India budget 2019: The key announcements and what they mean.

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▼ India's first full-time female finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has presented her maiden annual budget. The BBC's Aakriti Thapar explains what the major announcements were and what they mean for India.
This is the first budget since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landslide victory in the general election this year. There were big expectations because it came against the backdrop of an economic slowdown and record-high unemployment levels.
Ms Sitharaman said that India could grow to a $5 trillion (£4 trillion) economy in the next five years (from $2.7 trillion) and outlined her priorities for spending. But she did not announce exactly how all funds would be allocated.
Roads, rail and rural development
The finance minister said boosting the country's infrastructure was the government's top priority. This is in line with Mr Modi and his BJP party's main election promise. In his manifesto, he had pledged to spend $1.44 trillion on infrastructure by 2024.
While she emphasised investments ($72bn) to improve railway infrastructure, Ms Sitharaman said the government would also build 125,000km (77,671 miles) of roads over the next five years at a cost of $11.6bn.
Many of the development schemes announced focused on bridging the rural-urban divide.
Targeting 2022, India's 75th year of independence, Ms Sitharaman announced that all houses would have electricity and cooking gas. She also said that all rural households would have clean water supply by 2024.
Tax increases for the wealthy
Corporate tax will be reduced to 25% from 30% for companies that have an annual turnover of up to $58m. This, the finance minister said, would include 99.3% of firms in India. She added that this would boost profits for a large number of companies, but she and experts also say it is an important step to stimulate investments.
While there was no change in the income tax structure for most brackets, Ms Sitharaman announced a 3% increase in taxation for some of the highest earners in Indian society - those with an income between $292,000 - $730,000 - and a 7% increase for those with an income above $730,000.
Foreign investment liberalisation (▪ ▪ ▪)

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asr335704

Overall budget is alright. India's fiscal deficit stands at 5.8% this year.
It is really difficult to decrease the deficit to meet the targets because India is not a fully tax compliant country and has many large unorganized sectors. At the same time, Government needs money to spend on welfare programs therefore rich are taxed more in this budget and 2 rupees hike on fuel.

mazherali

Nothing for the middle class though. Increase in fuel prices, no increase in the income tax slab which was mentioned in the interim budget earlier.