India Budget 2023 Highlights: The Union Budget 2023-24 put forth several proposals for the benefit of taxpayers which came as a huge relief to the middle-class, salaried people of India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 presented the budget for this fiscal beginning April 1, 2023 in which one of the major takeaways was the announcement of simplified tax slabs and tax rebate hike.
The simplified tax slabs, however, fall under the new tax regime, which the FM said has been intentionally designed that way so that more and more people opt for it. Although people have been rejoicing over the decision, many are yet to navigate their way through the new regime. And since it will be the default tax regime, one has to be prepared well in advance. This budget also focused on raising capital expenditure, fiscal consolidation, and green growth.
The capital investment outlay has been increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which will account for 3.3 per cent of the GDP, the FM said in her budget speech. She added that the government remains committed to bringing the fiscal deficit down to 4.5 per cent of the GDP by 2025-26. The Budget also focussed on seven priorities, which Sitharaman called the “Saptrishis guiding us through Amrit Kaal”. Stay tuned with financialexpress.com as we bring you all the updates on Budget speech 2023.
Watch FM Sitharaman’s Budget 2023 speech from Parliament
Union Budget 2023 Highlights Live News: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Budget 2023 Top Announcements Live Updates
The Union Budget 2023-24 comes embedded with a strong sense of fiscal discipline and an aversion to profligacy and bankruptcy, noted industrialist Anand Mahindra said on Thursday. Taking to Twitter to share his views on the Budget, which was presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said: "First, the context is that India's the only major economy in good shape & the budget's task was to preserve that status. So I was gratified to see the higher capex. That's all about investing for higher growth." He lauded the finance ministry for maintaining discipline and not giving up to profligacy. - PTI
The best part of the Budget presented by the finance minister was that it did not contain 'surprises', but took a dramatic bet on capex, while continuing the path of fiscal consolidation, NITI Aayog vice chairman Suman Bery said on Thursday. Describing the Budget for 2023-24 as 'responsible', Bery further said that it has maintained the focus on social sector schemes, especially on those related to women and tribal welfare. "The prime minister's stress on fiscal caution continued to guide the finance." - PTI
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday hailed the Union Budget and said his government will pitch for the setting up of various centrally-sponsored projects in the state. Speaking to reporters, Sawant said his government will seek the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence, the Skill India Centre in Goa, among other initiatives. The Goa government will establish the National Hydrogen Mission here with the help of the Union government, as well as an organic farming centre in each district, he added. - PTI
'The roll-out of 5G services in October 2022 was a major disruption in the telecom sector, essentially since it opened the doorway to internet connectivity and dependent industries to register enormous growth. However, the service has so far remained limited to select regions in the country, which deterred it from fulfilling its purpose of accelerating digital growth. We are happy that the government has taken cognizance of this issue in Union Budget by announcing 100 dedicated labs to effectively develop 5G services in India. This move will expand the reach of the 5G network from an existing 50 cities to even the remotest corners of the country, which is a welcome step towards propelling the government’s vision of creating a ‘Digital India’,' says Sandesh Sarang, Revenue Director- India, Nepal, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, Infobip.
It is a progressive and forward-looking budget as the Finance Minister made the announcement for all the major sectors to pave the path of economic recovery and growth. Her recommendations to promote digitization in education sector shows a futuristic approach towards teaching and learning to make world- class quality education available for all the students. Also skilling, upskilling and reskilling programmes will help boosting entrepreneurship in the youth of the country : Nirvaan Birla Founder of Birla Brainiacs
In Budget 2023, to realize the vision of “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”, three centers of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions. This will provide large incremental values to several sectors like edtech, healthcare, agriculture, etc. It has great potential in various fields and creates an effective AI ecosystem. As a matter of fact, the more companies implement AI, the more job opportunities open up. The decision taken in Budget 2023 of setting up one hundred labs for developing applications using 5G services in engineering institutions is a very thoughtful one. The new generation of wireless is the new upgraded education and 5G Labs in universities will immensely contribute to the emerging and changing tech innovations. 5G peddling in many progressions such as EdTech, AR, VR XR, and Metaverse, can redefine classroom education, making it more interesting and meaningful by demonstrating complex theoretical concepts practically. This step will create new opportunities in research and experimentation that will drive economic growth and improve people’s lives : Vipin Vindal, CEO, Quarks Technosoft
The budget announcement on education by our Finance Minister today is a great initiative for the improvement in the sector. In today's announcement, Sitaraman ji has mentioned various new initiatives, especially setting up the artificial intelligence labs in the institution and opening of 100 labs on the 5G services across the country which is a primary necessity. When India intends to be the superpower of the world, it is required to invest in new technologies. 5G services and AI are the new technologies that the world is talking about and the government putting money into training the youth would give out a positive outcome. The new initiative named “Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0” is going to not only provide the basic skills required by the youth of India, but also to the entire Industry. Adding on to the announcement regarding the online training platform, which is also another remarkable move as it will help train a number of youth in a unique and faster way. Although the result orientation and the parts of skills improvement is yet to be seen, surely it's going to provide the impetus that is required by the education sector : Aman Mittal, Vice- President, LPU
Overall it is an excellent budget that will accelerate India growth as we start Amrit Kaal. The increase of capital investment outlay by 33% to ₹10 lakh crore for 2023-24 is a bold step. The doubling of spend on Railways, which is all electric now, is heartening to see. The cascading effect of infra spend coupled with reduced individual tax rates, will give a strong boost to consumption, especially for the Electrical & Electronics sector. The extra leeway given to States to encourage their capex, while maintaining link to Power Reforms, is also a great step. The allocation to Green Hydrogen, Ladakh RE infrastructure and Green Economy will accelerate our net zero and Energy self-reliance journey. There was no specific mention on acceleration of the T&D infrastructure, which will also be critical. All in all, an excellent budget that will position India as the fastest growing economy : Rohit Pathak, President, IEEMA and CEO, Birla Copper (Hindalco Industries Ltd)
The Budget presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman builds on the excellent Budget from last year, continuing the trend towards more productive expenditure. Like the rest of India, we welcome Budget 2023 with open arms. With easing capital gain taxation and carry forward of losses on change of shareholding of start-ups from seven years of incorporation to ten years, the country could become an innovation hub to many more startups this year. Entrepreneurship is vital for a country’s economic development. India is now the third largest ecosystem for start-ups globally, and ranks second in innovation quality among middle-income countries. The several supportive policies for startups in Budget 2023 by the Finance Minister will help to scale up the operations to a greater extent and create a boom for the startup ecosystem across the country : Yulia Aslamova, Head of Asia, DRIM Global
We believe that the latest budget presented by the government strikes a balance between fiscal prudence and supporting growth. The allocation of INR 1.97 trillion for infrastructure development, including highways, ports, and airports, is a positive step toward job creation and stimulation of demand in various sectors. The allocation of INR 15,700 crore for the MSME sector is also a welcome move as it provides much-needed support to this critical sector that has been hit hard by the pandemic : Avinash G Singh, Senior Vice President – Investment Research, Aranca
The Union Budget 2023 has undertaken a series of steps to strengthen the fundamental pillars of the economy, including the financial sector. The Union budget has correctly highlighted the imperative for greater emphasis on innovation, research, and development, which are crucial to helping India reach the aspirational goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy. Focusing on the amplification of emerging technologies that can help create a world-class technology ecosystem : Kanav Kalia, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Oxane Partners
Starting next year, those with an annual income up to Rs 7 Lakhs will not have to pay any tax. Anyone earning Rs 7 Lakhs or less will be eligible for no tax deductions. So, the Rs 5 Lakhs limit earlier is now Rs 7 Lakhs in the new regime: TV Somanathan, Union Finance Secretary pic.twitter.com/Jlk6jTrXUa
— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2023
For Budget we had 3 things in mind-1) India's GDP growth remains high, if global recession comes growth rate remains high2) While it's done,nothing should happen in our economy causing instability3) Govt do something for people who aren't taken care of by market economy: Fin Secy pic.twitter.com/pVOhU3S5Hy
— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2023
It is a progressive and forward looking budget as the Finance Minister made announcement for all the major sectors to pave the path of economic recovery and growth. Her recommendations to promote digitization in education sector shows a futuristic approach towards teaching and learning to make world- class quality education available for all the students. Also skilling, upskilling and reskilling programmes will help boosting entrepreneurship in the youth of the country : Nirvaan Birla Founder of Birla Brainiacs
The budget has a lot of right ideas, which make this quite opportune for sustained growth of the economy. With global headwinds, it is heartening that the focus is on modernizing the economy, and while the long-term investments have not been ignored. Thrust on digital, AI, and formalization of commerce would bear fruit as new business models and entrepreneurship would evolve and take benefits from the same--fueling overall growth. From the perspective of tech and consulting, we believe it will unlock many opportunities to transform Indian businesses and the governance transformation would only propel this further. With slowing down global markets, this should allow the Indian IT industry to pivot in a significant manner, with capabilities, innovation and IP becoming drivers of growth rather than cost arbitrage : Manish Godha, Founder & CEO, Advaiya Solutions
The Union Budget 2023-24 presented by the Finance Minister reiterated the importance of Entrepreneurship for a country’s Economic Development. India still proudly holds the position of the ‘3rd largest ecosystem for startups’ globally and ranks ‘2nd in innovation quality’ among middle income countries. And I positively believe that the ranking for innovation is going to go up in the next few years - thanks to the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 which seeks to further entrepreneurship in the country by focusing on skilling lakhs of youth in new age courses like Coding, AI, Robotics, Mechatronics, IOT, 3D Printing and Drone technology : Mr. Vittal Ramakrishna, CEO and Founder, POD World, A full stack fundraising platform
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a meeting with the BJP MPs on Friday to brief them about the budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The briefing, as per ANI, will be held at 9 am at the Balayogi Auditorium in Parliament Library Building. All the MPs have been informed.
As per PM Modi's vision, when nation celebrates 100 years of freedom, every Indian would be able to proudly say that they're citizens of India - the biggest economic power. The most important aspect is that it (Budget) has a vision for the next 25 years: UP CM told ANI
It is encouraging to see the Indian Government's strong and rounded commitment towards promoting research and innovation, education, literacy, skilling, employability and job creation in the Union Budget 2023. This will truly help leverage India's demographic dividend and build a strong, competitive, and future-ready youth. We are particularly excited to see the special focus laid on setting up facilities for research and centers of excellence. The establishment of National Digital Library along with availing non-curricular books in regional languages is another step in the right direction. It will improve literacy among children and adolescents. Aligned with the Government’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, we are happy to see the government’s continued and strong impetus on skilling, employability, and job creation. It will help our youth unlock their full potential : Ritesh Kumar, Country Lead for Wiley in India
Interestingly, the Finance Minister has made annual income up to Rs 7 lakh tax-free by increasing the rebate limit. But what about those earning Rs 7.5 lakh or Rs 8.5 lakh per year?
Read More: New Tax Regime Calculator FY 2023-24
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai told ANI, "It's a growth-oriented budget. Rs 10 lakh crore investment in the capital sector will generate employment and 5 trillion dollar economy can be achieved through this budget. There is a huge benefit for Karnataka in this budget."
#unionbudget | Nothing is being done in the interest of people. Nothing has been done for poor states like Bihar.There was a provision of Rs 73,000 Cr in MNREGA in 22-23 but it has been reduced to Rs 60,000 Cr. Budget of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi also decreased: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pic.twitter.com/0wpk88NQHJ
— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2023
It is really great to see how environmental sustainability has been one of the top 7 priorities in this budget. The Pro-EV budget focuses on much-needed initiatives such as Customs Duty reduction from 21% to 13% on capital goods and machinery required for Lithium Batteries and an extension of the subsidies on EV batteries for one more year. This will certainly encourage each EV manufacturer to contribute to Government initiatives to achieve mass EV adoption by 2030. This will also encourage investments in the EV sector which help new players to continue with innovation: Anmol Bohre, Co-founder & Managing Director of Enigma
The announcements for tweaking customs duties in certain sectors and measures to support MSMEs will help in boosting domestic manufacturing and the country's outbound shipments, said exporters, reported PTI.
The Indian government's clear focus on infrastructural development is evident in the Union Budget 2023, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's long-term vision for India@100. With a 33 percent increase in capital spending, the allotted amount of INR 10 lakh crores now represents 3.3% of India's GDP. The highest-ever capital allocation of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for the railway sector and the announcement of 100 crucial transport infrastructure projects will greatly strengthen first and last-mile connectivity and facilitate increased efficiency in logistics and supply chains: Lalit Das , Founder 3SC Solutions
The International Road Federation (IRF) welcomed the increased allocation of Rs 10 lakh crore as capital expenditure in Union Budget, saying it will help boost logistics and connectivity across the nation. IRF in a statement also welcomed the thrust of the Budget on seven growth engines of PM GatiShakti, including roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics.
Various schemes were announced in the Budget this year for the benefit of MSMEs. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Naren Goenka told PTI, “The announcement to cover more sectors under the PLI scheme and support to the MSME sector will help thrust exports and investment in the country. Rs 9,000-crore corpus for a revamped credit guarantee scheme will surely alleviate the stress of small and medium enterprises in India.”
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch has expressed dissatisfaction over lowering of income tax rate applicable on high-net-worth individuals, saying the government should have revoked passports of the super-rich leaving the country citing higher tax rate instead of giving them such a relief, reported PTI.
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday said that in the "hullabaloo" over the old and the new tax regimes, the importance of personal savings in a developing country has been "jettisoned", reported PTI. The report further said Chidambaram asserted that in the absence of a state-provided safety net for the vast majority of people, personal savings is the only social security.
We are quite pleased with the variety of steps the government has made to support startups. India currently has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world and is second among middle-income nations in terms of innovation and quality. As a sports venture, we anticipate government-sponsored sports initiatives like Khelo India. This spending plan will undoubtedly support new businesses in the nation : Akhilesh Reddy, chairman & MD at Indian Racing League
At the Union Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the importance of amplifying the vision of ‘Make AI in India' and 'Make AI Work for India’. This has garnered a lot of positive reactions from the AI and digital industry.
Read More | Budget 2023: Industry expresses optimism over AI-based developments
The budget focuses on 'green growth,' which includes boosting the use of clean energy, and reducing pollution. This is a crucial step towards a greener and sustainable future for the country and will play a significant role in reducing the carbon footprint. This announcement will accelerate the adoption of EVs in India, boosting the manufacturing of electric vehicles and components, and also supporting the development of charging infrastructure. We are excited to make a difference in our country by promoting green mobility. We aim to make cost-effective EVs while also helping the environment : Setul Shah , Founder at RunR Mobility
The budget is forward-looking, aiming to cater to the next 25 years, and aims to boost economic growth while covering a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, digitalisation, green energy, and catering to all economic classes.The budget aims to focus on infrastructure development, with 50 new airports, helipads, and aerodromes being the government's priority. The budget also caters to the youth, with a plan to launch Vikas Yojana 4.0 that includes setting up 30 skill India International Centers and providing a stipend to 47 lakh youth in three years. The agriculture sector is also given attention, with the allocation of INR 79,000 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. In a nutshell, the budget happens to be a comprehensive and well-thought-out strategy for a better India, one catering to all the sectors, assuring collective progress and most importantly it is a people-oriented budget constituting to a better lifestyle for all individuals : Mr Hemant Sood, Founder at FinDoc