Ravi Speaks:-
My Feelings About Budget-2022 As A Senior Citizen.
As A Retired Man-Frankly Speaking-No Special Attraction For The Budget: –
As the retired man at the age of sixty plus I, frankly speaking, had no special attraction for the budget. But since I have been a regular news listener and most of the time goes in changing the various news channels of my TV-I had a slight eagerness today in the morning around eleven O’clock. When the finance minister had to present the budget in the parliament. When I started listening to her speech, I realized the number of heavier responsibilities on the shoulders of this lady who I had seen initially as the spokesperson of BJP in the years-‘2013-14’. She was very accurate and seemed to be a professional spokesperson for her party at that time as well. The only change in her appearance was her greying of hair and the overall body showing the signs of age and maybe even her attainment of power as the Finance Minister of India
The High-Level Activities Going Alongside With The Budget Presentation: –
I could realize the high-level drama going on alongside the budget presentation where different news clippings were rapidly getting changed with the change in her statement and even the other bottom-line continued the news from the Stock Exchange on the same screen which was also adding excitement to the whole activities going on. The Sensex was taking initially very big jumps higher and higher only in the early hours and I remember it had almost crossed the 850 mark in the early hours but towards the middle of her speech, the same had gone down and even in minus at one stage for quite some time. The huge fluctuations in the index were happening as per the finance minister’s newer announcements concerning the Stock Exchange-related products and issues, finally settling at SENSEX-848 and Nifty50 at 237 today.
30% Tax On Cryptocurrency Earnings: –
There has been a lot of investment by both the young and the old people in Crypto-segment in the recent past. Almost all the service class people after realizing that there was no return in the bank savings and Post Office savings started looking out for such options. There has been a lot of competition on the various Apps being functional here-where people have been making a good return on their investment, especially in such decentralized Crypto exchanges. Suddenly with this news of 30% Tax to be given to the government-there may be quite a few who would either stop indulging in it or would reduce their involvement to a greater extent. Is it good or bad-only the coming time would show?
Third Consecutive Year-No Relief On The ‘Personal-Tax’ Front: –
Yes, I was also expecting that there would be some relief on the front of the personal Tax side but there hasn’t been any. For me, it was of no importance but for my children. It has been happening now for the last three years continuously that before the budget is to be announced a lot of hype is given to the news of personal Tax relief but after the budget is out nothing happens on that front. This way what I feel that the increase in income of youngsters and the increase on the spending capacities vis a vis the cost getting increased for the commodities-the no relief on the personal earnings in a way goes into an additional expenditure and no saving.
Following are some of the things which I as a common man observed out of many proposals and plans presented in today’s budget: –
Long-Term Capital Gains: –
Surcharge on long-term capital gains capped at 15%
Gross GST Collection: –
Income Tax Rates Unchanged: –
The government has not changed income tax rates this year.
Digital Assets Tax: –
Cooperative Societies Tax: –
The tax rate for cooperative societies was reduced to 15 percent.
Direct Taxes Voluntary Compliance: –
Newly updated returns. Income Tax Department has made a new roadmap. To correct errors by taxpayers, file updated returns within 2 years.
Digital Rupee: –
Effective Expenditure: –
Effective expenditure will be ₹ 10.68 lakh crore or 4.1 percent of GDP
Capital Expenditure Raised: –
Capital expenditure raised by 35.40 percent from ₹ 5.54 lakh crore to ₹ 7.50 lakh crore
Defense Allocation: –
68 percent capital for procurement for defense will be for domestic industry.
Post Offices: –
All post offices to be linked with core banking solutions to push financial inclusion.
Optical Fibre: –
Bharat Net optical fibre project to be complete in 2025
5G Rollout: –
Spectrum auction will be conducted to roll out 5G mobile services within 2022-23 by private firms.
New Education Channel: –
One Class 1 TV channel is to be launched to give supplementary education to children to make up for the loss of formal education due to COVID-19.
New Passports: –
E-passports using embedded chips and futuristic tech will be rolled out.
Boost For Digital Payments: –
‘Amrit-Kal’ From India At 75 To India At 100:-
COVID-19 Spending: –
India had started the world’s largest COVID-19 inoculation program on January 16, 2021. The expenditure on vaccination this fiscal, as well as in the next would be the most-watched figures in the Budget. The Budget estimate for vaccine expenditure for the current fiscal was ₹ 35,000 crore.
River Linking: –
Implementation of Ken-Betwa rivers linking with an estimated cost of ₹ 44, 605 crores to be taken up.
For Women And Child Development: –
2 lakh Anwangadis to be upgraded with better facilities.
For Start-Ups: –
Drone Shakti through various application centers for a start-up that works on drone technology.
Resilient MSME: –
Credit guarantee trust for micro and small enterprises will be revamped with a required infusion of funds. This will give ₹ 2 lakh crore more for MSMEs.
River Water Sharing: –
More Infra Development: –
Minimum Support Price (MSP): –
Rs 2.7 lakh crore direct payment of minimum support price for wheat and paddy
Infra Development: –
National Highways to be expanded by 25,000 km.
Certain Positives Observed: –
The positive thing which I found in the intent of the finance minister was announcing this budget to lay the foundation for the ‘Amrit Kaal’-which as per their intent would last for another 25 years till India completes her 100 years of independence.
Another biggest achievement that I found in curbing the spread of COVID-19 was the world’s highest number of vaccines given in any country. Crossing the figure of Rs.35,000 Crores for this huge work was again a work accomplished-which otherwise seemed to be impossible.
The continued progress in the construction of the longest National Highways in the country is a yeoman’s work which they have so far achieved very well and tried in connecting the micro areas with the mainstream areas of the bigger cities.
After all these details mentioned above when I had to summarise this budget, I somehow feel that still, it has not been accurate enough to reach the common man. Although I fully agree that no single budget would go in for reaching the 100% solutions of our people of the nation.
Personally, When I See What Tangible, It Has Given Me-
‘Frankly Nothing.’
I have been working in the private sector for almost four decades and after I got retired my pension today is so minuscule that I would not like to even mention that. I remember paying in lacs the amount in a quarter to the government as the tax against my salary. But that was the phase when I was paying the amount to the government as a tax-payee [huge one]. Why there hasn’t been any such proportionate and consistent pension to compensate it with the huge amount gathered from people like me when in service. Rumours are always there that in the coming budgets the EPF-rules would be amended accordingly but to date, nothing concrete has come.
Even the government has very smartly shrunk the interest structures for the saving instruments-whether of the bank or Post Offices for the senior citizens that even that path also has been made difficult. Maybe the budget presented today was very good as per the experts looking to the times coming ahead but for people like me who are in the post retired phase especially from the private sector, it seems to give no excitement or hope.
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