Union Budget 2016: Arun Jaitley accepts Rahul Gandhi’s suggestion; proposes tax exemption on Braille paper

Rahul Gandhi had urged the commerce ministry to slash import duty on equipment related to visually challenged people for which he had also written a letter to commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

New Delhi, February: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday while presenting the Union Budget 2016 on Monday gave tax exemption on Braille paper. The suggestion was given by none other then FM Jaitley’s opponent and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi had urged the commerce ministry to slash import duty on equipment related to visually challenged people for which he had also written a letter to commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Report suggest that Rahul Gandhi’s intervention took place after a student from Bengaluru’s Mount Carmel College sought his intervention in the issue. Chandana Chandrashekhar, a student of Mount Carmel college met Rahul Gandhi last year when he visited her college. The visually challenged student along with several other students narrated Rahul the roadblocks they faced every day while commencing their studies.

The student also kept following the issue with Rahul through an email and explained about how import duties on Braille papers were hampering the growth of persons with visual impairment. Read Also: (Union Budget 2016: Pharma companies to benefit in 2016-17 fiscal year)

Last year Chandana also asked question to Rahul asking him. “Why is it so hard for a differently-abled person to secure a job?”

Meanwhile the Budget 2016-17 announced by FM Jaitley today has again disappointed the healthcare sector on larger schemes. Jaitley on Monday announced that the government will provide health insurance of up to Rs 1 lakh per family with an additional top-up of Rs 30,000 for senior citizens.

FM Jaitley also proposed 35,000 medical stores under Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana and National Dialysis Programme along with excise duty waivers on instruments related to dialysis.