Budget 2015: Reform Based Focus

Key proposals of Budget 2015* Fiscal deficit target for FY16 set at 3.9 per cent of GDP and Revenue Deficit at 2.8 per cent of GDP* Direct Transfer of Benefits to be extended further to increase number of beneficiaries from 1 crore to 10.3 crore* National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to be established with an annual flow of Rs 20,000 crores to it* Corporate tax to be reduced from 30% to 25% over the next four years, starting FY16* Limit of deduction of health insurance premium increased from Rs 15000 to Rs 25000, for senior citizens limit increased from Rs 20000 to Rs 30000* Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank, with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore, and credit guarantee corpus of Rs 3,000 crore to be created* Tax free infrastructure bonds for the projects in the rail, road and irrigation sectors* Forward Markets Commission to be merged with SEBI* Visas on arrival to be increased to 150 countries in stages* National skill mission to consolidate skill initiatives spread across several ministries to be launched* New All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) to be set up in J&K, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Assam* Evasion of tax in relation to foreign assets to have a punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 10 years* Wealth-tax replaced with additional surcharge of 2 per cent on super rich with a taxable income of over Rs 1 crore