Big benefits to the salaried class, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced full tax rebate on income up to Rs 5 lakh per annum while raising the standard deduction for the same segment to Rs 50,000 from the current amount Rs 40,000. He also raised the exemption on tax deducted at source (TDS) on interest earned from bank and post office savings raised to Rs 40,000 form the current Rs 10,000.

As per interim budget, anyone with an annual income of up to Rs 5 lakh per year will not pay any tax up if he or she invests Rs 1.5 lakh under Section 80C in provident funds and other prescribed instruments. The TDS threshold for rent has also been increased from Rs 1.8 lakh to 2.4 lakh while there will be no tax on notional rent on the second house.

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Even the gratuity limit has seen a major hike of Rs 20 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. Goyal also said that a mega pension scheme, known as 'Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan (PMSYM)', under which unorganised sector employees will be eligible for Rs 3,000 per month will be rolled out which will benefit almost 10 crore people employed in the unorganised sector.

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