Smart Cities find no mention in Budget 2015
The ambitious Digital India programme, an integral plank of PM Modi's government, was "making good progress", said the Finance Minister.
By Mehak Chawla, ET Online | Updated:
Touted as one of the key pet projects of PM Narendra Modi, Smart Cities, an area that had been allocated funds of Rs.7060 crore in the previous budget presentation of FM Arun Jaitley, has found no mention in the Budget speech this year around.
The IT, Infrastructure and Realty sectors were all looking forward to some implementation announcements on the smart cities front. The Digital India and the Make in India Progam however found significant mention in FM's speech.
The ambitious Digital India programme, an integral plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, was "making good progress", said the Finance Minister on Saturday.
An overall sum of Rs 2,510 crore has been set aside in the budget for 2015-16 under the head "Digital India Programme and Telecommunications and Electronic Industries".
Digital India is a Rs 1.13-lakh crore government initiative that seeks to transform the country into a connected economy, attract investment in electronics manufacturing, and create millions of jobs and support trade.
The IT industry, including companies like Cisco, Hitachi Data Systems, HP and IBM have all been eyeing the smart city opportunity in India.
However, the budget is being seen as progressive for social infrastructure. Said, Ichiro Iino, Managing Director, Hitachi India, "The current Union Budget strives to drive the growth of the Indian Economy especially in the Social Infrastructure domain. We are all geared up to work towards transforming India into a self-reliant country by actively getting involved in fields such as Water, Urban Transportation, IT, Healthcare etc. and contribute to the overall welfare of the Indian society."
The IT, Infrastructure and Realty sectors were all looking forward to some implementation announcements on the smart cities front. The Digital India and the Make in India Progam however found significant mention in FM's speech.
The ambitious Digital India programme, an integral plank of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, was "making good progress", said the Finance Minister on Saturday.
An overall sum of Rs 2,510 crore has been set aside in the budget for 2015-16 under the head "Digital India Programme and Telecommunications and Electronic Industries".
Digital India is a Rs 1.13-lakh crore government initiative that seeks to transform the country into a connected economy, attract investment in electronics manufacturing, and create millions of jobs and support trade.
The IT industry, including companies like Cisco, Hitachi Data Systems, HP and IBM have all been eyeing the smart city opportunity in India.
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However, the budget is being seen as progressive for social infrastructure. Said, Ichiro Iino, Managing Director, Hitachi India, "The current Union Budget strives to drive the growth of the Indian Economy especially in the Social Infrastructure domain. We are all geared up to work towards transforming India into a self-reliant country by actively getting involved in fields such as Water, Urban Transportation, IT, Healthcare etc. and contribute to the overall welfare of the Indian society."
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The limit of reduction of health insurance premium was enhanced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. For senior citizens this limit has been increased from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.
"For senior citizen above the age of 80 years, not eligible to take health insurance, deduction is allowed for Rs 30,000 toward medical expenditure. Deduction limit of Rs 60,000 on expenditure on account of specified diseases is enhanced to Rs 80,000 in the case of senior citizens," Jaitley said.
Additional deduction of Rs 25,000 is allowed for differently-abled persons, increasing the limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000. It is also proposed to increase the limit of deduction from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh in case of severe disability.
Jaitley also proposed to provide that investment in Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme will be eligible for deduction under section 80C of the income-tax and any payment from the scheme shall not be liable to tax.
Limit on deduction on account of contribution to a pension fund and the new pension scheme is proposed to be increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Additional deduction of Rs 50,000 will be allowed for contribution to the new pension scheme u/s 80 CCD increasing from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
"For senior citizen above the age of 80 years, not eligible to take health insurance, deduction is allowed for Rs 30,000 toward medical expenditure. Deduction limit of Rs 60,000 on expenditure on account of specified diseases is enhanced to Rs 80,000 in the case of senior citizens," Jaitley said.
Additional deduction of Rs 25,000 is allowed for differently-abled persons, increasing the limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000. It is also proposed to increase the limit of deduction from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh in case of severe disability.
Jaitley also proposed to provide that investment in Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme will be eligible for deduction under section 80C of the income-tax and any payment from the scheme shall not be liable to tax.
Limit on deduction on account of contribution to a pension fund and the new pension scheme is proposed to be increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Additional deduction of Rs 50,000 will be allowed for contribution to the new pension scheme u/s 80 CCD increasing from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
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