INDIA BUDGET 2017-18

YOJANA - INDIA BUDGET ISSUE

Questionnaire on Union Budget

1. In the Union Budget, rate of Service Tax was hiked from 12% to ____ - 14%
2. In the Union Budget 2015-16, Fiscal deficit seen at how much per cent of GDP in 2015/16? - 3.9 %
3. How much amount has been allocated to the Rural Infrastructure Development Bank in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 25,000 crore
4. According to the Union Budget, two new IIM will be opened in which of the following states? -Jammu & Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh
5. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) above _______ will be now considered as financial institutions? - Rs. 5,000 crore
6. How much amount has been allocated for Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the Union Budget 2015-16? - 346.99 billion rupees
7. How much amount has been allocated to Defence sector in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 2,46,726 crore
8. According to the Union Budget, how much per cent of Revenue Deficit to be seen in 2015-16? - 2.8%
9. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, how much per cent, rate of corporate tax will be reduced over next four years? - 25%
10. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, now details of PAN has to mentioned compulsory for transactions for more than _____.- Rs. 1 lakh
11. In the Union Budget 2015-16, increase in the limit of health insurance premium from current Rs 15,000 to ____.Rs. 25,000
12. How much amount has been allocated for micro-irrigation watershed projects in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 5,300 Crore
13. How much amount has been allocated to Infrastructure sector in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 70,000 crore
14. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, Visa on arrival for how many countries? – 150
15. According to the Union Budget, Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in _____. AP
16. On which date Union Budget 2015-16 was presented in Parliament? - 28 February 2015
17. Name the Union Finance Minister who presented the Union Budget 2015-16 in Parliament? - Arun Jaitley
18. Personal Income Tax limit was not changed in Union Budget 2015-16. What is the present Personal I-T exemption limit? - Rs 2.5 lakh
19. Health Insurance Premium deduction hiked from Rs. 15,000 to?- Rs. 25,000 (for senior citizens to Rs. 30,000)
20. Transport allowance exemption hiked to Rs. 1,600, from ____ per month? - Rs.800
21. PAN card is must for all purchase above ______ rupees as proposed in Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 1 lakh
22. An additional _____% surcharge on people earning over Rs. 1 cr was put forth in the budget 2015-16? - 2%
23. What change was made in the Wealth tax? - Wealth tax abolished
24. DTC was dropped in the Budget 2015-16. Expand DTC? - Direct Taxes Code
25. Corporate tax to be reduced from 30% to ___ over next four years? - 25%
26. Mudra banks to be established with capital of Rs.___ crore?- 20000
27. Rs. ____ deduction for contribution to New Pension Scheme?- Rs. 50,000
28. GAAR implementation deferred by 2 years to? - April 2017
29. Service Tax rate hiked to ___% from 12.36%? - 14%
30. Tax free bonds were proposed in budget for? - Roads, railways, irrigation project

INDIA BUDGET 2015-16 PRACTICE QUESTIONS

TELANGANA STATE BUDGET 2015-16 (TELUGU)

TELANGANA STATE BUDGET 2015-16 (ENGLISH)

UNION BUDGET 2015-16

Union Budget 2015-16 Practice MCQs

1. In the Union Budget 2015-16, rate of Service Tax was hiked from 12.36% to ____.

(1) 13%

(2) 14%

(3) 15%

(4) 14.5%

(5) None of these

2. In the Union Budget 2015-16, Fiscal deficit seen at how much per cent of GDP in 2015/16?

(1) 3.9 %

(2) 4.1 %

(3) 4.5%

(4) 5%

(5) None of these

3. How much amount has been allocated to the Rural Infrastructure Development Bank in the Union Budget 2015-16?

(1) Rs. 5,300 crore

(2) Rs.35,700 crore

(3) Rs. 25,00 crore

(4) Rs. 70,000 crore

(5) Rs. 46,200 crore

4. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, two new IIM will be opened in which of the following states?

(1) Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab

(2) Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh

(3) Assam and Andhra Pradesh

(4) Jammu & Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh 

(5) None of these

5. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) above _______ will be now considered as financial institutions?

(1) Rs. 10,000 crore

(2) Rs. 5,000 crore

(3) Rs. 2000 crore

(4) Rs. 1000 crore

(5) Rs. 500 crore

6. How much amount has been allocated for Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the Union Budget 2015-16?

 (1) 448.70 billion rupees

(2) 552.12 billion rupees

(3) 346.99 billion rupees

(4) 213.57 billion rupees

(5) 129.99 billion rupees

7. How much amount has been allocated to Defence sector in the Union Budget 2015-16?

(1) Rs. 2,46,726 crore

(2) Rs. 4,35,627 crore

(3) Rs. 3,25,925 crore

(4) Rs. 5,16,636 crore

(5) None of these

8. According to the Union Budget, how much per cent of Revenue Deficit to be seen in 2015-16?

(1) 3.1%

(2) 2.8%

(3) 2.75%

(4) 1.3%

(5) None of these

9. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, how much per cent, rate of corporate tax will be reduced over next four years?

(1) 35%

(2) 30%

(3) 25%

(4) 20%

(5) 15%

10. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, now details of PAN has to mentioned compulsory for transactions for more than _____.

(1) Rs. 1 lakh

(2) Rs. 2 lakh

(3) Rs. 50,000

(4) Rs. 60,000

(5) None of these

11. In the Union Budget 2015-16, increase in the limit of health insurance premium from current Rs 15,000 to ____.

(1) Rs. 20,000

(2) Rs. 25,000

(3) Rs. 35,000

(4) Rs. 30,000

(5) Rs. 18,000

12. How much amount has been allocated for micro-irrigation watershed projects in the Union Budget 2015-16?

(1) Rs. 4,500 Crore

(2) Rs. 3,300 Crore

(3) Rs. 5,300 Crore

(4) Rs. 6,200 Crore

(5) Rs. 2,700 Crore

13. How much amount has been allocated to Infrastructure sector in the Union Budget 2015-16?

(1) Rs. 1 Lakh crore

(2) Rs. 80,000 crore

(3) Rs 50,000 crore

(4) Rs. 70,000 crore

(5) None of these

14. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, Visa on arrival for how many countries?

(1) 100

(2) 150

(3) 200

(4) 50

(5) 75

15. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in _____.

(1) Maharashtra

(2) Uttar Pradesh

(3) Kerala

(4) Arunachal Pradesh

(5) New Delhi

Answers:

 1 (2)   2 (1)    3 (3)   4 (4)    5 (2)

 6 (3)    7 (1)    8 (2)   9 (3)    10 (1)

 11 (2)   12 (3)   13 (4)  14 (2)  15 (4)

Union Budget 2015-16 Highlights

Union Budget 2015-16 Highlights:
- Arun Jaitley leaves North Block with finance ministry officials for Lok sabha.
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley begins General Budget 2015-16 speech in Loksabha.

 TAXATION
1. Abolition of Wealth Tax.
2. Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.
3. Rate of corporate tax to be reduced to 25% over next four years.
4. No change in tax slabs.
5. Total exemption of up to Rs. 4,44,200 can be achieved.
6. 100% exemption for contribution to Swachch Bharat, apart from CSR.
7. Service tax increased to14 percent.

AGRICULTURE
1. Rs. 25,000 crore for Rural Infrastructure Development Bank.
2. Rs. 5,300 crore to support Micro Irrigation Programme.
3. Farmers credit - target of 8.5 lakh crore.

INFRASTRUCTURE
1. Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.
2. Tax-free bonds for projects in rail road and irrigation
3. PPP model for infrastructure development to be revitalised and govt. to bear majority of the risk.
4. Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.
5. Govt. proposes to set up 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000MW.

EDUCATION
1. AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.
2. IIT in Karnataka; Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.
3. PG institute of Horticulture in Amritsar.
4. Kerala to have University of Disability Studies
5. Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.
6. IIM for Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

DEFENCE
1. Allocation of Rs. 2,46,726 crore; an increase of 9.87 per cent over last year.
2. Focus on Make in India for quick manufacturing of Defence equipment.

WELFARE SCHEMES
1. GST and JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to common man.
2. Six crore toilets across the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
3. MUDRA bank will refinance micro finance orgs. to encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs.
4. Housing for all by 2020.
5. Upgradation 80,000 secondary schools.
6. DBT will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.
7. For the Atal Pension Yojana, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1,000 a year.
8. New scheme for physical aids and assisted living devices for people aged over 80 .
9. Govt. to use Rs. 9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF for Senior Citizens Fund.
10. Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocation for MGNREGA.
11. Govt. to create universal social security system for all Indians.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
1. Rs. 75 crore for electric cars production.
2. Renewable energy target for 2022: 100K MW in solar; 60K MW in wind; 10K MW in biomass and 5K MW in small hydro

TOURISM
1. Develpoment schemes for churches and convents in old Goa; Hampi, Elephanta caves, Forests of Rajasthan, Leh palace, Varanasi , Jallianwala Bagh, Qutb Shahi tombs at Hyderabad to be under the new toursim scheme.
2. Visa on Arrival for 150 countries.

GOLD
1. Sovereign Gold Bond, as an alternative to purchasing metal gold.
2. New scheme for depositors of gold to earn interest and jewellers to obtain loans on their metal accounts.
3. To develop an Indian gold voin, which will carry the Ashok Chakra on its face, to reduce the demand for foreign coins and recycle the gold available in the country.

FINANCIAL SECTOR
1. Forward Markets Commission to be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India
2. NBFCs registered with the RBI and having asset size of Rs 500 crore and above to be considered as ‘financial institution’ under Sarfaesi Act, 2002, enabling them to fund SME and mid-corporate businesses
3. Permanent Establishment norms to be modified to that mere presence of offshore fund managers in the country does not lead to “adverse tax consequences.”

Railway Budget 2015-16: Major Initiatives

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 26 February 2015 presented the Railway Budget 2015-16 in the Lok Sabha. The Budget plans to invest around 8 lakh crore rupees over the next 5 year to rejuvenate the Indian Railways.

In this regard, Railway Budget 2015 – 16 unveiled certain initiatives ranging from cleanliness drive to development of infrastructure to improving the overall quality of life in train journeys.

The major initiatives undertaken in the Railway Budget 2015-16

Station Redevelopment

• Zonal and Divisional offices to be empowered for quicker decision making
• Development of 10 Satellite Railway terminals in major cities with twin purpose of decongesting the city and providing service to suburban passengers

Network expansion

• Fast-track sanctioned works on 7000 kms of double/third/fourth lines
• Commission of 1200 km of network in 2015-16 at an investment of 8686 crore rupees

Expansion of freight handling capacity

• Transport Logistics Corporation of India (TRANSLOC), to be set up for developing common user facilities to provide end-to-end logistics solution at select Railway terminals through Public Private Partnerships.
• Policy for Private Freight Terminals (PFT) to be revised.
• Automatic Freight Rebate Scheme for traffic to be expanded
• Long haul freight operations to be used extensively and construction of long loop lines to be expedited.

Improving train speed

• Speed of 9 railway corridors to be increased from existing 110 and 130 kmph to 160 and 200 kmph respectively.
• Average speed of freight trains in empty and loaded conditions will be enhanced to 100 kmph for empty freight trains and 75 kmph for loaded trains.

Bullet train

• Feasibility study for High Speed Rail between Mumbai-Ahmadabad is in advanced stage.

Upgrading manufacturing capability

• Creation of job opportunities by upgrading the manufacturing capability and review of functioning of Indian Railways Production Units.
• Workshops for technological upgradation and enhancing productivity be undertaken to make them self-sustaining.

Safety

• RDSO to develop a suitable device with reliable power supply system based on theft-proof panels/batteries in consultation with Indian Space Research Organization using geo-spatial technology.
• Train Protection Warning System and Train Collision Avoidance System to be installed on selected routes at the earliest.  
• Better welding techniques being promoted and digital type machines to replace analogue type machines.

Technology upgradation

• Constitution of an innovation council called Kayakalp for business re-engineering.  
• Technology portal being constituted to invite innovative technological solutions.
• Research Centers to be set up in selected universities for fundamental research.

Partnerships for development

• PPP cell to be revamped to make it result oriented. Foreign Rail Technology Cooperation scheme to be launched.
• Joint ventures to be set up with States for focused project development, resource mobilization, land acquisition and monitoring of critical rail projects.  

Improvements to Management Processes and Systems

• Systems audit to be conducted for review of all processes and procedures.
• Constitution of a working group to modify present system of accounting, to ensure tracking of• expenditure to desired outcomes and Train operations to be audited.
• Paperless working in material management system to be expanded and Vendors to be integrated through Vendor Interface Management System.

Resource Mobilisation

• Support from the Central Government for 41.6 percent of the Plan and Internal generation of 17.8  percent for setting up of a Financing Cell in the Railway Board.
• Setting up an infrastructure fund, a holding company and a Joint Venture with an existing NBFC of a PSU with IRFC for raising long term debt from domestic as well as overseas sources.
• Digitized mapping of land records and responsibility fixing for encroachments.
• New strategy to tap latent advertising potential including offering stations and trains for corporate branding.  
• Railways in partnership with ports will deliver rail connectivity to Nargol, Chharra, Dighi, Rewas and Tuna. Scrap disposal policy to be reviewed for speedier scrap disposal.

Human Resources

• Human Resource Audit to be undertaken; Separate accounting head for HRD; ERP based Human Resource Management System.  
• Setting up a full-fledged University during 2015-16 and  Improved delivery of health services to employees

Energy and sustainability

• Environment Directorate to be constituted in Railway Board to give increased focus on environment management.
• Initiative likely to save at least 3000 crore rupees in next few years will be taken up.  1000 MW solar plants will be set up by the developers on Railway/private land.
• Water conservation mission will include water audit and expansion of water harvesting systems. 100 DEMUs to be enabled for dual fuel- CNG and diesel.
• Noise levels of locos to be at par with international norms and concerns related to wildlife will be addressed.  

Transparency and Governance initiatives

• System of on-line applications introduced for two categories of recruitment as a pilot project.  
• All possible solutions be explored to address menace of corruption. E-procurement value chain to be expanded.

Social initiatives

• Infrastructure like stations and training centers to be made available for skill development.
• Promotion of products made by Self Help Groups, consisting mainly of women and youth on the model of Konkan Railway.

Tourism

• Incredible Rail for Incredible India to be launched and Promotion of training of auto-rickshaw and taxi-operators as tourist-guides on the model of Konkan Railway.  
• Coaches in selected trains connecting major tourist destinations to travel agencies may be offered on a revenue sharing model.  
• IRCTC to work on promoting the Gandhi circuit to attract tourists to mark the occasion of 100 years of the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa.
• IRCTC will work on Kisan Yatra, a special travel scheme for farmers for farming & marketing technique centres.
• 
  

Railway Budget 2015-16: Quality of Life in Journeys:

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 26 February 2015 presented his maiden Rail Budget 2015-16 in the Lok Sabha. This was also the second rail budget of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government.

In the budget, Prabhu gave 11 thrust areas to improve quality of life in train journeys which also includes Swachh Rail - Swachh Bharat drive. The 11 thrust areas include

Cleanliness
•Swachh Rail - Swachh Bharat campaign
•New department for cleanliness
•Integrated cleaning by engaging professional agencies and training our staff
•Waste to energy conversion plants
•New toilets covering 650 additional stations compared to 120 stations in 2014
•Bio-toilets to be fitted in the coaches

Bed linen
•National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Delhi to design bed linen
•The facility of online booking of disposable bedrolls at select stations will be extended to all passengers through the IRCTC portal on payment basis

Help-line
•Start a 24X7 helpline number 138 and a toll-free number 182 for security related complaints

Ticketing
•Operation Five Minutes to ensure Speedy Purchase of Tickets for Unreserved Class Passengers.  
•Provision of modified hot-buttons, coin vending machines and single destination teller windows will be launched to reduce the transaction time. 
•For the differently-abled travellers, a special initiative will be launched whereby they can purchase concessional e-tickets after one-time registration. 
•Proposal to work towards developing a multi-lingual e-ticketing portal
•Some other facilities include introduction of integrated ticketing system on the lines of rail-cum-road tickets on Jammu – Srinagar route will be expanded.

Catering
•Integrate Best Food Chains for E-Catering
•Railway passengers to order their food through IRCTC website at the time of booking tickets

Leveraging technology
•Introduce hand-held terminals to Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) for verification of passengers and downloading charts. 
•Extending facility of SMS on mobiles as a valid proof of travel for PRS tickets
•SMS Alert service to inform passengers in advance of the updated arrival/departure time of trains at starting or destination stations

Surveillance
•Surveillance cameras will be provided on a pilot basis in selected mainline coaches and ladies’ compartments of suburban coaches without intruding into privacy

Entertainment
•Project for introducing on-board entertainment on select Shatabdi trains on license fee basis 
•Mobile phone charging facilities will be provided in general class coaches & its numbers will be increased in sleeper class coaches

Station facilities
•200 more stations to come under Adarsh Station scheme
•Wi-Fi will be provided at B category station
•Facility of self-operated lockers to be made available at stations 
•Provision of concierge services will be introduced through IRCTC at major stations
•Online booking of wheel chair on payment basis for senior citizens, patients and the differently-abled passengers will be available through IRCTC on select stations

Train capacity
•Capacity in identified trains will be augmented to run with 26 coaches
•More General class coaches will be added in identified trains

Comfortable travel
•NID to design user friendly ladders for climbing to the upper berths
•Quota of lower berths for senior citizens will be increased
•Middle bay of coaches will be reserved for women and senior citizens
•NID will develop ergonomically designed seats
•Provision of 120 crore rupees for Lifts and escalator has been made
•The newly manufactured coaches will be Braille enabled
•Entrances will be widened to ease of differently-abled passengers
•Corporate houses & MPs requested to invest in improving passenger amenities at Railway stations through CSR & MPLAD funds