Budget 2016: When Arun Jaitley implemented Rahul Gandhi’s suggestion

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech on Monday that he had accepted a suggestion from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for tax exemption on Braille paper.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech on Monday that he had accepted a suggestion from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for tax exemption on Braille paper.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had written to the commerce ministry after a visually challenged college student approached him for help at the Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru, where he addressed students last year. (Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)

Gandhi was seen thumping the desk with a smile after Jaitley said: “I accept suggestion from Rahul Gandhi on providing relief to differently-abled people.”

Read: Budget 2016: Who gained and who lost in Jaitley’s big rural push

Braille paper, a special paper which is thicker and more expensive than regular sheets, helps visually impaired people read.

Gandhi had written to the commerce ministry after a visually challenged college student approached him for help at the Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru, where he addressed students last year, a report said.

Read: There is a limit to which an economy can afford exemptions: Jaitley

The import duty on Braille paper will be slashed as it will now be included in the list of “assistive devices for differently abled”.

For our full coverage on the 2016 Union Budget, click here.