INITIATIVES AND SALIENT ACHIEVEMENTS

IN THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS

28-DECEMBER-2014

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

MAJOR POLICY INITIATIVES, PROGRAMMES/SCHEMES ANNOUNCED AND ACHIEVEMENTS MADE

WITH REGARD TO THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE SINCE THE NEW GOVERNMENT CAME TO POWER

Actions to curb Black Money

on Automatic Exchange of Information
on a fully reciprocal basis, facilitating
present Government after taking
measures, due emphasis on intrusive
exchange of information regarding
over reins of power in May, 2014
enforcement measures in high impact
persons hiding money in offshore cenwas to constitute a Special Investicases with a view to prosecute the
tres.
gating Team (SIT) to implement the
offenders at the earliest possible, for
decision of the Honble Supreme
creating effective deterrence against Legislative measures, wherever reCourt on large amount of money
tax evasion.
quired, including amendment to secstashed abroad by evading taxes or
tion 285BA of the Income-tax Act,
generated through unlawful activi- Joining the global efforts to combat tax
1961 vide Finance (No.2) Act, 2014
evasion,
including
supporting
impleties.
facilitating the Automatic Exchange of
mentation of a uniform global standard
Information.

First major decision taken by the While focusing upon non-intrusive

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

amounting to opening of 7.5 crore ac- RuPay Cards have been issued in
counts by 26th January, 2015. Target
ernment was to launch a major camcase of 7.39 Crore accounts.
has now been revised to opening of 10
paign to open bank accounts. Major
crore accounts by 26th January, 2015 As on 1.12.2014, States of Goa,
achievements have been made with
Kerala, Tripura & Madhya Pradesh,
regard to the implementation of the
A dedicated website for PMJDY
Union Territories of Chandigarh,
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana
launched
Puducherry and Lakshadweep have
(PMJDY) which was launched by the
achieved 100% Saturation (in terms
Prime Minister on 28th August, As on 23.12.2014, 9.91 Crore acof coverage of all households with at
2014. Target was to open bank accounts have been opened under
least one bank account).
counts of at least one household
PMJDY.

Another major initiative of the Gov-

Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY)

The Union Finance Minister Shri The revived scheme will remain open
Arun Jaitley relaunched the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY)
which will benefit the vulnerable section of society with limited resources
and will provide monthly pension
ranging from Rs 500/ to Rs 5,000/
per month to senior citizens of the
country.

during the window stretching from 15th

August, 2014 to 14th August, 2015 for
the benefit of citizens aged 60 years
and above, and will provide financial
security by ensuring regular income
during their advancing years. Like on
the last occasion, the scheme will be
administered by the LIC. The subscrip-

tion to the scheme is likely to create a

corpus of more than Rs. 10,000 crore,
and would thus also be a significant
source of resource mobilization for the
development of the country. About 5
lakh senior citizens are likely to be
covered under this Scheme during the
current year 2014-15.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

The vision of DBT is to transfer cash
or benefits directly to the beneficiaries accounts, preferably Aadhar
seeded, cutting down several layers
of the intermediaries in order to

achieve timely and more frequent pay- This is also to create transparency
ments, target intended beneficiaries
and accountability in government demore accurately, remove fake, ghost
livery systems and empower beneficibeneficiaries and de duplicate and
aries.
improve efficiency in delivery system.

Page 2

INITIATIVES AND SALIENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE

LAST SEVEN MONTHS

Goods and Services Tax

Constitutional Amendment Bill was
introduced in Loksabha in the winter
session to facilitate the introduction
of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in
the country.

of GST that would incentivize tax compliance by traders. It is thus, expected

that introduction of GST will foster a
common and seamless Indian market
and contribute significantly to the
growth of the economy.

The proposed amendments in the

by each of the States & UTs with

Legislatures, as members. The Council will make recommendations to the
Union and the States on important
issues like tax rates, exemptions,
threshold limits, dispute resolution
modalities etc.

Constitution will confer powers both Following are the salient features of this
It is proposed to do away with the
to the Parliament and State legisla- Constitution Amendment Bill:
concept of declared goods of special
tures to make laws for levying GST A new Article 246A is proposed which
importance under the Constitution.
on the supply of goods and services
will confer simultaneous power to Unin the same transaction.
ion and State legislatures to legislate Centre will compensate States for
on GST.
loss of revenue arising on account of
GST will simplify and harmonise the
implementation of the GST for a peindirect tax regime in the country. A new Article 279A is proposed for the
riod up to five years. A provision in
GST will broaden the tax base, and
creation of a Goods & Services Tax
this regard has been made in the
result in better tax compliance due
Council which will be a joint forum of
Amendment Bill (The compensation
to a robust IT infrastructure. Due to
the Centre and the States. This Counwill be on a tapering basis, i.e., 100%
the seamless transfer of input tax
cil would function under the Chairmanfor first three years, 75% in the fourth
credit from one state to another in
ship of the Union Finance Minister and
year and 50% in the fifth year).
the chain of value addition, there is
will have Ministers in charge of Fian in-built mechanism in the design
nance/Taxation or Minister nominated

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)

while presenting the Union budget
for 2014-15, the Finance Minister
had announced the re-launch of
the Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP).In
order to meet the commitment, the
Finance Minister re-launched the
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) on
18.11.2014 to attract investment of

people for small savings scheme

months, the collections under the

designated branches of nationalised
scheme will be available with the Govt.
banks
for a fairly long period to be utilized in
financing developmental plans of the The certificates can be issued in single or joint names and can be transCentre and State Governments and will
ferred from one person to any other
also help in enhancing domestic houseperson / persons, multiple times.
hold financial savings in the country.

The Kisan Vikas Patras (KVP) will be KVP have unique liquidity feature,
where an investor can, if he so deavailable to the investors in the denomisires, encash his certificates after the
nation of Rs. 1000, 5000, 10,000 and
Reintroduction of Kisan Vikas Patra
lock-in period of 2 years and 6
50,000,
with
no
upper
ceiling
on
invest(KVP) is a welcome step not only in
months and thereafter in any block of
ment.
the direction of providing safe and
six months on pre-determined matursecure investment avenues to the
The certificate can also be pledged as
ity value. The investment made in the
small investors but will also help in
security to avail loans from the banks
certificate will double in 100 months.
augmenting the savings rate in the
and
in
other
case
where
security
is
recountry. The scheme will also safequired to be deposited. Initially the cerguard small investors from fraudutificates will be sold through post oflent schemes.
fices, but the same will soon be made
available to the investing public through
With a maturity period of 8 years 4

Committee to examine un-claimed amount

The Union Finance Minister approved

scheme`s (Small Savings and other

Savings Schemes of banks) with
Post Offices/ Public Sector Banks;

the setting-up of a Committee under

the Chairmanship of Deputy Governor,
Reserve Bank of India(RBI) to exam- Procedure for bringing such unine un-claimed amount remained in
claimed deposits to a common pool
PPF, Post Office, Savings Schemes
to be suggested by the Committee.
etc and recommend how this amount
Changes, if any, required to be
can be used to protect and further the
made in the legal framework may be
financial interest of the senior citizens.
suggested. Committee to also suggest if such a pool should be placed
Based on defined scope, by Reserve
within Government account or outBank of India, estimation of amount
side it.
lying unclaimed under various

Committee to recommend how this

unclaimed amount can be used to
protect and further financial interests
of the senior citizens.

Page 3

INITIATIVES AND SALIENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE

LAST SEVEN MONTHS

Expenditure Reforms
The Union Finance Minister also announced during his Budget Speech in
July 2014 to set-up an Expenditure
Management Commission
to
achieve the objective of Minimum Government, MaximumGovernance. The
Commission will look into various aspects of expenditure reforms to be undertaken by the Government. Keeping
that in view, the Government constituted an Expenditure Management
Commission under the Chairmanship

of Shri Bimal Jalan, former Governor

penditure.
of RBI. The Commission will look into
among others rationalisation of subsi- Utmost economy to be observed
in organizing conferences/
dies given by the Government such as
seminars/workshops.
subsidy for food, kerosene, LPG, and
fertilizers etc and give its interim report
Ban on purchase of vehicles .
within current financial year.
Government announced austerity meas- In all cases of air travel, the lowest air fare tickets available for
ures for fiscal prudence and economy:
entitled class to be purchased/
procured.
Every Ministry/department to effect a
mandatory 10% cut in Non-Plan Ex-

Economy and Growth

largely due to constant monitoring and Capital flows particularly investmeasures taken such
in the last two years has grown at 5.5
ment flows have been buoyant in
per cent in the first half of the current
the first half of 2014-15 and there
as delisting of vegetables and perishyear.
has been significant addition to
ables from APMC Act, release of food
the foreign exchange reserves.
grains stocks, fixing of minimum ex Inflation as measured by Consumer
Total Investment
port prices for key commodities.
Price Index is at its lowest ever level in
November 2014 (4.4 per cent) since the
Flows are placed at USD 43.4
Indias external sector is now far more
introduction of the new series in 2011billion in April-October, 2014 as
resilient and robust than before. Cur12.
against USD 9.4 billion in Aprilrent account deficit was 1.9 per cent
October, 2013. Foreign Exchange
of GDP in the first half of 2014-15 as
Wholesale Price Index inflation is 0.0
Reserves stood at US$ 314.7
against 3.1 percent of GDP in the first
per cent for November, 2014, lowest
billion as on December 5, 2014.
half of 2013-14.
since 2009. This has been achieved

GDP growth which was below 5 percent

Tax Collection and Tax Relief

Investment allowance at the rate
of 15 percent to a manufacturing
also been up to the mark and the Govcompany that invests more than
ernment has made net collections of
Rs. 25 crore in any year in new
Direct taxes to the tune of Rs.
plant and machinery.
2,96,802 crore from 1st April-20th
October, 2014. The target for Current
The benefit to be available for
Financial Year has been fixed at Rs.
three years i.e for investments
7,36,221 crore which the Government
upto 31.03.2017. Investment alis quite optimistic to achieve.
lowance to manufacturing company investing more than Rs.100
The Finance Minister while presenting
crore announced last year to con Measures to boost domestic manufacthe Union Budget 2014-15 in Lok
tinue in parallel till 31.03.2015.
turing sector: A number of changes in
Sabha on 10th July, 2014, announced
the customs and excise duty structure
the raising of the personal income-tax
To promote savings rate in the
including rectification of inverted duty
exemption limit by Rs. 50,000/- that is,
economy investment limit under
structure have been made to promote
from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh in the
Public Provident Fund increased
domestic manufacture, attract new incase of individual taxpayers, below
from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh;
vestment, increase capacity utilization
the age of 60 years, and from Rs. 2.5
& enable domestic value addition in
lakh to Rs. 3 lakh in the case of senior In furtherance of its objective to
sectors, such as electronics & IT, steel,
citizens. However there is no change
improve the efficiency and equity
chemicals & petrochemicals, and rein the rate of surcharge either for the
of the tax system and to promote
newable energy.
corporates or the individuals, HUFs,
voluntary compliance, the emphafirms etc. The budget proposes to
sis of the government has been
As clean energy initiative, Rate of
continue education cess at 3 percent.
for providing a non adversarial tax
Clean Energy Cess, levied on coal,
regime. Accordingly, the Central
lignite and peat, increased from Rs. 50 Investment limit under section 80C of
Board of Direct Taxes has issued
per tonne to Rs. 100 per tonne so as to
the Income-tax Act has also been
detailed instructions to its field
replenish the National Clean Energy
raised from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh
formations to ensure that the digFund for clean environment and energy
and Deduction limit on account of innity of the taxpayers is respected
purposes. Services provided by comterest on loan in respect of self occuwhile dealing with them, no frivomon bio-medical waste treatment facilpied house property raised from
lous demands are raised and no
ity operators for safe disposal of waste
Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs.2 lakh.
unnecessary litigation is continexempted from service tax.
ued.
To incentivize small entrepreneurs an

Indirect Tax Revenue (Provisional) col- Direct tax collections achievement has
lections have increased from Rs
2,69,909 crore in April-October 2013 to
Rs.2,85,126 crore during April-October
2014. Thus an increase of 5.6 % has
been registered during April-October
2014 over the corresponding period in
the previous year. This is an overall
achievement of 45.7% of the target
fixed at BE 2014-15.

Page 4

INITIATIVES AND SALIENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE

LAST SEVEN MONTHS

Fillip to the capital goods and automobile sector

In order to provide a fillip to the capital
goods and automobile sector, the
Government has decided to extend
the duty concessions up-to 31st December, 2014. It was expected that
the benefit of these duty concessions

will be passed on to the consumers

at large. The major items covered
under aforesaid duty concessions
include:

cles from 12% to 8%; Mid-segment

cars from 24% to 20%; Large cars
from 27% to 24%; and SUVs from
30% to 24%.

Small cars, motorcycles, scooters,

three wheelers and commercial vehi-

Scheme for Girl Child and Nirbhaya Fund

A scheme exclusively for the girl child
has been notified. The scheme will
provide funds at the stage of
Education and Marriage of the girl
child.

Nirbhaya Fund has been created to

credited in the Fund. As and when the

try of Road Transport and Highschemes from Ministries/Departments
ways Rs. 50,00 crore;
are approved to be funded from
Nirbhaya Fund suitable allocations are Schemes on Backend Integration
of Distress Signal from Victims
done in their respective demands and
with Mobile Vans and Control
the corpus in DEA is reduced by that
Rooms administered by Ministry
amount. Allocation from Nirbhaya Fund
of Home Affairs Rs. 150.00
has been made for the following
crore.
schemes:

ensure dignity and safety of girl children and women. The Fund has been
created as a corpus in public account
in Department of Economic Affairs Scheme on Women Safety on Public
Road Transport administered by Minis(DEA). Rs. 2000/- crore has been

Disinvestment
countability, participation of the people
at a discount. This is likely to imdisinvestment: Government
and raising resources for priority Govprove public participation in the
has disinvested 5% equity in SAIL
ernment social and economic prodisinvestment program.
and realized Rs.1,720 crore. This
grams.
Offer for Sale (OFS) of Shares
Minimum Public Shareholding
through Stock Exchange Mechanism

Making
the
disinvestment
program
norms: In August 2014, SEBI has
was one of the best ever by the Govmore
inclusive:
Earlier
there
was
no
amended the minimum public
ernment in terms of high percent subreservation for retail investors in OFS.
shareholding norms for every
scription and low discount offered.
However, on 8 August, 2014, SEBI has
listed CPSE. After this amendmandated that minimum 10% of the
ment, every listed CPSE has to
Operationalizing the Action Plan on
offer size shall be reserved for retail
increase its public shareholding to
Disinvestment: CCEA approved the
investors in OFS and a discount has
at least 25%, within a period of 3
disinvestment proposals of Coal India
also been made admissible to them.
years. This is likely to give further
Ltd (10% equity), ONGC (5%), NHPC
Subsequent to this amendment in OFS
impetus to disinvestment of
(11.36%), PFC (5%) and REC (5%).
Guidelines, Government has approved
CPSEs with attendant benefits.
Government sees disinvestment of
upto 20% of the offer size being reCPSEs as a tool for realizing their
served for retail investors. Further, reproductive potential, while improving
tail investors may be allocated shares
corporate governance, public ac-

Actual

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiatives

Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK) has been Special provisions made for waste dis-

habitual offenders who indulge in

behaviour not conducive to
cleanliness.

set-up to attract Corporate Social Reposal, especially for e-waste, furniture,

sponsibility (CSR) funds from corpoold news papers, old vehicles etc. A
rate sector and contributions from
quarterly report on waste disposal will
Special drive on awareness creaindividuals and philanthropists in rebe prepared and approved by the Section.
sponse to the call given by Honble
retary.
Prime Minister on 15th August, 2014
to achieve the objective of Clean India Cleanliness committee will be formed to
inspect rooms and to adjudge Cleanest
(Swachh Bharat) by the year 2019,
room of the week/month.
the 150th year of the birth anniversary
of Mahatma Gandhi through Swachh
Separate space on website of departBharat Mission.
ment called Endeavours for Swatchh
Bharat will be kept for hoisting the ac The house keeping activities divided
tivities/events/function there.
into Daily, Weekly and Monthly activities for better implementation and
Action will be taken against offenders/
monitoring.