Union minister Piyush Goyal presented the Interim Budget in parliament on Friday, the last Budget of the government before the general elections due by May. In his speech, Mr Goyal announced major relief for farmers and individual taxpayers. He proposed to double the threshold tax exemption limit to Rs. 5 lakh and increased the standard deduction to Rs. 50,000 from Rs. 40,000. The proposal will benefit 3 crore middle-class tax payers, Goyal said while unveiling the Budget proposals for 2019-20 With the Lok Sabha election just months away, the government kept the budget focused on immediate relief such as easing income tax rules, favourable loan terms for small businesses, farm loan waiver and direct cash transfers to small farmers.
