Hike in FDI in aviation; infrastructure & railways in focus; 17 iconic sites expected; GST simplified

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Union Budget today, where she shared that the Government will take steps to hike FDI cap in aviation. She also said that India will enter aircraft financing and leasing activities. For tourism, it was announced that the Government will build 17 iconic sites to encourage arrival of tourists in India. It was also mentioned that the GST process will be simplified. A massive railways modernisation programme will also be launched this year. Apart from that, the government will undertake strategic divestment of Air India and other PSUs this fiscal. They will also work towards consolidating non-finance central PSUs via mergers and raise foreign shareholding till maximum limit in PSUs. Government has set ₹1.05 lakh crore divestment target for Financial Year 2020. Government has decided to open Indian embassies and high commissions in countries where India doesn’t have a resident diplomatic mission, and under this scheme it has approved opening of 18 new embassies in Africa and will open four new embassies in 2019. Other highlights of the budget include—125,000 km of road to be upgraded over next 5 years at a cost of 802.5 billion rupees; expansion of Swachh Bharat mission to undertake sustainable sold waste management in every village; making of PAN card and Aadhar card interchangeable for ease of taxpayers.