Finance Minister Piyush Goyal Friday proposed to increase the limit for tax deduction at source (TDS) on interest income from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 per annum.

The proposal will benefit senior citizens and small depositors who depend upon income from interest on deposits in banks and post offices, he said while presenting Budget 2019-20.

Under the current norms, they are required to seek a refund on tax deducted on interest income beyond Rs 10,000 per annum.

Dr. Manmohan Singh called it an election Budget. On being asked about the big income tax gift for the middle class and farmers said, "In these circumstances of the case, concessions to farmers and concessions to the middle class will obviously have implications in the election."

Manmohan Singh is praised for his economic reforms which he announced in 1991 when he was finance minister. "This is not just an Interim Budget, this is a vehicle for developmental transformation of the nation,"

The BJP government also announced the widely-anticipated scheme in which small farmers will get Rs. 6,000 direct in their bank accounts. "The government has made a historic plan called the PM-Kisan programme. Those small farmers who have less than two acres will get the support of Rs. 6,000," Mr. Goyal said. "It will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of farmers in three installments of Rs. 2,000,"