Stand-in Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s maiden Budget speech will be remembered as the most voluminous interim Budget speeches of recent times. Running over an hour and a half, Goyal’s speech went on for longer than the interim Budget speeches of former Finance Ministers Jaswant Singh, Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram.

Goyal announced sweeping reforms on personal income tax, ushering a blanket exemption for taxable income up to ₹5 lakh. Chidambaram, too, in his interim Budget speech (2014), had tinkered with tax rates.

Chidambaram had said, “The current economic situation demands some interventions that cannot wait for the regular Budget. In particular, the manufacturing sector needs an immediate boost.”

After this, he announced lowering excise duty on cars, capital goods and consumer non-durables. But he said that this relief is applicable till June 30, 2014 and that the rates can be reviewed at the time of the regular Budget.

Goyal, in his speech, said “Though as per convention, the main tax proposals will be presented in the regular Budget, small taxpayers especially the middle class, salary earners, pensioners, and senior citizens need certainty at the beginning of the year about their taxes. Therefore, proposals, particularly relating to such class of persons should not wait...”

However, laying the ground for the future is not unusual. Jaswant Singh (2004-05) had announced enhancements to the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, a scheme for addressing poverty alleviation and nutritional adequacy. Singh also announced a ₹15,000-crore scheme to revitalise the co-operative credit structure.

Chidambaram went a step ahead and laid out a ten-point vision for the future with focus on fiscal discipline, skill development and rationalising subsidies.

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