Digital inclusion programme expands broadband and IT services in rural areas, enabling e governance and community media support.
The Digital India Programme prioritises village-level broadband, a National Rural Internet and Technology Mission for services, IT skills training and e governance delivery with an initial corpus, alongside support for community radio expansion, software product startups, and designation of key film and television institutes to strengthen animation, gaming and special effects capacity.

E Visa expansion: electronic travel authorisation to be phased at multiple airports, streamlining entry and promoting tourism.
Introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisation (e Visa) at nine airports will be implemented through a phased operational rollout, with participating nationalities identified progressively and necessary airport infrastructure established within a short term timeline to facilitate entry and complement Visa on Arrival arrangements.

Retrospective amendment scrutiny: fresh direct-transfer cases to undergo committee review before any enforcement action proceeds.
All fresh cases arising out of the retrospective amendments of 2012 in direct transfers will be scrutinized by a high level committee constituted by the CBDT before any action is initiated in such cases, implementing a pre-action administrative review for newly opened matters under the retrospective direct-transfer tax changes.

Welfare of Girl Child: special small savings instrument for education and marriage; savings certificate with insurance relaunched.
Welfare of Girl Child is prioritized through a dedicated small savings instrument to fund education and marriage, and a National Savings Certificate with insurance is announced to provide added benefits for small savers; the Budget also reintroduces Kishan Vikas Patra and raises the PPF annual contribution ceiling.

Public sector investment as fiscal stimulus: PSU capital expenditure to boost aggregate investment following the budget announcement.
Public Sector Undertakings are directed to undertake a planned capital investment programme in the current fiscal year to stimulate aggregate investment and create a virtuous investment cycle, with PSU capital allocations framed as a proactive fiscal stimulus announced in the annual budget speech.

Indian Financial Code proposed to strengthen governance and enable liberalised cross-border bond treatment and uniform KYC.
Proposal for a Indian Financial Code to enhance governance and accountability, accompanied by market reforms: extension of a liberalised withholding tax facility for corporate bonds issued abroad; expanded Bharat Depository Receipt and revamped Indian Depository Receipt schemes; international settlement of Indian debt securities; uniform interoperable KYC norms; a single operating demat account for all financial assets; creation of a Warehouse Development and Regulatory Authority for post-harvest lending; and adoption of new Indian Accounting Standards.

Capital raising through retail share sale expands public shareholding while government retains majority and examines bank autonomy.
Capital mobilisation for public sector banks will be achieved through phased retail share sales to increase direct public equity participation while the government retains majority ownership; the plan links this capital infusion mechanism to consideration of greater bank autonomy subject to accountability measures.

Rural development funding expands road, water, livelihood and entrepreneurship programmes with enhanced credit and watershed support.
Higher budgetary allocations focus on rural roads, reoriented wage employment toward productive, asset creating works linked to agriculture, expanded low interest bank credit to Women Self Help Groups, a Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme, a national watershed development programme, and targeted funding for community water purification plants to supply safe drinking water to contaminated habitations.

Social welfare measures expand targeted benefits and institutional support for scheduled communities, senior citizens, employees, and persons with disabilities.
Central Government reiterates welfare commitments with budget allocations under the SC Plan and Tribal Sub Plan, a credit enhancement scheme for young Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs, launch of Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana and funds for madrasa modernization. It revives the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana for senior citizens and proposes a committee on unclaimed small savings amounts. For organized sector employees the Budget sets a minimum pension for EPS subscribers, raises the EPS wage ceiling and provides funds, and mandates a Uniform Account Number for PF portability. It proposes national institutes for disability inclusion and rehabilitation.

Affordable housing incentives expanded to encourage home ownership through tax benefits and mission-backed credit support.
The government announced policy measures to promote affordable housing by extending additional tax incentives on home loans, creating a Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing anchored in the National Housing Bank, including slum development as a Corporate Social Responsibility activity, and allocating dedicated capital to increase flow of cheaper credit for urban poor, EWS/LIG segments and to support rural housing through the Rural Housing Fund.

Girl child welfare scheme launched to promote gender mainstreaming and improve women's safety in public services
Launch of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao promotes girl child welfare and gender mainstreaming in education, backed by an initial government corpus to fund awareness and improve delivery of women focused welfare services. Complementary programmes allocate resources for women's safety in public road transport and urban areas through pilot schemes and for Crisis Management Centres in hospitals funded from a dedicated victims' safety fund.

Free drug and diagnosis services prioritized, with rural research centres and strengthened drug-testing laboratories to improve access.
The Central Government prioritises Free Drug Service and Free Diagnosis Service, establishing fifteen Model Rural Health Research Centres for local rural health research; creating two National Institutes of Ageing and a national dental research and referral institute; operationalising six new AIIMS and considering four more AIIMS-like institutions with funding; expanding medical and dental education and providing central assistance to strengthen State drug and food regulatory systems by creating new drug-testing laboratories and reinforcing existing State laboratories.

Higher education expansion: five new IITs and five new IIMs announced, with teacher training and digital classroom initiatives.
National programme to establish five new IITs and five new IIMs in specified states with budgetary support, creation of a national centre for humanities, a named teachers' training programme with initial corpus, allocations for elementary and secondary education schemes, targeted provision of toilets and drinking water in girls' schools, and funding for virtual classrooms and online courses under a digital learning interface.

Expenditure Management Commission to review government spending efficiency, recommend targeted subsidy reforms and protection for marginalized groups.
The Government will constitute an Expenditure Management Commission to review allocation and operational efficiencies of government spending under the principle of Minimum Government Maximum Governance, with an interim report due within the current financial year; concurrently the Finance Minister proposes overhauling the subsidy regime to make food and petroleum subsidies more targeted while protecting marginalized groups and formulating a new urea policy.

Urban infrastructure funding expanded to strengthen pooled municipal debt facility and support metro projects via PPPs and central backing.
Central government enhances and extends the Pooled Municipal Debt Obligation Facility to continue financing urban infrastructure on a shared-risk, bank-participation basis, targeting public transport, solid waste disposal, sewerage treatment and drinking water. The policy prioritises safe drinking water, sewerage management, recycled water use, solid waste management and digital connectivity, and promotes leveraging private capital and expertise through PPP arrangements to renew urban infrastructure, alongside central support for metro rail planning and initial project funding.

Central funding for model salt farms conditional on concrete proposals; cost sharing set among central, state and research bodies.
Central assistance for model salt farms is provided through collaborative projects involving CSMCRI, state governments and NGOs, conditional on submission of concrete project proposals. Sanctioned projects are financed under a shared cost framework whereby central contributions are complemented by funding from state governments and CSMCRI, with alternative agreed allocations for specific sites; lack of a concrete proposal resulted in non decision on a funding request and the State was informed.

Budgetary support for plantations reduced; government reaffirms support to Tea Board and urges irrigation strengthening.
Reduction in budgetary support for plantations and sectoral production trends are central to assessing tea sector resilience. Tea production fell in April-May 2014 while rising in January-March 2014; June rainfall may mitigate the shortfall. The budgetary allocation for plantations declined year on year, implicating public financing for the tea sector. Strengthening irrigation infrastructure is identified as a key adaptive measure to address climate variability. The Government affirms continuing financial support to the Tea Board to enable its mandated functions.

Service sector growth: robust expansion in financial, real estate and IT services alongside mixed performance in trade and transport.
India's services sector accounted for a majority share of national output, with uneven sub sector performance: robust expansion in financing, insurance, real estate and business services, significant growth in IT and BPM, and a slowdown in trade, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage and communications; inbound tourism and domestic travel volumes also increased.

Social-sector expenditure growth prompts calls for higher education and health investment to address persistent human development gaps.
Social-sector expenditure has risen modestly as a share of total government outlay and GDP, with education spending increasing and health spending remaining low, prompting calls for higher allocations and quality improvements. Poverty headcounts declined substantially between the reference periods, but human development gaps in life expectancy and schooling persist. Measured inequality fell and employment growth slowed; inter-state variation and the need for greater female inclusion are highlighted as key policy priorities.

Affirmative action for women and children promotes inclusion through targeted social policies and protective legislation against violence and harassment.
Focused planning is required to secure the inclusion of women and children in growth through targeted social and financial measures, increased participation in decision making, and affirmative interventions. Adoption of a National Policy for Children and enactment of specialist protective statutes like the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act are cited to address violence and strengthen rights realization.