Valuable Suggestions For Main Budget

Expectations From The General Budget-AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party wishes to remind the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi of the promises that he and his party had made during elections. We sincerely hope that these promises were not merely slogans to garner votes and the Modi Government is serious about them. The first General Budget of the NDA government will be a test of its sincerity of the promises made in BJP’s manifesto.

 

Here is the wish list of the common man of this country from this general budget :

• IT Exemption Limit be raised to Rs 3.6 Lakh, it translates into Rs 30,000 per month which is very reasonable in the high cost of living in metro cities like Delhi.
• IT exemption Section 80C Limit - Should be increased to at least Rs 2 Lakh. This will spur savings also, saving rate of India has fallen dramatically.
• Limit for exemption for Medical reimbursement perquisites should be increased to Rs. 50000/- from existing Rs. 15000/- to meet the increased cost of Medical services.
• Home loan Interest exemption limit for self-occupied house was fixed at Rs. 1,50,000/- in. 2002-03 and even after 12 Years the limit remains the same. The Limit should be raised to Rs 3 Lakh considering the rise in prices of property across the country.
• Transport Allowance – The transportation allowance granted by the employer to his employee for commuting between the place of work and residence is tax-free to the extent of Rs 800 per month. This limit was fixed more than a decade ago, and needs to be revised upwards to at least Rs 3,000 per month, given the rising commuting costs.
• Faster process of Income Tax Refund – Income Tax Refund needs to be processed faster and taxpayers should not be penalized for deficit in revenue target by withholding the refunds and further there should be a mechanism which can insure that taxpayers should not be penalized for mistakes of tax deductor.

The Aam Aadmi Party hopes that the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitely would remember his party’s promise to attend to the issue of price rise and inflation, and therefore, as promised, would:

• Make financial provision to set up special Courts to stop hoarding and black marketing.
• Set up of Price Stablisation Fund
• Announce unbundling of FCI operation into procurement, storage and distribution for greater efficiency.
• Make financial provisions to introduce technology to disseminate real time data, especially to farmers – on production, prices, imports, stocks and overall availability.
• Announce setting up of “National Agriculture Market”
• Announce incentives for area specific crops and vegetables linked to food habits of the people.

Aam Aadmi Party also hope that the employment generation remains the main focus area of the budget and to address the issue, the Finance Minister would

• Announce special job generation initiatives in labour-intensive manufacturing (viz. textile,footwear, electronics assembly, etc.) and Tourism.
• Give due modernization boost to the traditional employment bases of agriculture and allied industries, stronger credit availability and market linkages are ensured for the same.
• Due attention is accorded to the real estate and infrastructure sector for its job generation potential.
• Make special provisions for promoting self employment, and promoting entrepreneurship. Easy credit is made available to start ups.
• Sets up mission for skill development.
• Overhaul the employment exchange system.

The Aam Aadmi Partry also hopes that the eastern part of the country gets due attention of the Finance Minister as promised in BJP Manifesto.

The BJP had also promised to move from Public Private Partnership (PPP) to People Public Private Partnership (PPPP) in its manifesto. But the Railways Minister forgot about this promise while drafting the rail budget. We hope the Finance Minister spells out in the budget speech what his party meant by it. We would also expect the FM to show his commitment to the cause by announcing initiatives in this direction.

 

The BJP had also promised judicial, administrative, police and electoral reforms which involved setting up new courts to deliver instant justice, Introduction of technology, police modernization and training. These reforms are crucial to inclusive growth and delivery of justice. We demand that these areas get due attention of the Finance Minister in his budget speech.

• The government had also promised to identify 100 most backward districts and bring them at par with other districts. Budget provision must be made to fulfill this promise.
• Social justice agenda cannot be put on the back burner.  As promised in the manifesto, the Finance Minister should make special provisions for the welfare of the girl child.
• The government should make budgetary provision for setting up of education network for tribals, upgrading housing, water and health facilities for them and electrification of tribal hamlets and provision of all-weather roads.
• The government must also fulfill its promise to enhance the tax saving limit for senior citizens.
• As promised, the govt should set up Acid Attack Victims Welfare Fund.