The Finance Minister also said every willing consumer will have an electricity connection by next month.
In his first post-Budget interaction with industry leaders, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, on February 8, said that the Interim Budget was a culmination of the ideas from the last 5 years.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted it to be a completely honest budget," he said.
He said that every willing consumer will have an electricity connection by next month. Goyal also said that as of now, close to 98 percent households have toilets, compared to the one in three households being equipped with a toilet when the government first took over in 2014. He also said that only 12 crore of 25 crore families had access to an LPG connection.
On the annual Rs 6000 allocation for farmers in the interim Budget, Goyal said, “It's only right that the 14.5 crore small and marginal farmers get opportune support from portion of your taxes.” He also added that the first installment of the allocations will be disbursed in this year, and will boost spending.
Goyal had proposed the rolling out of the Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi scheme on February 1,which gives direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to small and medium farmers who hold less than two hectares of land in the Interim Budget speech.
Goyal said that close to 42 crore are engaged in the unorganized sector.“Post retirement, I think it is incumbent we should have some honorarium to allow them to live their retirement with self-respect,” he said.
The Finance Minister first announced a Mega Pension Scheme for the unorganised sector in the Interim Budget speech on February 1.
Workers in the sector will get Rs 3,000 per month after the age of 60 as part of the scheme. Rs 500 crore has been allocated for the scheme, with the money to be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
The Finance Minister also acknowledged the support of the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks for improving financial inclusion, and credited them for the opening of 36 crore Jan Dhan accounts. He also praised them for improving the availability of credit among the rural population.
The Finance Minister said that the government is trying to get banks out of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework, and that the government has taken steps to prevent wrongful investigation against innocent bankers.
Goyal also said that prudent investment by the salaried class could help them save on taxes. “If you avail a mediclaim policy for your family, invest in the right financial instruments of upto Rs 1.5 lakh, avail tax benefits on your education loan etc, one can save Rs 8.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh on taxes.”
