In order to boost the economic growth of the country which is at present five-year low, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has announced a slew of measures.
Here are top ten announcements made by Sitharaman during a press conference in New Delhi:
- FPI Surcharge Withdrawn: No enhanced surcharge on equity capital gains on Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).
- Auto Industry: The old BS-4 vehicles that is purchased till March 31, 2020, will remain operational for the entire period of registration. The Centre will also lift the ban on the purchase of new vehicles in order to replace all old vehicles by the government departments, and will also, consider measures including scrappage policy in order to boost the demand for the auto sector, Sitharaman said. Both electric vehicles (EVs) and Internal Combustion Vehicles (ICVs) will continue to be registered, she added.
- Capital Infusion in State-owned Banks: Finance Minister said the government will infuse upfront 70,000 crores in Public Sector Banks in order to enable the release of Rs 5 lakh crore to bring liquidity in the market.
- Surcharge on Capital gains: The enhanced surcharge on the capital gains has been removed.
- Banks passing on RBI cuts: Banks to pass on interest rate cuts; move to external benchmarking of rates to the repo rate.
- Corporate Social Responsibility: CSR violations will now be treated as a civil offence, not a criminal offence.
- Centralised Tax notices: All the old tax notices will be decided by October 1, 2019. It will also be uploaded again through the centralised system.
- Goods and Services Tax Refunds: All the pending GST refunds due to MSMEs to be paid within 30 days; future refunds in 60 days.
- National Housing Banks and Housing Finance companies: NHB’s additional liquidity support for HFCs raised by Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore.
- Home Buyers: Steps will be taken to resolve the issue of home buyers.
