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7 Major Economic Reforms undertaken by Arun Jaitley
It is beyond any doubt that India has witnessed an irrevocable loss with the sad demise of our charismatic national leader and the former finance minister Lt. Sh. Arun Jaitley.
Sh. Jaitley breathed his last on 24th August 2019 in Delhi. As a dynamic Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Jaitley has been widely acclaimed throughout his political career. A veteran BJP MP, Arun Jaitley had played an imperative role in the first term of the ruling BJP government, exhibiting his qualities of a straightforward orator and keen decision-maker.
During his 5 years’ tenure as the Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Sh. Jaitley has always taken dynamic decisions in the welfare of our economy. It is during his tenure that India has achieved 77th rank among the world’s 190 nations in terms of ease of doing business. Moreover, India has become a 3 trillion dollar economy and is deemed to reach 5 trillion dollars by 2024.
Here are some of the major economic reforms introduced in Sh. Arun Jaitley’s term as the Finance Minister of India.
#1. Goods & Service Tax
Undeniably, GST is one of the most incredible economic reforms in India since her independence. It is indeed the second most dynamic reform after the New Economic Policy of 1991.
- The GST regime has made the trade & commerce of India altogether favorable and transparent.
- Today, GST registration and GST return filing have become essential aspects of every business entity, that help in their continuous and comprehensive assessment.
- This ultimately boosts the ease of doing business.
- Moreover, the government has rigorously worked to make GST registration and GST return filing procedure more conducive for the taxpayers. The new GST return filing model has also been introduced, which will be implemented from next year.
#2. Udyog Aadhaar MSME Registration
Udyog Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identification number (UIN) allocated by the Ministry of MSME to all the Micro small and medium enterprises for obtaining the MSME Registration.
The decision to link the Aadhaar UIN with MSME registration leading to the introduction of Udyog Aadhaar MSME registration was taken in 2015.
Today, you need not get into a lengthy process for an MSME registration. Rather, you just have to provide basic info such as-
- Your Aadhaar UIN,
- Owner’s Name,
- Business Name,
- Nature of business and
- Bank account details
Moreover, the Udyog Aadhaar Certificate helps in availing various benefits such as-
- Assistance in Business Loan
- Reimbursement of government fee on ISO certification
- Reimbursement of government fee on Barcode Registration
Know more about the benefits of
#3. Zero income tax on Income up to ₹5 lacs
The hottest update introduced by Jaitley during Budget 2019 was that taxpayers having an annual income up to ₹5 lakhs shall pay 0 income tax in FY2019-2020. In the Budget, the Government had raised the limit of Rebate relief u/s 87A to ₹12,500/- from the earlier limit of ₹2,500/-. This rebate will currently be taken by the taxpayers with annual income up to ₹5 lacs rather than the previous ₹3.5 lacs while ITR filing.
#4. Demonetization
The most sweeping reforms of the government during Sh. Jaitley’s term as FM was of banning of ₹500 & ₹1,000 currency notes as legal tender in 2016. The move was taken to curb the malice of black money and terror-funding. Moreover, It was high time for small businesses to overcome the problem of cash crunch through much smarter online cashless transaction modes.
#5. Reduction of GST on Real Estate
In a view to realizing the goal of “Housing for All by 2022”, the 34th GST council meeting had introduced major relief for the home buyers. For boosting the affordable housing segment of the real estate, GST rates were substantially reduced.
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GST on under-construction housing property has been reduced from 12% to 5%.
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On the affordable houses, GST has been reduced from 8% to 1%.
#6. Jan Dhan Yojna
This was one of the most fundamental reforms during Arun Jaitley’s tenure. The motive of PM Jan Dhan Yojna is to ensure that all the citizens have their bank accounts. Today, over 35.4 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts have been opened in India.
#7. Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes
Last but not least, another important economic reform of the Jaitley administration is the abolishing of all fraud deposit schemes vide the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act 2019. The main motive behind the BUDS Act 2019 is to save the people from being cheated by the Ponzi (fraudulent) financial schemes, such as Sharda Chit-fund scam. The BUDS Act 2019 was passed recently on 31st July 2019.
Know more about the concept of BUDS Act 2019.
So, these are a few sweeping economic reforms due to which Sh. Arun Jaitley will be remembered as a prominent leader and remarkable strategist.
RIP Arun Jaitley!
If you need any assistance regarding MSME registration, GST registration, or GST return filing procedure, feel free to contact our business advisor at 8881-069-069.
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