Budget 2019 Updates: Just a trailer of Budget which will come after elections, says PM Modi

Months before the general elections, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday announced sops and schemes to woo farmers, poor and the middle-class salaried workers. While a direct income scheme of Rs 6,000 per year for small farmers was announced by the finance minister, salaried employees got a huge tax break. 

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet, which is facing increasing criticism over several issues like rising farmer distress, loss of jobs and a lower growth rate, the Budget was a do or die attempt. The government focused on wooing its three key constituencies -- farmers, the middle class-women-senior citizens segment and small businesses.

Highlights of Budget 2019 speech

Goyal, who examined the final copy of the interim budget document on Thursday evening, started his Budget 2019 speech in the Lok Sabha at 11 am and spoke for nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes. Goyal was appointed interim Finance Minister on January 23 with Arun Jaitley undergoing treatment in the United States.

Follow Union Budget 2019 LIVE here.

While the Finance Minister made a landmark announcement of providing Rs 6,000 as assured income to poor and marginalised farmers annually, he also said that MNREGA allocation has been set at Rs 60,000 crore to create employment opportunities.

Just before concluding his speech, he spurned a surprise. Individual taxpayers having annual taxable income upto 5 lakh will get a full tax rebate, Goyal announced, inviting luud thumping of tables ad sloganeering in the Parliament.

Live Updates: 

15:37 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  The unorganised sector needed more safeguarding of their interests and the budget has done so. The PM Shram Yogi Man Dhan Yojana will strengthen their lives. Ayushman Bharat Yojana and social security schemes are also going to touch their lives: PM Modi

15:36 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: For years, many initiatives have been initiated for farmers but sadly, lot of farmers never came under the ambit of these schemes. The PM Kisan Nidhi will help those farmers who have under 5 acres of land. This scheme is a historic step for farmer welfare: PM Modi

15:35 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: I congratulate the middle class for the relief in taxes. I salute the middle class for their stellar contribution towards the development of the nation: PM 

15:34 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Over 12 crore farmers and their families, over 3 crores salaried professionals and their families will gain. It is good to see more people being removed from the shackles of poverty. Our Neo-middle class is rising and so are their dreams: PM

15:33 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: From middle class to labourers, from farmers’ growth to the development of businessmen, from manufacturing to MSME sector, from growth of the economy to development of New India, everyone has been taken care of in this interim budget: PM Modi

15:31 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: From housing to healthcare, several aspects have been touched in the interim budget. The development initiatives of the NDA government have touched several lives: Modi

15:30 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: This Interim Budget is just a trailer of the Budget which, after elections, will take India on the path to development: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

14:30 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Those sitting in AC rooms cannot understand the plight of the small farmers. Keeping this in mind, we have introduced Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. This is a historic decision: Piyush Goyal

14:20 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: The budget has met the expectations of farmers, labourers & middle class. By bearing a cost of Rs 75,000 crore, the govt will implement Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. This scheme will also benefit those farmers who do not take loans: BJP Chief Amit Shah

13:20 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: The whole exercise has turned out to be a damn squib. We've seen one good thing that is tax exemption for the middle class. Rs 6000 in income support for farmers boils down to Rs 500 per month. Is that supposed to enable them to live with the honour&dignity?: Shashi Tharoor, Congress

Check the highlights of Finance Minister Piyush Goyal's Budget 2019 speech: 

12:40 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Development became a Jan Andolan (people's movement) under the present Government: FM

12:39 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: This is not just an Interim Budget, this is a vehicle for the developmental transformation of the nation: FM

Expert take- Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Partner, TASS Advisors: A surprise in the middle of his speech. Individual taxpayers having annual taxable income upto 5 lakh to get full tax rebate. So if a person has made an investment of Rs. 150000 under section 80C and now the exemption limit of Rs. 500000. He would not have to pay any tax upto Rs. 6,50,000 of his income.

• This would benefit the lower and middle class tax payers.
• TDS threshold for rent (sec 194I) has been increased from 1,80,000 to 2,40,000.
• LTCG Exemption u/s 54 available on 2 residential houses for gains upto Rs 2 crore which can be availed once in lifetime.
• Exempt levy of INcome tax of notional rent on second house property.
• For salaried persons - standard deduction raised from 40,000 to 50,000. 
• TDS threshold limit on interest raised from 10,000 to 40,000.
• Standard deduction also increased from 40k to 50k to benefit small income group.

12:38 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Benefits under Sec 80(i)BA being extended for one more year, for all housing projects approved till end of 2019-2020: FM

12:37 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: TDS threshold on rental income raised from 1.8 lakh to 2.4 lakh rupees: FM Goyal

12:36 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: TDS threshold on interest on bank and post office deposits raised from 10,000 to40,000 

12:35 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Standard tax deduction for salaried persons raised from 40,000 rupees to 50,000 rupees: FM 

12:34 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Around 3 crore middle class taxpayers will get tax exemption due to this measure: FM 

12:33 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Individuals with gross income up to 6.5 lakh rupees will not need to pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities: FM

12:32 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Individual taxpayers with annual income up to Rs 5 lakh to get full tax rebate, announces FM 

12:30 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: FM Goyal proposes changes in taxation

12:29 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: On behalf of all the people of India and our Government, thank all our taxpayers for their valuable contribution to nation-building and for providing a better quality of life to poor and marginalized: FM 

12:28 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Amendments proposed to ensure streamlined system for levy of stamp duties, to be imposed and collected at one place, seamlessly: FM

12:27 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Along with completion of fiscal deficit consolidation programme, we will now focus on debt-to-GDP ratio consolidation: FM 

12:26 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 56,619 crore made in BE 2018-19 for welfare of SCs and STs, increased to 62,474 crore in RE 2018-19 has been further increased to 76,800 crore in BE 2019-20: FM

12:25 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Capital expenditure - 3.36,292 lakh crore, says FM 

12:25 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: FM announces fiscal deficit as a proportion of GDP - 3.4% for the coming year, considering need for income support for farmers. Expenditure to rise by 13% from RE 2018-19 to BE 2019-20: FM

12:24 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 10) Minimum Government Maximum Governance, with proactive, responsible and friendly bureaucracy, electronic governance is the 10th dimension of our vision for India for 2030: FM Shri Piyush Goyal  

12:23 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 9) Healthy India, with distress-free and comprehensive wellness system for all is the ninth dimension of our vision for 2030

12:22 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 8) Self-sufficiency in food and improving agricultural productivity with emphasis on organic food

12:22 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 7) India becoming launchpad of the world, placing an Indian astronaut in space by 2022

12:21 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 6) Oceans and coastlines is the sixth dimension of our vision for 2030:

12:20 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 5) Clean Rivers - with safe drinking water to all Indians, sustaining and nourishing life, using micro-irrigation techniques; long coastline can be pivotal for the economy, using strength of blue economy and SagarMala

12:20 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 4) Expanding rural industrialization using modern industrial technologies, based on Make In India approach, using grassroot MSMEs and startups across the country

12:19 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 3) Clean and Green India - an India that drives electric vehicles, with renewables becoming major source of energy, bringing down import dependence and increasing energy security for our people

12:18 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 2) To build a Digital India that reaches every citizen, our youth will lead us in this, by creating innumerable startups and jobs

12:17 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 1) To build next-gen infrastructure - physical as well as social - for a 10 trillion dollar economy and to provide Ease of Living

12:17 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: FM Goyal underlines 10 most important dimensions that will guide the Government in Vision 2030

12:16 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: We are poised to become a 5 trillion dollar economy in the next five years, we aspire to become a 10 trillion dollar economy in the next eight years: FM

12:15 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 18% increase in direct tax collections in 2017-18, 1.06 crore people included in tax base; more than 1 crore citizens filed IT returns for the first time, after demonetization: FM

12:13 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Committed to eliminating the ills of black money; anti-blackmoney measures taken have brought undisclosed income of about 1.30 lakh crore rupees to the surface; 3.38 lakh shell companies deregistered: FM

12:12 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Indian Customs is implementing full digitization of exim transactions and leveraging RFID for logistics: FM

Expert take- Sanjay Agarwal, Partner, TASS Advisors:

It is seen that the expectation has been crushed for a common man who was wishing to get some higher exemption and also some more benefit under 80c. The budget just kept silent on these aspects which has been highly disappointing.

12:10 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 14% growth in state tax collections was guaranteed and underwritten by Government of India: FM

12:09 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: GST collections in January 2019 has crossed 1 lakh crore rupees: FM 

12:07 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Businesses with less than Rs. 5 crore annual turnover, comprising over 90% of GST payers, will be allowed to return quarterly returns: FM

Expert take -   Joe Verghese, Managing Director, Colliers International India:

After the first budget in 2014-15, the real estate/construction industry has not been a big focus for the government. Significantly, enhancing the exemption limit for the general category of individual tax payers would been seen as a big positive by the salaried class and would also help increasing the buying power of the potential homebuyer, thereby boosting the real estate industry while also assisting in achieving the "housing for all" objective:

12:07 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Group of Ministers examining how prospective house buyers can benefit under GST: FM 

12:06 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: GST has been continuously reduced, resulting in relief of 80,000 crore rupees to consumers; most items of daily use for poor and middle class are now in the 0%-5% tax bracket: FM Goyal 

12:05 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: GST  is the undoubtedly the biggest taxation reform implemented since Independence; through tax consolidation, India became one common market; inter-state movements became faster through e-way bills, improving: FM 

12:04 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Impactful steps taken in reducing tax, bringing benefits for middle class citizens: FM 

12:03 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Within almost two years, almost all assessment and verification of IT returns will be done electronically by an anonymized tax system without any intervention by tax officials: FM

12:02 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 99.54% returns have been accepted without any scrutiny: FM

12:02 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Direct tax collections from 6.38 lakh crore rupees in 2013-14 to almost 12 lakh crore rupees; tax base up from 3.79 crore to 6.85 crore: FM 

12:01 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Simplification of direct tax system will benefit taxpayers; direct tax reduced and tax interface made simpler and faceless to make life easier; resulting in increase in tax collections and return filings: FM 

12:00 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Single window clearance for filmmaking to be made available to Indian filmmakers, anit-camcording provision to be introduced to Cinematography Act to combat film privacy: FM 

11:59 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 34 crore JanDhan Yojana accounts opened in last five years; Aadhaar almost universally implemented; ensuring poor and middle class receive government benefits directly: FM Goyal 

Expert take-  Sanjay Agarwal of Tass Advisors:

100000 digital villages to be created in next 5 years. A move to connected rural population with urban population a good move to support growth and development of poor. 

11:58 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Cost of data and voice calls in India is now possibly the lowest in the world; mobile and mobile part manufacturing companies have increased from 2 to 268: FM Goyal

11:57 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  2% interest subvention to farmers for animal husbandry: FM

11:56 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Allocation for NorthEastern Region proposed to be increased to 58,166 crore in this year, a 21% rise over previous year: FM

11:55 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Urgent action needed to increase hydrocarbon production to decrease imports; change in bidding procedure and exploration procedure being implemented: FM Goyal

11:54 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Our commitment to promote renewable energy is reflected in our initiative to set up International Solar Alliance; installed solar generation capacity has increased 10 times in last five years; lakhs of new jobs being created by the sector: FM

11:53 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Vande Bharat Express will provide speed, service and safety to citizens and will give a boost to Make In India: FM

11:52 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:India is the fastest highway developer in the whole world, 27 kms of highways built each day, projects stuck for decades completed; Sagar Mala will help faster handling of import and export cars: FM Goyal 

11:51 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Defence budget enhanced beyond 3 lakh crore rupees, will be allocated more if needed: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:50 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Construction of rural roads has been tripled; 15.8 lakh out of a total 17.84 lakh habitations have been connected with pucca roads under PMGSY. PMGSY allocated 19,000 crore rupees in 2019-20: FM Piyush Goyal

11:49 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Already disbursed 35,000 crore rupees for our soldiers under OROP, substantial hike in military service pay has been announced: FM Goyal 

11:48 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:Our soldiers are our pride and honour; OROP, pending for last 40 years, has been implemented by us: FM Goyal

11:47 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Transactions of more than 17,500 crore rupees on Government e-Marketplace, resulting in savings of 25%-28%: FM 

11:47 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Rs 1 crore loan can now be obtained under 59 minutes: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:46 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 9 nine priority areas identified; National Artificial Intelligence Portal to be developed soon: FM Piyush Goyal

11:45 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Within a short time of launch of Ayushman Bharat, the healthcare scheme, nearly 10 lakh people have benefited and have saved around 3000 crore  rupees of their hard earned income: FM Piyush Goyal

11:44 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: India's youth have turned job creators from job seekers, India has become the second largest hub for startups: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:43 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 75% of woman beneficiaries under PM Mudra Yojana, 26 weeks of maternity leave and Pradhan Mantri Matritva Yojana, are all empowering women: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:42 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Govt has already provided 6 crore of targeted 8 crore gas connections to rural households under the Ujjawala scheme: FM

11:41 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Committee under NITI Aayog to be set up to identify and denotify nomadic and semi-nomadic communities; Welfare Development Board to be set up under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for welfare of these hard-to-reach communities and for tailored strategic interventions: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:40 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Will benefit 10 crore workers in unorganised sector, may become the world's biggest pension scheme for unorganised sector in five years: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:39 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Mega Pension Yojana, namely Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan, to provide assured monthly pension of 3000 rupees per month, with contribution of 100 rupees per month, for workers in unorganized sector after 60 years of age: FM Shri Piyush Goyal

11:38 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 50% of the GDP comes from sweat and toil of 42 crore workers in unorganized sector: FM Shri Piyush Goyal

11:36 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Gratuity limit increased from 10 lakh to 30 lakh rupees: FM

11:33 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: High growth and formalization of economy has resulted in increased EPFO membership by 2 crore in last two years: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:32 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: In place of rescheduling of crop loans, all farmers severely affected by severe natural calamities will get 2% interest subvention and additional 3% interest subvention upon timely repayment: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:31 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 2% interest subvention to farmers pursuing animal husbandry and fisheries: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:30 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Increased allocation for Rashtriya Gokul Mission to 750 crore in current year: FM Piyush Goyal

11:29 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: This initiative will benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers, at an estimated cost of Rs. 75,000 crore, this will enable farmers to earn a respectable living: FM Piyush Goyal

11:28 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Rs 6,000 rupees per year for each farmer,  in three installments, to be transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts, for farmers with less than 2 hectares land holding: FM Piyush Goyal

11:28 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: The scheme will be implemented from December 1, 2018: FM

11:27 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: To provide assured income support for small and marginal farmers, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi has been approved: FM Piyush Goyal

11:25 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to farmers, says Goyal

11:24 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: The 4R approach and a number of measures have been implemented to ensure clean banking : FM Piyush Goyal 1.Recognition, 2.Resolution, 3.Recapitalization, 4.Reforms

11:23 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: For welfare of farmers and for doubling their income, historic decision taken to increase MSP by 1.5 times the production cost for all 22 crops: FM

11:22 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 22nd AIIMS to be set up in Haryana: FM Piyush Goyal

11:22 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 21 AIIMSs operating or being established, 14 of these have been announced since 2014: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:21 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Ayushman Bharat, the world's largest healthcare programme, launched to provide medical care to nearly 50 crore people, resulting in 3,000 crore savings by families of poor sections: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:20 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: During 2014-18, 1.53 crore houses have been constructed under PM Awas Yojana: FM Piyush Goyal 

11:20 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Pace of construction of rural roads has been tripled under our tenure: FM

11:19 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: From empty promises in the past, targeted expenditure has been undertaken to improve quality of life in villages; we aim to bring development, preserving the soul of villages: FM

11:19 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: India is solidly back on track and marching towards growth and prosperity: FM Piyush Goyal

11:18 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: 1,70,000 crore spent for bringing food at affordable rates to poor people: FM 

11:17 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Efforts taken to bring full representation for economically weak backward classes, by giving them reservation in jobs and education: FM

11:16 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: As a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, world's largest behavioural change movement Swachh Bharat initiated; more than 98% rural sanitation coverage has been achieved; more than 5.45 lakh villages declared ODF: mindset change achieved, becoming a Jan Andolan: FM  

11:15 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Efforts have been initiated to bring full representation for economically weak backward classes, by giving them reservation in jobs and education, says FM Goyal

11:14 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Confident that given the pace of reforms in banking sector, other banks too will recover: FM

11:13 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Recapitalization of banks amounting to 2.6 lakh crore has been done: FM  

11:12 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Close to 3 lakh crore already recovered in favour of banks and creditors, big defaulters too not spared by our government: FM

11:11 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Number of measures implemented to ensure clean banking, a resolution friendly mechanism has been instituted for recovery of non-performing loans: FM 

11:10 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: The next-gen reforms in last five years have set the stage for decades of high growth: FM

11:08 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Fiscal deficit has been brought down to 3.4% in the revised estimate of 2018-19: FM

11:06 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Hamara sarkar  ne kamar tod mehngai ki kamar hi tod di: Piyush Goyal

11:06 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Inflation is a hidden and unfair tax; from 10.1% during 2009-14, we have broken the back of back-breaking inflation. Inflation in December 2018 was just 2.1%: FM: FM

11:05 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: I can proudly say India is back on track and moving towards progress and prosperity, says Goyal

11:03 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: FM Piyush Goyal begins Budget speech

10:29 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: They'll try to introduce populist schemes in the Budget keeping an eye on Lok Sabha polls. Budgets they've presented so far haven’t really benefitted general public. Only ‘Jumlas’ will come out today. They've only 4 months when will they implement the schemes?: Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress

10:25 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: The last five budgets have been dedicated to the farmers, the government's sixth budget will also be for the farmers, it will empower them: Radha Mohan Singh, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare 

10:18 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: Sensex up by 151.44 points, currently trading at 36,408.13

10:17 IST Friday, 1 February 2019: The way the government has increased the investment in railways, from installing CCTV cameras to WiFi, I believe further investment in railways will certainly be increased: Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railways

10:08 IST Friday, 1 February 2019:  Finance Minister Piyush Goyal arrives at the Parliament with the Budget briefcase.

The Interim Budget, also known as a vote on account, will seek the Parliament’s nod for meeting the expenditure for the first six months of new fiscal—2019-20. A full-fledged Budget will be presented in Parliament once the new Central government is formed after the General Elections, due in March-April.