A quick snapshot of the Union budget, in simple bullet point format - will be a ready reckoner of sorts. Information that can be used by anyone who wants to know the higlights

1.  Income Tax rate cut to 5 pc for individualshavingincome betweenRs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh
 10 pc surcharge on individual income above Rs 50 lakh and upto Rs 1 cr to make up for Rs
15,000 cr lossof due to cut in personal I-T rate
 15 pc surcharge on income above Rs 1 cr to continue
 Of 3.7 cr individualswhofiledtax returns in2015-16, 99 lakh showedincome below
exemptionlimit
 Revenue deficitreducedto2.1 pc from 2.3 pc for 2016-17
 Govt pegsfiscal deficittarget at 3.2 per cent for 2017-18 and 3 per cent for nextyear.
 Demonetisationwill helpintransfer of resourcesfrom tax evaders to government.
 Mergerof Railways Budget with General Budgetbrings focuson a multi-modal approach for
developmentofrailways,highways and inlandwater transport
 Govt took two tectonic policyinitiatives – passage ofGST Bill and demonetisation
 WorldBank expectsGDPgrowth rate at 7.6 pc in FY18 and 7.8 pc in FY19
 Allocationunder MNREGAincreasedto 48,000 crore from Rs 38,500 crore. This ishighestever
allocation
 Rs 9,000 cr higherallocation for paymentof sugarcane arrears
 Target of agriculture creditfixedat Rs 10 lakh cr in 2017-18
 National Testingagency to conduct all examinationsinhigher education,freeingCBSE and
other agencies
 133-km road perday constructred underPradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana as against 73-km
in 2011-14

2.  Govt to set up dairy processingfundof Rs 8,000 crore overthree years withinitial corpus ofRs
2,000 crore
 1 cr householdsto be brought out of povertyunder Antodya Scheme
 Participation ofwomen in MNREGAincreasedto 55 pc from 45 pc in past
 Modernlaw on contract farmingwill be drafted and circulatedto states
 Dedicatedmicro-irrigationfund to be createdwith a corpus of Rs 5000 crore
 Market reforms will be undertaken,states will be askedto denotifyperishablesfromEssential
CommoditiesAct
 Space technologyto be usedfor monitoringMNREGA implementation
 Sanitation coverage in villageshas increasedfrom 42 pc in Oct 2016 to 60 pc, a rise of 18 pc,
says FM
 We propose to provide safe drinking water to 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affectedhabitations
 To construct one crore housesby 2019 for homeless.PMAwas Yojana allocation raisedfrom
Rs 15,000 cr to Rs 23,000 cr
 100 pc electrificationofvillagestobe completedby May 2018
 27,000 cr on to be spendon PMGSY;1 cr housesto be completedby 2017-18 for houseless
 PM Kaushal Kendras will be extendedto 600 districts; 100 international skill centresto be
openedto helppeople getjobs abroad
 The allocationfor rural agri and alliedsectorin 2017-18 is record Rs 1,81,223 crore
 In highereducation,we will undertake reforms in UGC,give autonomy to collegesand
institutions

3.  A system ofannual learning outcome in schoolsto be introduced;innovation fundfor
secondary educationto be set up
 Two new AIIMS to be setup Jharkhand and Gujarat
 Newrules regardingmedical deviceswill be devisedto reduce their cost
 1.5 lakh health sub centresto be convertedto Health WellnessCentres
 National HousingBank will refinance indiviual loansworth Rs 20,000 crore in 2017-18
 Rs 500 cr allocatedto set up Mahila Shakti Kendras; Allocationraisedfrom Rs 1.56 lakh cr to
Rs 1.84 lakh cr for women& childwelfare.
 Capital and developmentexpenditure peggedatRs 1.31 lakh cr for railways in 2017-18 from
Budget
 Allocationfor SCs increasedfrom Rs 38,833 cr to Rs 52,393 cr, a rise of 35 per cent
 35 pc increase inallocation for SC to Rs 52,393 cr
 For seniorcitizens,Aadhaar basedhealth cards will be issued
 Model Shops and EstablishmentBill to open up additional opportunitiesforemploymentof
women
 Selectairports in tier-IIcitiesto be taken up for operations,developmentonPPP mode
 Newmetro rail policy to be unveiled
 Railway tariffs to be fixedonthe basis of cost, social obligationand competition
 Service charge on e-ticketsbookedthrough IRCTC will be withdrawn
 Delhi and Jaipur to have solid waste management plantsand five more to be set up later
 GovernmentproposesCoach Mitra facilityto redress grievancesrelatedto rail coaches

4.  500 stationswill be differentlyabledbyprovidingliftsand escalators
 Unmannedrailway level crossingsto be eliminatedby2020
 Railway line of 3,500 km will be commissionedin2017-18 as against 2,800 km in 2016-17
 Total allocation for rural, agri and alliedsectorsfor 2017-18 is a record Rs 1,87,223 cr, up 24
per cent from last year
 Rs 1 lakh cr corpus for railway safety fundover five years
 A scheme for seniorcitizensto ensure 8 per cent guaranteedreturns
 Dedicatedmicro-irrigationfund to be setup by NABARD to achieve missionof Per Drop, More
Crop
 Digi Gaonwill be launchedto promote tele-medicineandeducation
 Crude oil strategic reservesto be set up in Odishaand Rajasthan apart from 3 already
constructed
 Coverage of Fasal Bima Yojana to go up from 30 pc of cropped area to 40 pc in 2017-18 and 50
per cent nextyear
 For transport sector,includingrailways, road and shipping,governmentprovidesRs 2.41 lakh
crore
 Allocationof Rs 10,000 cr for Bharat Netproject for providinghigh-speedbroadbandin FY18
 Allocationfor national highways steppedupto Rs 64,000 cr from Rs 57,676 cr
 Budget allocationfor highways steppedup to Rs 64,000 crore in FY18 from Rs 57,676 crore
 Dispute resolutionin infrastructure projects in PPPmode will be institutionalised

5.  Rs 2,74,114 crore allocatedfor defence expenditure,excludingpension;ThisincludesRs
86,000 crore for defence capital
 Govt to furtherliberalise FDIpolicy
 Over 90 per cent ofFDI proposlsare now processedthrough automatic route
 FIPB will be abolished
 Trade Infrastructure Export Scheme to be launched in2017-18; total allocation for infra at
record Rs 3.96 lakh cr
 Secondphase of solar power developmenttobe taken up with an aim of generating20,000
MW
 After demonetisationonNov8 last year, depositof betweenRs 2 lakh and Rs 80 lakh made in
1.09 cr bank accounts at an average of Rs 5.03 lakh till Dec 30
 More fundsbeyondRs 10,000 cr for recapitalisationofbanks will be providedif needed
 The shares ofrailway CPSCslike IRCTC and IRFC to be listedon various stock exchanges
 Of 76 lakh individualswhoreported income of overRs 5 lakh,56 lakh are salaried
 Integratedpublic sector oil major to be created to match global giants
 Govt will amendthe Multi-state Cooperative Actto protect the poor and gullible investors
 Urgentneedto protect poor from chit fundschemes,draft bill placed inpublic domain
 Computeremergencyresponse team to be set for cyber securityof financial sector
 Govt to introduce two new schemesto promote BHIM App – referal bonusfor users and cash
back for traders
 Govt doublesdistributiontargetunder Mudra Yojana to Rs 2.44 lakh crore for 2017-18

6.  Over Rs 80 lakh depositsin 1.48 lakh cr at an average of Rs 3.31 cr peraccount ..
 Customs duty on LNG halved to 2.5 pc
 FPI to be exemptfromindirecttransfer provisions
 Political partiescan receive donationsin cheque,electronicmode;electoral bondsto be
issuedby RBI
 Maximumamount of cash donation a political party can receive will be Rs 2000 from any one
source as part of effortto clean political funding
 Total expenditure inFY18 at Rs 21.47 lakh cr
 Duty exemptedon variousPOS machines and iris readersto encourage digital payments
 Rs 7,200 cr revenue lossdue to reductionin tax on smallercompanies
 Govt mullingintroductionof legal changesto confiscate assetsof offenders,including
economicoffenders,whoflee the country
 Govt to set up a web-basedinteractive platformfor defence pensioners
 Head post officesto issue passports
 Govt consideringoptionto amend Negotiable InstrumentsActto ensure that holdersof
dishonouredchequesgetpayment
 FRBM reviewcommittee has recommended60 pc debtto GDP ratio; 0.5 pc of GDP deviation
from stipulatedfiscal deficittargets
 Payment regulatoryboard to be setup in RBI to regulate electronicpayments,replacingBoard
for Regulationand Supervisionin Paymentsand SettlementsSystem

7.  3 yr periodfor long-termcapital gains tax on immovalble propertyreducedto 2 years; base
year indexationshiftedfrom1.4.1981 to 1.4.2001
 A proposal to receive all governmentreceiptsbeyonda certain thresholdthrough e-modes
under consideration
 GST implementationtobring more taxes to Centre and states
 No transaction above Rs 3 lakh in cash will be allowedas suggestedby SIT
 Customs duty on LNG to be reducedfrom 5 pc to 2.5 pc
 To make MSME companies more viable,govt proposesto reduce IT tax with annual turn over
of Rs 50 core up to 25 per cent
 I-T for smallercos with turnover of upto Rs 50 cr up to 25 per cent
 Not possible to remove MAT leviedonadvance tax for now; carry forward allowedfor 15 yrs
insteadof 10 yrs
 Relaxationin norms for Start Ups for gettingtax exemption
 Solar temperedglass usedfor manufacture of solar cells/panelsexemptedfromcustomsduty
 Import duty on aluminiumores and concentrates raisedto 30 pc from nil presently
 Actual revenue losson tax proposalsRs 22,700 cr; gain from additional resource mobilisation
is Rs 2,700 cr
 Netrevenue lossfrom direct tax proposals to be about Rs 20,000 cr
 Excise duty on pan masala containing tobacco (Gutkha) raised to 12 pc from 10 pc
 Excise duty on non-filtercigarettesof length not exceeding65 mm raisedto Rs 311 per
thousand from Rs 215 per thousand