 had resulted in very modest outcomes. When the poor became empowered partners in the development process, government's power to assist them also increases manifold. With the pursuit of Sabka Saath, in these 10 years, the government has assisted 25 crore people to get freedom from multi-dimensional poverty. Our government's efforts are now getting synergised with energy and passion of such empowered people. This is truly elevating them from poverty. Direct benefit transfer of 34 lakh crore rupees from the government using PM Jandan accounts has led to savings of 2.7 lakh crores of rupees for the government. This savings has been realised through avoidance of leakages prevalent earlier. The savings have helped in providing more funds for Gareeb Kalyan. PM Swannidhi has provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors. From that total of 78 lakh street vendors, 2.3 lakh have received credit for the third time. PM Janman Yojana reaches out to the particularly vulnerable tribal groups who have remained outside the realm of development so far. PM Vishwakarma Yojana provides end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 trades. The schemes for empowerment of divyangs and transgender persons reflect firm resolve of our government to leave no one behind. Welfare of Annadata. Farmers are our Annadata. Every year under PM Kisan Samman Yojana, direct financial assistance is provided to 11.8 crore farmers, including marginal and small farmers. Crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers under PM Fasal Bhima Yojana. These, besides several other programs, are assisting Annadata in producing food for the country and for the world. Electronic national agricultural market has integrated 1,361 mandis and is providing services to 1.8 crore farmers with trading volume of 3 lakh crores of rupees. The sector is poised for inclusive, balanced, higher growth, and productivity. These are facilitated from farmer-centric policies, income support, coverage of risks through price and insurance support, promotion of technologies, and innovations through startups. Empowering the Amrit P.D., the Yuvav, our prosperity depends on adequately equipping and empowering the youth. The national education policy 2020 is ushering the transformational reforms. PM schools for rising India, PM Shree, are delivering quality teaching and nurturing holistic and well-rounded individuals. The Skill India mission has trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and re-skilled 54 lakh youth, and established 3,000 new ITIs, a large number of institutions of higher learning, namely, seven IITs, 16 triple ITs, seven IAMs, 15 Ames, and 390 universities have been set up. PM Mudra Yojana has sanctioned 43 crore loans, aggregating to 22.5 lakh crores of rupees for entrepreneurial aspirations of our youth. Besides that, fund-of-funds, Startup India, and Startup Credit Guarantee schemes are assisting our youth. They're also becoming Rosgarh Dapa. The country is proud of our youth scaling new heights in sports. The highest ever medal tally in Asian games and Asian para games in 2023 reflects a high confidence level. Chess prodigy and our number one ranked player, Pragyananda, put up a tough fight against the reigning world champion, Magnus Carlson, in 2023. Today, India has over 80 chess grandmasters compared to little over 20 in 2010. Momentum for Nari Shakti, the empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, ease of living, and dignity for them has gained momentum in these 10 years. 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs. Female enrollment in higher education has gone up by 28% in 10 years. In STEM courses, girls and women constitute 43% of enrollment, one of the highest in the world. All these measures are getting reflected in the increasing participation of women in workforce. Making triple talak illegal, reservation of one-third seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, and giving over 70% houses under PM Avaz Yojana in rural areas to women, and giving over 70% houses under PM Avaz Yojana in rural areas to women as sole or joint owners have enhanced their dignity. Exemplary track record of governance, development, and performance. Besides delivering on high growth in terms of gross domestic product, the government is equally focused on a more comprehensive GDP, that is, governance, development, and performance. Our government has provided transparent, accountable, people-centric, and prompt trust-based administration with citizen-first and minimum government maximum governance approach. The impact of all-round development is discernible in all sectors. There is macroeconomic stability, including in the external sector. Investments are robust. The economy is doing well. People are living better and earning better, with even greater aspirations for future. Average real income of the people has increased by 50%. Inflation is moderate. People are getting empowered, equipped, and enabled to pursue their aspirations. There is effective and timely delivery of programs and of large projects. Economic management. The multi-pronged economic management over the past 10 years has complimented people-centric, inclusive development. Following are some of the major elements. One, all forms of infrastructure, physical, digital, or social are being built in record time. All, number two, all parts of the country are becoming active participants in economic growth. Number three, digital public infrastructure. A new factor of production, as in the 21st century, is instrumental in formalization of the economy. Number four, goods and services tax has enabled one nation, one market, one tax. Tax reforms have led to deepening and widening of tax base. Number five, strengthening of the financial sector has helped in making savings, credit, and investments more efficient. Number six, gift IFSC and the Unified Regulatory Authority. IFSCA are creating a robust gateway for global capital and financial services for the economy. Number seven, proactive inflation management has helped keep inflation within the policy band. Now, the global context, honorable speakers, geopolitically, global affairs are becoming more complex and challenging with wars and conflicts. Globalization is being redefined with reshoring and French shoring, disruption and fragmentation of supply chains and competition for critical minerals and technologies. A new world order is emerging after the COVID pandemic. India assumed the G20 presidency during very difficult times for the world. The global economy was going through high inflation, high interest rates, low growth, very high public debt, low trade growth and climate changes. The pandemic has led to a crisis of food, fertilizer, fuel, and finances for the world, while India successfully navigated its way. The country showed the way forward and built consensus on solutions for those global problems. The recently announced India Middle East Europe economic corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others. In the words of honorable Prime Minister, the corridor, and I quote, will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil. Unquote. Vision for Vickersit Bharat. Our vision for Vickersit Bharat is that of prosperous Bharat in harmony with nature, with modern infrastructure, and providing opportunities for all citizens and all regions to reach their potential. With confidence arising from strong and exemplary track record of performance and progress, earning SAPKA vishwas the next five years will be years of unprecedented development and golden moments to realize the dream of developed India by 2047. The trinity of demography, democracy, and diversity backed by SAPKA payas has the potential to fulfill aspirations of every Indian. As honorable Prime Minister in his Independence Day address to the nation mentioned, I quote, there is no dearth of opportunities. As many opportunities as we want, the country is capable of creating more opportunities. Sky is the limit, unquote. Strategy for Amritkal. Our government will adopt economic policies that foster and sustain growth, facilitate inclusive and sustainable development, improve productivity, create opportunities for all, help them enhance their capabilities and contribute to generation of resources to power investments and fulfill aspirations. Guided by the principle reform, perform and transform, the government will take up next generation reforms and build consensus with the states and stakeholders for effective implementation. It is an important policy priority for our government to ensure timely and adequate finances, relevant technologies and appropriate training for the micro, small and medium enterprises, MSMEs to grow and also compete globally. Orienting the regulatory environment to facilitate their growth will be an important element of this policy mix. Aligning with the Panchamrith goals, our government will facilitate sustaining high and more resource efficient economic growth. This will work towards energy security in terms of availability, accessibility and affordability. For meeting the investment needs, our government will prepare the financial sector in terms of size, capacity, skills and regulatory framework. Aspirational districts program. Our government stands ready to assist the states in faster development of aspirational districts and blocks, including generation of ample economic opportunities. Development of the East. Our government will pay utmost attention to make the Eastern region and its people a powerful driver of India's growth. PM Awas Yojana Grameen. Despite the challenges due to COVID, implementation of PM Awas Yojana Grameen continued and we are close to achieving the target of three crore houses. Two crore more houses will be taken up in the next five years to meet the requirement arising from increase in the number of families. Roof top solarization and Muft Bidjoli. Through roof top solarization, one crore households will be enabled to obtain up to 300 units free electricity every month. This scheme follows the resolve of Honorable Prime Minister on the historic day of consecration of Sri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Following benefits are expected. Savings up to 15,000 to 18,000 rupees annually for households from free solar electricity and selling the surplus to the distribution companies. Charging of electric vehicles. Entrepreneurship opportunities for a large number of vendors. For supply and installation. Employment opportunities for the youth with technical skills in manufacturing, installation and maintenance. Housing for middle class. Our government will launch a scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class and I quote from Honorable Prime Minister's words, living in rented houses or slums or chalice and unauthorized colonies. Unquote. To buy and build, to buy or build their own houses. Medical colleges. Several youth are ambitious to get qualified as doctors. They aim to serve our people through improved healthcare services. Our government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilizing the existing hospital infrastructure under various departments. A committee for this purpose will be set up to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations. Cervical cancer vaccination. Our government will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of nine to 14 years for prevention of cervical cancer. Maternal and child healthcare. Various schemes for maternal and childcare will be brought under one comprehensive program for synergy in implementation. Upgradation of Anganwadi centres under Saksham Anganwadi and Portion 2.0 will be expedited for improved nutrition delivery, early childhood care and development. The newly designed U-WIN platform for managing immunization and intensified efforts of Mission Indradhanush will be rolled out expeditiously throughout the country. Ayushman Bharat. Health care cover and Ayushman Bharat scheme will be extended to all ASHA workers, to all Anganwadi workers and helpers. Agriculture and food processing. The efforts of value addition in agriculture sector and boosting farmers' incomes will be stepped up. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefited 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. Pradhan Mantri formalization of micro-food processing enterprises, Yojana, has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and 60,000 individuals with credit linkages. Others schemes are complementing the efforts for reducing post-harvest losses and improving productivity and incomes. For ensuring faster growth of the sector, our government will further promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities, including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding, nano-DAP. After the successful adoption of nano-URIA, application of nano-DAP on various crops will be expanded in all agro-climatic zones. Atmanirbar oil seeds are beyond. Building on the initiative announced in 2022, a strategy will be formulated to achieve Atmanirbartha for oil seeds, such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soya bean and sunflower. This will cover research for high-yielding varieties, widespread adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition and crop insurance. Dairy development, a comprehensive program for supporting dairy farmers will be formulated. Efforts are already on to control food and mouth disease. India is the world's largest milk producer but with low productivity of milch animals. The program will be built on the success of existing schemes such as rastriya-gokul mission, national livestock mission and infrastructure development funds for dairy processing and animal husbandry. Matsya Sampada. It was a government which set up a national-owned dairy industry government which set up a separate department for fisheries, realising the importance of assisting fishermen. This has resulted in doubling of both inland and aquaculture production. Seafood export since 2013-14 has also doubled. Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana will be set up, stepped up to one, enhance aquaculture productivity from existing three to five tons per hectare. Two, double exports to one lakh crore rupees and three, generate 55 lakh employment opportunities in the near future. Five integrated aqua parks will also be set up. Lakpati Didi. 83 lakh SHGs, 83 lakh SHGs with nine crore women are transforming rural socioeconomic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance. Honourable speakers say their success has assisted nearly one crore women to become Lakpati Didi already. They are an inspiration to others. Their achievements will be recognised through honouring them. Boiled by the success, it has been decided to enhance the target for Lakpati Didi from two crores to three crores. Technological changes, new age technologies and data are changing the lives of people and businesses. They are also enabling new economic opportunities and facilitating provision of high quality services at affordable prices for all, including those at the bottom of the pyramid. Opportunities for India at the global level are expanding. India is showing solutions through innovation and entrepreneurship of its people. Research and innovation for catalyzing growth, employment and development. Prime Minister Shastri, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. Prime Minister Vajpayee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee made that Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan. Prime Minister Modi has furthered that to Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandan as innovation is the foundation of development. For our tech savvy youth, for our tech savvy youth, this will be a golden era. A corpus of one lakh crore rupees will be established with 50 year interest-free loan provided. The corpus will provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil. I repeat that sentence. The corpus will provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates. This will encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation significantly in sunrise domains. We need to have programs that combine the powers of our youth and technology. A new scheme will be launched for strengthening deep tech technologies for defense purposes and expediting Atmanir Bartha. Infrastructure development, building on the massive tripling of the capital expenditure outlay in the past four years, resulting in huge multiplier impact on economic growth and employment creation. The outlay for the next year is being increased by 11.1% to 11 lakh, 11,111 crore rupees. This would be 3.4% of our GDP. Railways. Three major economic railway corridor programs will be implemented. These are energy, mineral and cement corridors. Number two, port connectivity corridors and number three, high traffic density corridors. The projects have been identified under the PM Gati Shakti for enabling multimodal connectivity. They will improve logistics efficiency and reduce cost. The resultant decongestion of the high traffic corridors will also help in improving operations of passenger trains, resulting in safety and higher travel speed for passengers. Together with dedicated freight corridors, these three economic corridor programs will accelerate our GDP growth and reduce logistic costs. 40,000 normal rail bogies will be converted to Vande Bharat standards to enhance safety, convenience and comfort of passengers. Aviation sector. The aviation sector has been galvanized in the past 10 years. Number of airports have doubled to 149. Rollout of air connectivity to tier two and tier three cities under Udan scheme has been widespread. 517 new routes are carrying 1.3 crore passengers. Indian carriers. Indian carriers have proactively placed orders for over 1,000 new aircrafts. Expansion of existing airports and development of new airports will continue expeditiously. Metro and Namo Bharat. We have a fast expanding middle class and rapid urbanization is taking place. Metro rail and Namo Bharat can be the catalyst for the required urban transformation. Expansion of these systems will be supported in large cities focusing on transit-oriented development. Green energy. Towards meeting our commitment for net zero by 2070, the following measures will be taken. Viability gap funding will be provided for harnessing offshore wind energy, for harnessing offshore wind energy potential for initial capacity of one gigawatt. Cold gasification and liquefaction, capacity of 100 metric tons, will be set up by 2030. This will also help in reducing imports of natural gas, methanol and ammonia. Faced mandatory blending of compressed biogas in compressed natural gas for transport and piped natural gas for domestic purposes will be mandated. Financial assistance will be provided for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collection. Electric vehicle ecosystem. Our government will expand and strengthen the e-vehicle ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Greater adoption of e-buses for public transport networks will be encouraged through payment security mechanism. Biomanufacturing and bio-foundry. For promoting green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry will be launched. This will provide environment-friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bioplastics, biopharmaceuticals and bio-agree inputs. This scheme will also help in transforming today's consumptive manufacturing paradigm to the one based on regenerative principles. Blue Economy 2.0. For promoting climate-resilient activities for Blue Economy 2.0, a scheme for restoration and adaptation measures and coastal aquaculture and mariculture with integrated and multi-sectoral approach will be launched. Comprehensive development of tourist centres. The success of organising G20 meetings in 60 places presented diversity of India to global audience. Our economic strength has made the country an attractive destination for business and conference tourism. Our middle class also now aspires to travel and explore. Tourism, including spiritual tourism, has tremendous opportunities for local entrepreneurship. States will be encouraged to take up comprehensive development of iconic tourist centres, branding and marketing them at global scale. A framework for rating of the centres based on quality of facilities and services will be established. Long-term interest-free loans will be provided to states for financing such development on matching basis. To address the emerging fervour for domestic tourism, honourable speaker sir, projects for port connectivity, tourism infrastructure and amenities will be taken up on our islands, including Laxadeep. This will help in generating employment also. Promoting investments. The FTI inflow during 2014 to 23 was $596 billion US dollars marking a golden era. That is twice the inflow during 2005 to 2014. For encouraging sustained foreign investment, we are negotiating bilateral investment treaties with our foreign partners in the spirit of first developed India. FDI is first developed India. Reforms in the states for Vikasit Bharat. Many growth and development enabling reforms are needed in the states for realising the vision of Vikasit Bharat. A provision of 75,000 crore rupees as 50-year interest-free loan is proposed this year to support those milestone-linked reforms by the state governments. Societal changes. The government will form a high-powered committee for an extensive consideration of the challenges arising from fast population growth and demographic changes. The committee will be mandated to make recommendations for addressing these challenges comprehensively in relation to the goal of Vikasit Bharat. Amartha Kaal as Kartavya Kaal. Our government stands committed to strengthening and expanding the economy with high growth and to create conditions for people to realise their aspirations. Honourable Prime Minister in his Independence Day address to the nation in the 75th year of our republic said, and I quote, we commit ourselves to national development with new inspirations, new consciousness, new resolutions as the country opens up immense possibilities and opportunities. It is our Kartavya Kaal, unquote. Every challenge of the pre-2014 era was overcome through our economic management and our rep governance. These have placed the country on a resolute path of sustained high growth. This has been possible through right policies, true intentions and appropriate decisions. In the full budget in July's Honourable Speaker, our government will present a detailed roadmap for a pursuit of Vikasit Bharat. Revised its estimates. Revised estimates of 2023-24. The revised estimate of the total receipts other than borrowings is 27.56 lakh crores of rupees, of which the tax receipts are 23.24 lakh crore rupees. The revised estimate of total expenditure is 44.90 lakh crore rupees. The revenue receipts at 30.03 lakh crore rupees are expected to be higher than the budget estimate, reflecting strong growth momentum and formalization in the economy. The revised estimate of the fiscal deficit is 5.8 percent of GDP, improving on the budget estimate, notwithstanding moderation in the nominal growth estimates. Budget estimates for 2024-25. Coming to the year 2024-25, the total receipts other than borrowings and total expenditure are estimated at 30.80 and 47.66 lakh crore rupees, respectively. The tax receipts are estimated at 26.02 lakh crore rupees. The scheme of 50-year interest-free loan for capital expenditure to states will be continued this year with an outlay of 1.3 lakh crore rupees. We continue on the path of fiscal consolidation, as announced in my budget speech of 2021-22 to reduce fiscal deficit below 4.5 percent by 25-26. The fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is estimated to be 5.1 percent of GDP adhering to that path. So the gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at 14.13 lakh crore rupees and 11.75 lakh crore, respectively. Both will be less than that in 2023-24. Now that the private investments are happening at scale, the lower borrowings by the central government will facilitate larger availability of credit for the private sector. Vote-on account. I'll be seeking vote-on account approval of the parliament through the appropriation bill for a part of the financial year 2024-25. I will now move to Part B. Honourable Speaker, over the last 10 years, the direct tax collections have more than trebled and the return filers swelled 2.4 times. I would like to assure the taxpayers that their contributions have been used wisely for the development of the country and welfare of its people. I appreciate the taxpayers for their continued support. The government has reduced and rationalised tax rates. Under the new tax scheme, there is now no tax liability for taxpayers with income up to 7 lakh rupees up from 2.2 lakh rupees in the financial year 2013-14. The threshold for presumptive taxation for retail businesses was increased from 2 crores to 3 crores. Similarly, the threshold for professionals eligible for presumptive taxation was increased from 50 lakh rupees to 75 lakh rupees. Also, corporate tax rate was decreased from 30% to 22% for existing domestic companies and to 15% for certain new manufacturing companies. Honourable Speaker, in the last five years, our focus has been to improve taxpayers' services. The age-old jurisdiction-based assessment system was transformed with the introduction of faceless assessment and appeal, thereby imparting greater efficiency, transparency and accountability. Introduction of updated income tax returns, a new Form 26 AS, and pre-filling of tax returns have made filing of tax returns simpler and easier. Average processing time of returns has been reduced from 93 days in the year 2013-14 to a mere 10 days this year, thereby making refunds faster. Indirect taxation. By unifying the highly fragmented indirect tax regime in India, the GST has reduced the compliance burden on trade and industry. The industry has acknowledged the benefits of GST. According to a recent survey conducted by a leading consulting firm, 94% of industry leaders view the transition to GST as largely positive. According to 80% of the respondents, it has led to supply chain optimization as elimination of tax arbitrage and octroy has resulted in disbanding of check posts at the state and city boundaries. At the same time, tax base of GST more than doubled and the average monthly gross GST collection has almost doubled to 1.66 lakh crores. This year, states too have benefited. States' SGST revenue, including compensation released to states in the post-GST period of 2017-18 to 2022-23, has achieved a buoyancy of 1.22, in contrast, the tax buoyancy of state revenues from subsumed taxes in the pre-GST four-year period of 2012-13 to 2015-16 was a mere 0.72. The biggest beneficiaries are consumers as reduction in logistic cost and taxes have brought down prices of most goods and services. We have taken a number of steps and customs to facilitate international trade. As a result, the import release time declined by 47% to 71 hours at inland container depots, by 28% to 44 hours at air cargo complexes, and by 27% to 85 hours at seaports over the last four years since 2019. When the national time release studies were first acted, tax proposals. As for tax proposals, in keeping with the convention, I do not propose to make any changes relating to taxation and propose to retain the same tax rates for direct and indirect taxes, including import duties. However, certain tax benefits to start-ups and investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds as also tax exemption on certain income of some IFSC units are expiring on 31-3-2024. To provide continuity in taxation, I propose to extend the date to 31-3-2025. Moreover, in line with the government's vision to improve ease of living and ease of doing business, I wish to make an announcement to improve taxpayer services. There are a large number of petty, non-verified, non-reconciled, or disputed tax direct tax demands, many of them dating as far back as 1962, which continue to remain on the books, causing anxiety to honest taxpayers and hindering refunds of subsequent years. Honourable Speaker, I propose to withdraw such outstanding direct tax demands up to 25,000 rupees pertaining to the period up to financial year 2009, up to financial year 2009, 10, and up to 10,000 rupees for financial years 2010, 11, to 2014, 15. This is expected to benefit about a crore tax payers, one crore tax payers would benefit out of this. Economy then and now. In 2014, when our government assumed the reins, the responsibility to mend the economy step by step and to put the governance systems in order was enormous. The need of the hour was to give hope to the people, to attract investments and to build support for the much needed reforms. The government did that successfully following our strong belief of nation first. The crisis of those years has been overcome and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path with all round development. It is now appropriate to look at where we are there then. I repeat, it is now appropriate to look at where we were then till 2014 and where we are now only for the purpose of drawing lessons from the mismanagement of those years. The government will lay a white paper on table of the house. The exemplary track record of governance, development and performance, effective delivery and Gen Kalyan has given the government trust, confidence and blessings of the people to realize whatever it takes. The goal of Vikasit Bharat with good intentions, true dedication and hard work in the coming years and decades. With this honorable speaker, I commend the interim budget to this August house. Jai Hind. Item number two, Simati Nirmala Sita Manji. So with your permission, I rise to lay on the table the following statements. Under section three, one of the fiscal responsibility and budget management act, 2003. Medium term fiscal policy, come fiscal policy strategy statement and macroeconomic framework statement. Item number three, Simati Nirmala Sita Manji. Sir, with your permission, I rise to move for leave to introduce the finance bill, 2024. Sir, I introduce the bill. Sir, I introduce the bill. So the interim budget has been presented by the minister, Nirmala Sita Manji. And the big news is that there has been no change in the income tax rates. He said that in the income tax rate, as per the interim budget, there has been no change in the income tax rate. There has been no change in the income tax rate. If there was any hope of relief, there is no hope of relief. In the new tax regime, the tax on income tax of 7 lakhs has been repeated once again. That the rebate of 5 lakhs will continue as it is. Just like the tax last year, there will be no change in the income tax rate this year. There is no change in the income tax rate, in any other way, who would have taken advantage or loss of any income tax. The big thing is that there are no tax changes. Capital expenditure target has increased by 11.00 per year. This is a big news. And the fiscal deficit has been assumed to be 5.1% of GDP. That means the government is increasing the budget, the fiscal deficit target set for 2026, 4.5% and 5.1% this year. That is the target, so that it reaches 2526, 4.5% this year. It doesn't seem to have any income tax of 7 lakhs. Even now, in the new tax regime, it doesn't seem to have any tax of 7 lakhs with the rebate. It will continue. There hasn't been any change yet. There hasn't been any relief this time. There hasn't been any change in the income tax or direct tax. They told us that the tax base of GST Dindarao was broken down. They also told us how the situation is going on in the country. But there hasn't been any change in the income tax. We have with us the tax expert Ashwini Ji. Ashwini Ji, first of all, your opinion. There hasn't been any change in the tax. There hasn't been any change, as we have heard. In the tax processing, they said that they will reduce the period of 13 days. There have been already procedural changes. There are a lot of improvements. There is a lot of improvement. There is a lot of improvement. But there was a small hope that there will be some relief. That there will be a little relief of 10% or 10 lakhs. Or that there will be a higher standard reduction. There is nothing like that. The target of the fiscal deficit of 5.1% is GDP. Yes, there was a high hope for the fiscal deficit. There will be a high hope for the fiscal deficit. But it has been contained on 5.8%. And next time, there will be a 5.1% ambition. In fact, when we will come to the end, we will see that all the government programs, the disinvestment, etc. About housing. About housing, those people who live in rented houses, who make slums, who make shawls. They are talking about the city people, who do not have their own houses. They have been given a sign to get a scheme for them. Yes, definitely. And there is an important scheme. That the solar energy and most of the electricity on the roof. That is also a very important issue. How do they implement it? Like the Delhi government tried. In Delhi, there are no such roofs. But the system outside of Delhi, if it is implemented, it will be a very important issue. Yes, we will talk about this. This is a very important issue. But the hope on tax, what did the minister say? Listen to him again. I do not propose to make any changes relating to taxation. And propose to retain the same tax rates for direct and indirect taxes. Introduction of updated income tax returns. A new form 26 AS. And pre-filling of tax returns have made filing of tax returns simpler and easier. Average processing time of returns has been reduced from 93 days in the year 2013-14 to a mere 10 days this year thereby making refunds faster. Refunds are getting faster. This was just a suggestion. It was not like a statement that now it will be in 10 days. Direct and indirect tax returns have been reduced till now compared to the year 2014. There was no discussion about where to go. Like he said, in the year 2013-14, the taxes that he earned did not have to be taxed. Now the situation is that if we get a rebate of Rs. 7 lakh then it will not be taxed. Yes, if we get a rebate of Rs. 7 lakh then it will be exempted. No, it has been done since last year. It is not like it has been done by increasing 3 lakhs. If we get a rebate of Rs. 7 lakhs then it will not be taxed. But if we go up to Rs. 7 lakhs then it will be taxed. So till now, the same is being considered that the amount that has been done is enough for now. I mean the amount that will come in July. What is the old tax of Rs. 10,000? When the entire print will come but the amount that has been done that demand that has not been decided yet then we would like to forgive it that we will end the demand. Meaning if someone has paid less than Rs. 10,000 if he has paid less than Rs. 10,000. But there will be a lot of ups and downs and before that I think that we should read the print that which people will qualify for the tax demand. But I would like to say that there is an attempt to end the past litigation and it is good. The income tax department has said that your old demand is... There is an old pending demand. That you should give your old demand. So if he has paid less than Rs. 10,000 then he will forgive it. Because he is right-off. Like loan waivers are being waived by the government. Now after listening to the speech what are the conditions and ifs and buts that we should read and do a better job. And the tax processing took place in Tehran in 10 days. Meaning the refund. The refund or any other processing. After the return file the refund comes in Tehran. The procedural efficiency is that the department is doing a good and efficient and fast work in 10 years. And the second thing is that it is the face less. You have to pay the return. You have to do the interaction. You don't have to go anywhere. You have to pay the return. All the work will be done through the automatic system. The orders will be done through the system. The face less is done through the first appeal. So they remembered that we have reached here. How do these three main rail corridors be made? How do you see this? If you look at the entire language then I think this election language is that we have done this. In the sense that the rail corridor will be made. We don't have the specifications of its financing. One important step which could have been made outside of this budget that this connection with the Aishwara of Aishwara is important. And a lakh crore fund has been made which will give the start-ups a very long loan on a very low interest rate. Definitely that is a big thing. There is a policy that there will be a different way of promoting tourism in Lakshavdeep. We have seen the market on which tourism is very important. A very important thing about railways is that 40,000 bogeys will be converted and upgraded on the standard of the industry. So definitely this is all. But as I told you that we have done this in the past 10 years so in a specific budget we discussed that this tax proposal and that tax proposal are very clear. In the two lines of crux I have told that we are not going to do any changes in the structure of the tax. Which precisely means for all practical purposes the taxes that come in the bracket are their financial economic position which was 1 year ago on 1st of February, 2013 almost the same on 1st of February 2024. Although the inflation rate is 6% the purchasing power has reduced by 6% but the level of the tax But if you say that inflation was 6% and the price was 6% then their purchasing power has reduced by 6% but the tax was the same but their income might have increased Definitely. If we increase the inflation rate you are an anchor, I am a professor I am an expert, they can increase by 10-12%. But there is a segment in the people whose 6% doesn't increase. If it is going to remain the same then 6% will go back. We will make a hope because the budget is coming That is why the tax rates will be decided. Sir, I also see it that when you have presented the budget of the income tax Keep in mind that the budget is coming The entire budget and the tax rate will have to be filed for this year's return The one that will come will come in July. What I will do from July is that we will sit in July but my assessment is that the income tax exemption will not be available in July I am telling you that You must have read the vote The other thing that we were discussing is that because of that they do not get the vote that it depends on the tax So neither here nor there we are discussing for other reasons My assessment is that the expectations of tax exemptions and tax cuts will be available in July but till July we can expect it We should keep in mind that some changes are very important like insurance related medical claims related housing rebates related We should be in July because we are moving ahead so tax restructuring is also important We should also keep in mind that no one will suspect the government They are helpless They cannot be taken at such a short time or else when the government comes we will ask what is the welcome gift I think it is expected that if the government comes then the restructuring and relief will be available in July I want to keep this in mind There are two things that are very good like yesterday's data GST's connection is very strong The fiscal deficit is decreasing the government is doing 5.8% is for 23-24% 5.1% 5.8% is for 23-24% and 5.1% is for 5.1% and it is taking 4.5% What does it mean? It means that the government is helpless that we will do more work we will have more resources I am stopping you Manish Tiwari is saying something clearly demonstrate that over 18 lakh crores is the unfunded extent of the union budget for this year and this number is only going to increase over the next year if you leave that aside for a moment the rest of the budget speech was mere grand standing it was like driving looking into the rear view mirror rather than looking ahead so therefore the finance minister spent all her time in extolling her own track record which obviously is questionable and trying to run down what had happened 10 years back Congress Manish Tiwari is saying that the minister's strength was that 10 years ago where we have brought the government to show that there is nothing ahead Congress is there Shishir Sinha is joining us Shishir, what do we see because what is the main point the capital expenditure budget has been increased there is no change in tax rates so what is the biggest thing in this budget Look Lakobak if we talk about 1 crore taxpayers whose small disputes were held because of which their refunds were not coming for such people it is a relief that their disputes will be removed from the book it will benefit them that no matter how much money was spent on them there will be no problem and their refunds will be atleast 1 crore taxpayers can benefit the second thing if you talk about capital expenditure it is very important because capital expenditure has been increased to 11,111 crore look at its multiplier when you spend 1 rupees it is of 3 rupees and this also indicates that the government's strength which is said to be 2030-60 trillion apart from this for the 50 years the amount of tax which is paid is a good thing and the most important thing is that there is no change for the people because if there is any change in the tax rate or if there is any change it will cause a problem because we don't know what will happen in the next budget I am stopping you Shashi Tharoor is saying something about a number of things that are couched in vague language like for confidence and hope and so on but when it comes to hard figures there were very few figures available for example she talked about foreign direct investment without acknowledging that it has come down as a percentage of GDP not gone up she didn't talk about unemployment which has gone up to record levels she didn't talk about youth unemployment she didn't talk about declining female labour participation when talking about Nari Shashi so there was Shashi Tharoor's description one more important thing which we were talking about what is said affordable homes for buying a house those who live on rent or live in rents or live in a cell or live in an unauthorized colony for them there will be a scheme there is not much detail about that scheme there will be a scheme which will help them to buy a house that is, there will be no need to make a government it is not about affordable homes it is a scheme through which those who don't have a house and those who don't have a house it seems like that rented houses, slums and chowls through a scheme they will be provided with money so that they can buy a house do you have to see this scheme in construction ultimately, it has a multiplier effect it is taken from lohe from cement and all other things like the work that is in chowl or unauthorized financing is very difficult now you have to see what kind of modalities are going to be provided because the things that were home loan were more beneficial for upper middle class the financing the housing finance company is checking all the clarity all the legal setup but if it is in chowl or unauthorized sector you have to see the modalities that ultimately the scheme is amazing you will have to see that but it is definitely positive that whatever you do in construction the impact goes on the multiplier effect and for the construction and those who will use it or those who will use it it is very important for their financial security if there is a house I think the way the system is doing the foundation card, KYC system pen, return filing is started so we will make some parameters that this is eligible for loan for low cost of interest such a loan we will have to see the scheme and we will give a coruterium that you will not have to repay I think it will be incentive we will have to see the scheme which has been mentioned that those who live in rented houses in slums, in chowls in unauthorized colony how they buy their own house how they build their own house a scheme will come for that if you are talking about interest subvention the way we are talking it seems like an interest subvention will be for housing if you are more than a certain amount then you will be given a subsidy on an interest the most important aspect of this that we were talking about in chowls, in unauthorized colony this is a very big issue not only in Delhi and Mumbai but also in all small cities so I think building a house building an activity approximately 400 types of artistic activities are helped in every way and there is a contribution so this can be said that it is a benefit for ordinary people and it can be a benefit for the public that is why you have to see the scheme but the interest what is your opinion on this interest subvention like the first two schemes for housing if you look at the cities there was some interest subvention so this church used to go from middle class and lower middle income group how can we promote them more for housing that is why we are talking about interest subvention but we have to wait a little so that we can make this more clear how to build our own house or buy our own house how it will be possible for such work how the scheme will be we will have to see its details apart from this apart from this, Shishir this is about solar what should be understood if you remember on 22nd January the Prime Minister returned from Ayodhya on the roof of the house which was said to be a solar roof top and today there is another discussion about how I am stopping you Shishir there is a historic budget that is fully done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India there is a new revolution in the last decade a goal of growing India a goal of becoming an independent India a goal of becoming a Vishwa Guru those three goals of becoming a Vishwa Guru with full with full and with full India has increased our four who are in the position of the Prime Minister our women our young people our poor their with full India will be the basis of becoming an independent India and the new revolution we have proved in every region whether it is Sanrachana whether it is Prime Minister Abbas whether it is Garib Kalyan whether it is Ushman Kaur in every region whether it is the new young people whether it is Olympics whether it is any competition India has increased this is the right time thank you very much Jyothira Sindhya yes Shishir we are talking about the rooftop solar yes the 300 unit electricity is free and apart from that you can also sell the electricity so for the family a family with solar rooftop it will benefit them about 15 to 20,000 rupees it is said to be saved and the biggest thing about it is that we are talking about clean energy we are talking about new and renewable this is an important step in that direction yes and the country with the climate change all the responsibilities will help in that as well because if from the roof of the houses the electricity will start to be generated this scheme is looking like that if you have a roof then through the solar panel you can use the electricity to use it for your house and if it is extra then you can give it to the grid some kind of scheme in non metro cities where in Delhi no one has their own roof mostly they have it but in the cities outside of Delhi in Nagpur and Indore you will see that by taking some loans by taking loans at a very cheap rate the problem is that it doesn't have to be cost effective you have to invest a lot at one time if the panels are cheap then this scheme is definitely for everyone for consumers and for the government I think that ultimately we are shifting from diesel to electric but that too is not the last thought it is not the destination now the analysis is coming out that solar energy is going to be our destination so there is a small effort when technology will develop then I think we will harness a lot of solar energy but a big thing that was being said that it is the election year then something can happen something can be met we will talk about that Rajnath Singh, why don't you listen we are completely confident thank you very much and that was also because in the 2019 budget there were some changes that were done and some ideas that were found this time there is nothing like that does Shishir does not show that the government is very confident about the elections absolutely Kishore, we were going to use that that this government's trust only shows that if it is any other way Mr. Lashik Arman has sent an interim budget or it is not a falsary budget but whatever the interim budget is it is very heavy it is very heavy it is very heavy and for the future there are more hopes and the size of the economy of India is as much as it is I am completely disappointed that the size of the economy that is in 5 countries of the world will be more than 5 trillion by 2027 and by 2030 will be more than 7 trillion the one road map of 2037 or that road map we will achieve that target we are completely confident thank you very much Mr. Rajnath Singh Mr. Alok, the government is so confident that this interim budget was actually an interim budget there was nothing in it but if you will read the documents of the budget in fine details it is said that in 9 years per capita income 1.97 lakhs has doubled it is said that in 10 years it is the 5th economy and in India's mission there is an interim and a big event that we have done 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and also the white paper comparing 2014-15 to the white paper is comparing it where it was and where it came the performance report and report card we do this in stats sir will also have the idea that when we take the framework of 10 years then things look spectacularly different like my salary 10 years ago now it doubled in 10 years when we show the framework of 10 years then things are more impressive so I don't think it is very smart but now with tax we don't have such a concrete on which you can say that after this budget there will be changes in the lives of these people particularly with the middle class that we will find out after July with the middle class there will be a lot of changes like our friend told us that there is so much confidence that it is not a worry we are coming the confidence is clearly visible the thing that was happening in the morning that the government should be doing something so this is the government's statement there are so many small things we don't have to show them they are doing something solid in the coming days when we are moving towards the development of India this budget is a big stepping stone from my point of view if we consider that budget as the biggest announcement Prime Minister Narendra Modi said about Jai Anush Sandhan he didn't say to make it clear in today's budget a corpus fund was announced which the private sector or institutional body wants to take a loan for the last 50 years the interest free loan is available its direct profit the new generation of India keeping in mind the necessity of the world of technology the new generation of India has full power it has become a national education innovation is taking the form of a people and this budget of 1 lakh crore has been made a level playing field in the coming days India as a country along with the problems India's employment India's the age of living India will have to bring a full income 1 crore 40 lakh people have been skilled and last 10 years they have been called PM Sri new university new IIT new IIM all these differences are one step in that direction the scale of India 1 crore 40 lakh people have been told to do skill reskilling in the coming days this budget will hold capital spending how many new one more thing Dharmendra has mentioned 1 lakh crore corpus to increase R&D to increase research and development if any company wants to invest in research and development 1 lakh crore corpus has been announced this is an important step the start-ups will be given at a low rate this is a big step because financial issues especially small start-ups don't get financial assistance very easily start-ups get global financing this is a big issue the way it falls on the ground this is a very positive direction because from IT you will get it easily but you don't have qualification your idea is great so if you give it a small start-up there is one more thing if we are in the competitive age we don't have R&D related facilities if we promote it I think we have good production good skill if we can develop in R&D sector in the coming time we will be able to fulfill that dream once again, let's take a look at the budget the budget was limited there was no change in the income tax last time there was no change