 5%:

·         All taxpayers above 5 lakh rupees to get benefit of 12,500 rupees across the board:

·         Surcharge of 10% for those whose annual income is Rs 50 lakh to 1 crore

·         Time period of revising tax return to be reduced to 12 months

·         A single one-page form for filing IT returns for taxable income up to 5 lakh rupees

·         Long-term capital gains tax on immovable property to apply after 2 years, instead of 3 years now

·         No transaction over Rs 3 lakh will be allowed in cash

·         Tax rate for companies with an annual turnover up to 50 crores to be reduced to 25%, to strengthen MSME sector:

 

Infrastructure

·         Total allocation for infrastructure stands at a record level Rs 3,96,135 crore in 2017-18

·         Allocation for national highways stepped up to Rs 64,000 cr from Rs 57,676 cr 

·         Rs 2000 Cr announced for coastal road connectivity - essentially to enhance connectivity to ports & coastal villages

·         Rs27,000 crore on to be spend on Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana; 

 

Railways

·         Railways to focus on 4 major areas 1. Passenger safety 2. Capital and development work 3. Cleanliness 4. Financial and accounting reforms

·         Railways plan size for 2017-18 pegged at Rs. 1,31,000 crore

·         Railway line of 3,500 km will be commissioned in 2017-18 as against 2,800 km in 2016-17

·         For rail passenger safety, a fund of 1 lakh crores will be allocated over the next 5 years 

·         500 stations will be made differently abled friendly with lifts and escalator

·         Government proposes Coach Mitra facility to redress grievances related to rail coaches

·         Indian Railways plans to feed about 7000 stations with solar power in the next few years

·         Service charge on e-tickets booked through IRCTC will be withdrawn

·         Railway tariffs to be fixed on the basis of cost, social obligation and competition; 

·         State run companies like IRCON and IRCTC to be listed in markets

 

 

Defence

·         Defence allocation of Rs 2.74 lakh crore

 

 

Agriculture

·         Total allocation for rural, agricultural & allied sectors for 2017-18 a record 1,87,223 cr, up by 24%:

·         Allocation under MNREGA increased to 48,000 crore from Rs 38,500 crore 

·         Rs 9,000 cr higher allocation for payment of sugarcane arrears 

·         Govt to set up dairy processing fund of Rs 8,000 crore over three years with initial corpus of Rs 2,000 crore 

·         Modern law on contract farming will be drafted and circulated to states 

·         Dedicated micro-irrigation fund to be set up by NABARD to achieve mission of Per Drop, More Crop 

·         Coverage of Fasal Bima Yojana to go up from 30 pc of cropped area to 40 pc in 2017-18 and 50 per cent next year 

 

Housing

·         To construct one crore houses by 2019 for homeless.

·         PM Awas Yojana allocation raised from Rs 15,000 cr to Rs 23,000 cr 

 

Trade & Commerce

·         Trade Infrastructure Export Scheme to be launched in 2017-18 

·         Basic customs duty on LNG to be reduced from 5% to 2.5%

 

 

Ease of doing business

·         Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will be abolished. 90% of FDI coming through automatic route.

 

Digital India

·         AadharPay, a merchant version of Aadhaar-enabled payment system to be launched shortly for those without debit cards, mobile phones

·         Allocation of Rs 10,000 cr for Bharat Net project for providing high-speed broadband in FY18 

·         By end of FY 2017-18 high speed broadband connectivity on optic fibres will be available in more than 1,50,000 gram panchayats

·         Digi Gaon initiative will be launched to provide tele-medicine, education & skills through digital technology:

 

Skill Development & Empowerment

·         600 districts to get Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) for skilling youth for opportunities

·         “SANKALP” for Livelihood Promotion Programme to be Launched at a cost of Rs. 4000 Crores 

·         Mahila Shakti Kendras to be set up at village level, in 14 lakh ICDS centres, with an allocation of Rs. 500 crore

·         Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana lending target has been doubled at Rs 2.44 lakh crore for 2017-18

 

Political funding

·         Max. amount of cash donation a political party can receive to be 2000 rupees from any one source

·         Political parties will be entitled to receive donation by cheque or in digital mode, from their donors

·         Amendment to RBI Act proposed to enable electoral bonds

 

Tourism

·         5 special tourism zones,anchored on SPV, to be set up;Incredible India 2.0 campaign to be launched across the world

 

HRD

·         National Testing Agency to be established to conduct all entrance exams for higher education:

·         Innovation Fund for secondary education to be created

·         Two new AIIMS to be set up Jharkhand and Gujarat 

·         “SWAYAM” Platform will be launched to leverage Information Technology. this will enable students to virtually attend the courses taught by the best faculty; access high quality reading resources, participate in discussion forums; take tests and earn academic grades. Access to SWAYAM would be widened by linkage with DTH channels, dedicated to education.

 

Welfare

·         For senior citizens, Aadhaar based health cards will be issued 

·         Allocation for welfare of women and children increased from Rs 1,56,528 crores in BE 2016-17 to Rs 1,84,632 crores in 2017-18 

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Budget 2017 Is Good News for Real Estate sector

The developers have welcomed the budget 2017 presented by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.  Provisions like constructing one crore houses for homeless by 2019  and raising PM Awas Yojana allocation from Rs 15,000 cr to Rs 23,000 cr are being welcomed.

Kishor Pate, CMD - Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd.:

The Budget has announced that 1 crore rural houses will be created by 2019, and the outlay for rural housing under PMAY is Rs. 23000 crores from the previous Rs. 15000 crores. This will help address the housing needs of the homeless and those living in 'kachha' houses in the rural areas, and potentially help reduce pressure on urban areas if it is in conjunction with employment generation

The total allocation for infrastructure is a whopping Rs. 396135 crores in 2017-18. This is very good news for the real estate sector, as the correlation of infrastructure with real estate growth is a well-established fact.

Affordable housing has finally been given infrastructure status. This will mean cheaper loans for developers of budget housing and significantly boost the Government’s target of Housing for All by 2022. The Affordable housing has seen a significant change in the Government’s existing scheme, with the qualifying size requirements now changed from built-up area to carpet area of 30 sqm and 60 sqm for projects within the municipal limits of the large 4 cities.

On the all-important front of personal income tax, the existing tax rate for incomes between Rs. 2.5 lakh to 5 lakh has been reduced to 5%, and taxpayers in other categories will also save Rs. 12,500. While this will definitely boost the overall consumption story, it unfortunately will not have any significant impact on housing demand. However, the FM did indicate that lending rates are likely to come down in the wake of the demonetisation move. A decline in interest rates would have positive implications on housing demand.

Anil Pharande, Chairman - Pharande Spaces:

Project completion timelines for affordable residential projects have now been increased to 5 years, which comes as a relief to developers of such housing as it will allow them more time to sell their inventory.

 The Budget has focused on improving rural connectivity through higher kilometers road construction per day. Also, railway stations redevelopment has received a shot in the arm, with 27 stations to be allocated in the current year. This will help connect more areas and create new development corridors. It has also announced that the PPP mode will be used for select tier 2 airports, and a relaxation of AAI Act for commercial usage of land. The Government will also announce a metro rail policy for implementation and financing of such projects, which will generate additional employmentand therefore interest in home purchasing.

With five tourism zones to be established via Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), we will see an increase in tourism to the focus areas, with a direct boost to hospitality. It will also increase appetite for second-home investors focused on the tourism-related rental income in these areas.

The Government has announced that 250 proposals for electronic manufacturing worth 1.2 lakh crore have rolled in. Obviously, this has a direct potential correlation to employment generation and therefore demand for housing in and around the identified manufacturing nodes.

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