Union Budget 2017 live updates, presented by Arun Jaitley. Arun Jaitley live from Parliament to present Budget 2017. Budget 2017 live from Parliament. See live streaming of Budget 2017 in the video above. The uncertainty that prevailed on Wednesday over whether or not the Union Budget will be presented after the death of sitting MP E Ahamed, ended after the government consulted all parties and arrived at a consensus that the Budget should be presented as planned. The opposition parties had been insisting on the postponement of the Budget as a mark of respect to the former union minister who suffered a cardiac arrest in Parliament during the President’s speech on Tuesday and died later in the day.
Also Read: Women officers play a bigger part in Budget making this year
It is for the first time in Indian history that the Union Budget is being presented along with Rail budget in Parliament. There will be no separate Rail Budget from this year, as it has been merged with the General Budget. The decision to advance the date of budget presentation to February 1 was taken with an aim to complete the entire process before the end of financial year. However, there was a lot of criticism from opposition parties who alleged that the decision was taken to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in five states. The BJP though has claimed that the economic growth of the nation cannot be put on hold just because some states are going to polls.
Stay with us for live updates:
12:55 pm: Arun Jaitley introduces the Finance Bill 2017
12:55 pm: Arun Jaitley: I rise to introduce the Finance Bill 2017
12:53 pm: Arun Jaitley: Substantial progress in ushering in GST regime
12:52 pm: Arun Jaitley: A single one-page form for filing IT returns for taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh
12:49 pm: Arun Jaitley: All other categories in subsequent brackets get Rs 12,500 benefit per person
12:47 pm: Arun Jaitley: No tax for people upto income of 4.5 lakh
12:46 pm: Arun Jaitley: Propose to reduce the existing rate of taxes of those earning between 2.5-5 lakh to 5% instead of 10%
12:44 pm: Arun Jaitley: Political parties continue to receive most funds through anonymous donations
12:43 pm: Arun Jaitley: Every political party will have to file their returns.
12:42 pm: Arun Jaitley: Political parties can receive donations by cheque or by digital mode from their donors
12:41 pm: Arun Jaitley: The maximum amount of donation from any one source to political parties in Rs 2000
12:38 pm: Arun Jaitley: No transaction beyond Rs 3 lakh will be done in cash
12:37 pm: Arun Jaitley: Propose to limit the donations that can be received by chartitable trusts from 10,000 to 2,000
12:37 pm: Arun Jaitley: Tax sops have been extended by three years on overseas borrowings like masala bonds
12:35 pm: Arun Jaitley: Propose to reduce income tax by 5% for small companies which have a turnover of less than 50 crore. 96% companies will get the benefit from this proposal
12:32 pm: Arun Jaitley: Thrust of tax proposals will be to stimulate growth
12:31 pm: Arun Jaitley: The net tax revenue grew by 17% for two years in a row
12:29 pm: Arun Jaitley: Due to Demonitisation, advance tax on personal Income tax increased by 34.8%
12:29 pm: Arun Jaitley: Out of 3.7 crore who filed tax returns in 2015-16, only 24 lakh persons showed income above Rs 10 lakh
12:28 pm: Arun Jaitley: Relief to the middle class, promote digital economy, encouraging affordable housing planned
12:24 pm: Arun Jaitley: We are a tax non-compliant society. Predominance of cash in economy makes it possible for people to evade taxes. The burden of the those not paying taxes falls on those who pay it
12:21 pm: Arun Jaitley: Out of 76 lakh individuals, 56 lakh individuals are salaried class
12:20 pm: Arun Jaitley: Total resources being transferred to the states & union territories with legislature is Rs 4.11 lakh crore
12:18 pm: Arun Jaitley: Fiscal deficit target 3.2%, committed to 3.0% following year
12:17 pm: Arun Jaitley: Total expenditure of budget 2017-18 has been placed at Rs 21.47 lakh crore
12:16 pm: Arun Jaitley: Aadhar enabled payment system to be launched soon; Banks have targeted to introduce additional 10 lakh Point-of-Sale terminals by March 2017:
12:14 pm: Arun Jaitley: Head post offices to be used as front offices of passport service
12:12 pm: Arun Jaitley: Govt working to bring new law to confiscate assets of big-time offenders who’ve fled India
12:12 pm: Arun Jaitley: There have been instances of economic offenders recently. The law of the land should be allowed to take its course
12:08 pm: Arun Jaitley: 125 lakh people have adopted the BHIM app. Two more schemes are being brought to encourage people to use the app.
12:08 pm: Arun Jaitley: Digitial infrastructure in rural areas to be strengthened
12:08 pm: Arun Jaitley: Targeting 2,500 crore digital transactions across platforms like UPI
12:07 pm: Arun Jaitley: By 2019 all coaches of Indian Railways will be fitted with Bio-Toilets
12:06 pm: Arun Jaitley: IRCTC, IRFC, IRCON to be listed in stock exchanges
12:06 pm: Arun Jaitley: 2 new Strategic Oil Reserves to be set up in Odisha and Rajasthan
12:05 pm: Arun Jaitley: Launch of Tejas Express – New product offering for premium customers
12:04 pm: Arun Jaitley: Encourage employment for SC/ST through horticulture and tree plantation at side of tracks
12:03 pm: Arun Jaitley: One divyang toilet per platform on A1 class stations
12:02 pm: Arun Jaitley: Integration of all customer feedback and complaint forums on one app
12:00 pm: Arun Jaitley: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has been abolished
11:57 am: Arun Jaitley: Action plan to eliminate Kala Azar & Filariasis by 2017, Leprosy by 2018, Measles by 2020 & Tuberculosis by 2025: FM
11:57 am: Arun Jaitley: Telecom sector is an important sector for us. Alotting Rs 10,000 crore for BharatNet
11:56 am: Arun Jaitley: By 2019, all coaches of Indian Railways will be fitted with Bio-toilets
11:55 am: Arun Jaitley: A new metro rail policy will be announced which will open up new jobs for our youth
11:55 am: Arun Jaitley: Railways will integrate end to end transport solutions for selected commodities through partnership
11:54 am: Arun Jaitley: In the road sector, budget allocation for national highways has been increased to Rs 64,000 crore
11:54 am: Arun Jaitley: 2000 km of coastal roads have been identified for development
11:53 am: Arun Jaitley: Service charges on booking tickets through IRCTC withdrawn
11:50 am: Arun Jaitley: Steps will be taken to launch dedicated trains for pilgrimage and tourism
11:49 am: Arun Jaitley: Railways will focus on pasenger safety, capital and development works, cleanliness, finance and accounting reforms
11:49 am: Arun Jaitley: Feel privileged to announce the first combined budget
11:48 am: Arun Jaitley: For senior citizens, Aadhar enabled smart card giving their health condition will be introduced
11:47 am: Arun Jaitley: 5000 additional medical PG seats to be alotted in 2017
11:46 am: Arun Jaitley: 2 news AIIMS to be set up including one in Jharkhand and the other in Gujarat
11:43 am: Arun Jaitley: Banks have started using the lending rates already for affordable housing
11:43 am: Arun Jaitley: Affordable Housing will be given infrastructure status
11:40 am: Arun Jaitley: Dedicated micro-irrigation fund will b set up by NABARD to achieve goal of ‘Per Drop More Crop’. Initial corpus will be Rs 5000 crore
11:39 am: Arun Jaitley: As Swami Vivekananda said ‘education which does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves is it worth of the name?’
11:38 am: Arun Jaitley: Propose to leverage Swayam Platform, it’s reach will be widened with a collaboration with DTH services to reach maximum students
11:37 am: Arun Jaitley: For youth, I propose to introduce a system of measuring annual learning; Science will be given focus
11:36 am: Arun Jaitley: Sanitation coverage in rural areas will now be 60%, was 42% in Oct 2014
11:35 am: Arun Jaitley: Pace of construction of roads has increased to Rs 133 km/day in 2017
11:33 am: Arun Jaitley: Budget allocation to MNREGA increased to a record Rs 48,000 crore for 2017-18, from Rs 37,000 crore in 2016-17
11:32 am: Arun Jaitley: Long term irrigation fund set up in NABARD, additional corpus Rs 20,000 cr
11:32 am: Arun Jaitley: Target of agricultural loans to farmers set at record Rs 10 lakh crore in 2017-18:FM
11:31 am: Arun Jaitley: We propose to provide safe drinking water for all
11:31 am: Arun Jaitley: Participation of women in MNREGA has increased from 55% as compared to 48% in the past years
11:30 am: Arun Jaitley: 1 crore households to be lifted from poverty
11:29 am: Arun Jaitley: A dairy processing insfrastructure fund will be created by NABARAD
11:27 am: Arun Jaitley: Issuance of soil health cards have gathered momentum, will setup a mini lab in krishi vigyan kendras
11:25 am: Arun Jaitley: With better Monsoon, Agriculture is expected to grow at 4.1% in current year
11:23 am: Arun Jaitley: Based on the objective to transform, energise and clean India
11:21 am: Arun Jaitley: Budget contains 3 major reforms:
– First advancing the Budget date to February 1
– Merger of the Rail Budget with Union Budget bringing Railways to the centrestage
– Done away with plan and non-plan expenditure
11:20 am: Arun Jaitley: My overall approach while making the Budget was to spend more in rural areas, infrastructure & poverty alleviation with fiscal prudence.
11:19 am: Arun Jaitley: We are moving from informal to formal economy & the Government is now seen as a trusted custodian of public money.
11:19 am: Arun Jaitley: There have been higher revenues due to demonetisation
11:18 am: Arun Jaitley: The effects of demonetisation are not likely to spill over to the coming year. Pace of remonetisation has picked up & will soon reach comfortable levels
11:17 am: Arun Jaitley: Firmly beleive that demonetisation and GST will have an epoch-making impact on the lives of the people
11:16 am: Arun Jaitley quotes Mahatma Gandhi, says a right cause never fails
11:15 am: Arun Jaitley: Demonetisation a bold and decisive measure to combat tax evasion. It has built a parallel economy which is unacceptable
11:13 am: Arun Jaitley: Two big steps taken by the government – GST bill and demonetisation
11:12 am: Arun Jaitley: According to IMF, India will emerge as the fastest growing economy in 2017
11:11 am: Arun Jaitley thanks people for support to the Government, assures of more measures for people’s welfare
11:11 am: Arun Jaitley: We have moved from a discretionary administration to a policy-based administration
11:10 am: Arun Jaitley: The advanced economies are expected to increase their growth from 1.6%-1.9% and emerging economies from 4.1%-4.5%:
11:10 am: Arun Jaitley: The uncertaintity over crude oil prices is likely to impact the economy
11:09 am: Arun Jaitley: Growth is expected to recover in 2017 as compared to poor growth in last year
11:09 am: Arun Jaitley: I’m presenting this budget amid political and economic developments in the last one year
11:07 am: Arun Jaitley: Our Govt. was elected amidst huge expectations of people, the underlying theme of expectations being good governance
11:06 am: Arun Jaitley presents Union Budget amid uproar
11:04 am: One minute silence for the death of E Ahamed
11:00 am: Parliament proceeding begin for the day, Sumita Mahajan condoles the death of E Ahamed
10:51 am: “Budget has a sanctity, we are already in the 11th hour. There should be no controversy over it. It’s a constitutional obligation,” Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said.
10:45 am: Sumitra Mahajan says saddened by the death of E Ahamed but the budget will be presented today. “We have to keep in mind that budget is a constitutional obligation, will have to be presented,” she said
10:40 am: Former PM HD Deve Gowda says postponement of budget will be no big deal. It is not as if secrecy will break. “There was no need to go to the President with the budget, what is the hurry? Shows mentality of government,” he said.
10:35 am: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan says Budget will be presented today. Formal announcement will be made shortly.
10:26 am: Constitution Expert Subhash Kashyap says that it is neither possible nor is it correct to postpone the budget after budget papers have reach Parliament.
10:23 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Parliament, Cabinet meeting begins
10:20 am: In a tweet, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley confirms that he will be presenting the Union Budget at 11 am on February.
10:14 am: President Pranab Mukherjee gives his assent to present Union Budget.
FM Arun Jaitley & his team called on #PresidentMukherjee this morning for the customary briefing on the Budget before presentation pic.twitter.com/ihi5VtKphI
— President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) February 1, 2017
10:10 am: Congress presses for adjournment of Budget. Reacting to allegations that E Ahamed’s death announcement was delayed, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said: it was inhuman act.
9:47 am: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reaches Parliament after meeting President Pranab Mukherjee
#Budget2017: FM @arunjaitley reaches Parliament, cabinet meeting in a short while from now. pic.twitter.com/exiEKvwwYM
— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) February 1, 2017
9:45 am: Lok Sabha speaker Sumita Mahajan to visit E Ahamed’s residence at 10 am
9:45 am: News agency ANI reports that there is a precedent, as in the past as well Budget was presented on the same day despite the death of a sitting MP/MoS.
In 1954 MP Paul Jujhar and in 1974 MB Rana Mos Industry had passed away: Govt Sources #budget
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 1, 2017
9:30 am: Government sources say that Budget will be presented today itself. An obituary for the former union minister may happen before or after the Budget presentation. Government has spoken to all parties and have arrived at a consensus.
9:15 am: Markets opened flat ahead of Budget. Sensex 48 points up, Nifty 20 pints up
#Budget2017 copies reach Parliament pic.twitter.com/K88Pw2WDDR
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 1, 2017
9:10 am: Sources say that despite the MP’s death, Narendra Modi government wants to go ahead with Budget. They will be conveying the same to the LS Speaker in the meeting at 10 am.
9:05 am: FM is on his way to the Rashtrapati Bhavan
8:55 am: Will the budget be presented in Parliament or not? Parliament sources say there’s no rule that prohibits the house from functioning due to MP’s death. It is only a convention.
FM Arun Jaitley arrives at Finance Ministry #Budget2017 pic.twitter.com/fobFkYhg3H
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 1, 2017
8:00 am: PM Modi condoles the death of E Ahamed, says he was a “veteran political leader who served the nation with great diligence”.
Mr. E Ahamed devoted significant efforts towards Kerala’s progress. His role in deepening India’s ties with West Asia was notable:PM Modi
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 1, 2017
Condolences on the sad demise of Mr. E Ahamed, a veteran parliamentarian & former Union Minister. May the departed soul rest in peace:FM
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 1, 2017
## Twitterati can ask questions directly to the FM by using hashtag #MyQuestionToFM who will respond later in the day on Wednesday after presenting the Budget.
Ask me questions using #MyQuestionToFM. pic.twitter.com/RK6djBPqQt
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) January 31, 2017
## Both Houses will have a month-long recess from February 10 to March 8 for the Standing Committees to consider the Demands for Grants of Ministries and Departments and prepare their reports.
