From cheap homes to free electricity, what did the middle class get in the budget?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for the third term of the Modi government. In the budget, special attention has been given to all sections of the society from women to farmers and the Finance Minister has made big announcements for all in the budget. The most important part of this budget was the middle class. Many steps have been taken in the budget to make the middle class financially rich.
The middle class had the highest expectations from the budget. Nirmala Sitharaman has given big freebies to the middle class, from cheap houses to free electricity. At the same time, keeping the middle class in mind, she has also made major changes in the new tax regime. In such a situation, let us know what big announcements have been made for the middle class in the budget…
free electricity
Apart from giving a big gift to the middle class, the Finance Minister also made a special announcement regarding free electricity. Speaking about the free solar electricity scheme, he said, the central government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Suryaghar Free Electricity Scheme. It aims to provide free electricity to millions of households by installing solar panels on their rooftops. This is a remarkable step that focuses on popularizing the use of solar energy in domestic scenarios.
The Finance Minister further said that the Chief Minister Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme has been initiated to install rooftop solar panels so that 1 crore houses can get up to 300 units of free electricity every month. This scheme will promote it further. Apart from this, he also discussed many measures in the budget to promote renewable and environment-friendly energy. Earlier, in the interim budget too, keeping in mind the interests of the middle class, rooftop solar power was announced.
cheap house
The Finance Minister has also given a big gift to the middle class people to fulfil their dream of owning their own house. He said, “In the near future, the government will make many plans for the middle class people. The government will also provide financial facilities to the people living in rented houses so that they can build their own houses. The Modi government has prepared to provide houses to the people.”
Mortgage loan relief
Apart from this, the government on Tuesday announced central assistance of Rs 2.2 lakh crore over the next five years to meet the housing needs of one crore urban poor and middle-class families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and provide loans at affordable rates. It proposed to provide interest subsidy.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech that under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana Urban 2.0, the housing needs of one crore urban poor and middle-class families will be met with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore. She said this will also include central assistance of Rs 2.2 lakh crore over the next five years. The minister said the government is also planning to provide interest subsidy to provide loans at lower rates.
This announcement was made regarding income tax and the standard deduction.
The budget has also given relief to the common man on the tax front. To provide a huge relief to middle-class families, Nirmala Tai has reduced the standard deduction to Rs 50,000-75,000. Now, after this change, those with an annual income of 0 to 3 lakh will not have to pay any tax. While those with an income between Rs 3 and 7 lakh will have to pay a tax of 5 per cent.
This will help in employment.
Focusing on employment in the budget, the Finance Minister said that special attention is being paid to MSMEs for the development of the middle class. We will take many steps in the coming days to create new employment opportunities for the youth.
Education has become cheaper
Keeping in view the difficulties faced by middle class families in getting education, the Finance Minister has developed the educational loan facility. The Finance Minister said that a loan of Rs 10 lakh will be provided to the youth belonging to middle class families pursuing higher education.
Nirmala Sitharaman said, “For those who took the loan earlier and repaid it, the Mudra loan limit will be increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.”
I made these things cheaper too
With the change in tax regime, many important things have also become cheaper. Under this budget, many things including anti-cancer drugs, gold and silver, platinum, mobile phones, mobile chargers, power cables, X-ray machines and solar equipment have become cheaper. Nirmala Sitharaman has announced to reduce customs duty on anti-cancer drugs. The Finance Minister said that to provide relief to drugs and cancer patients, customs duty on three drugs has been completely removed and duty on X-ray tubes has also been reduced. After this, three anti-cancer drugs will become cheaper in the country.
