Interim Finance Piyush Goyal presented the last budget for this Loksabha in parliament today. Unlike the previous budgets, this budget has given sops to Farmers, Middle class & Salaried class while keeping the Fiscal Deficit targets. With the elections approaching fast, this government is trying to woo the middle class which was left behind in all the reform-oriented budgets. 

Key Highlights: 

  • Small farmers up to 2 hectares to get up to Rs 6000 / year
  • Income tax exemption hiked to 5 Lakhs ( Current 5% slab goes away with this) 
  • Increase in standard deduction from 40,000 to 50,0000
  • Increase in limit for tax Bank interest from 10,000 to 40,000
  • Gratuity limit increased to 30 Lakhs
  • Exemption of TDS on rent from 1.8 Lakh to 2.4 Lakhs
  • Capital gain exemption for 2nd house also under Sec 54
  • No income tax on notional rent on the second home.

All the above measures are definitely a cheer to Middle class but is that too late a decision is something we need to wait and watch. Back in 2004, Jaswant Singh did the same thing - putting more money in the pockets of people but that did not win NDA any votes on the back drop of India shining campaign.