Reacting to the Interim Union Budget 2019-20, Pradeep Tandon, Chairman, FICCI-Chhattisgarh State Council has said that it is a progressive budget that addresses the current challenges being faced by the economy .
FICCI compliments the Central Government for its clear focus on the agriculture sector, particularly the small and marginal farmers, the middle class, senior citizens, small-savers and workers in the unorganised sector. The budget contains several comprehensive proposals that would benefit each of these sections of our society, a FICCI press release informed .
Our farmers have been facing a series of challenges. To alleviate some of the hardships being faced by small and marginal farmers, the Government has announced a Direct Income Support scheme under which an amount of Rs 6000 per annum will be provided to farmers having cultivable land of up to two hectares. This would benefit 12 crore farmer families, Tandon stated.
FICCI had suggested the need for Direct Income Support for farmers and is happy to see its inclusion in the budget. This is critical as through this measure the government will be able to cover all the small and marginal farmers, he said.
Another high point of the budget is the announcement of a mega pension program to provide social security to workers engaged in the unorganised sector. “This very well complements the support rendered to them through the healthcare and life insurance schemes already announced earlier and completes the social safety net which is so essential for crores of workers in the informal sector, Tandon said.
The proposals related to direct tax now offer a full tax rebate to individuals having an annual taxable income of upto Rs 5 lakh. This would be extremely beneficial for the lower middle-class taxpayers comprising self-employed, small businesses, small traders, salary earners, pensioners and senior citizens. In addition to this, the increase in the standard deduction limit, the threshold for TDS on interest income from bank and post office deposits, upward revision of TDS threshold for tax on rental income, exempt of levy of income tax on notional rent on second self-occupied house and extension of exemption of capital gains to second residential property of up to Rs 2 crore, are all noteworthy measures, he said.
