Presenting his first full budget on Saturday, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attempted to highlight schemes and policies central to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political vision and the legacy of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party like Deendayal Upadhyay and the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Mr. Modi’s flagship pitch, finds liberal mention in Mr. Jaitley’s speech, along with a proposal to levy a “Swachh Bharat cess at a rate of 2 per cent or less on all or certain services.”
Besides, donations to the Swachh Bharat Kosh (by both residents and non-residents) and the Clean Ganga Fund (by residents) would be eligible for 100 per cent deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
“We have been able to transform [Swachh Bharat] into a movement to regenerate India [with a] target of building six crore [additional] toilets,” he said.
Mr. Modi would be happy with the Finance Minister’s resolve to revitalise the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) project.
The nomenclature employed by the government and outlined by Mr. Jaitley in his speech is expected to gel well with the Swadeshi, Sanskritic ideals of the BJP.
These include the ambitious decision to mark the year 2022 — the 75th year of Independence — as “Amrut Mahotsav” and launch of initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram and the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme. The highlighting of the UN’s recognition of Yoga and inclusion of the discipline within the ambit of “charitable purpose” of the Income Tax Act would serve to promote Swadeshi symbolism.
Mr. Jaitley paid homage to Deen Dayal Upadhyay by announcing the setting up of a committee to plan the celebrations of his 100th birth anniversary. He set aside Rs. 1,500 crore for the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana, a rural skill development initiative.
The initiatives named after Mr. Vajpayee are the Atal Innovation Mission within the NITI Ayog and the Atal Pension Yojana. The Rs. 150-crore mission will be an innovation promotion platform involving academics, entrepreneurs and researchers and will draw upon “national and international experiences to foster a culture of innovation, research and development and scientific research in India.”
Annexure The annexure to Mr. Jaitley’s speech highlighted the Narendra Modi government’s achievement of reviving “pride in the nation and its culture” and bringing out “India’s cultural and spiritual strength through the U.N.’s recognition for Yoga, Namami Gange and Ghat and heritage city development programmes.”
To conclude his speech, Mr. Jaitley borrowed from the Brihadaryanka Upanishad to emphasise the government’s “steadfast commitment” to the “Daridra Narayan,” and quoted “Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah/Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah/Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu/Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet /Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih.”
Taxation 
