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
Personal Income Tax from the Budget speech of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2023
(Source: Govt of India) pic.twitter.com/dYEeRjQ6Nt
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced that the new tax regime will now be the default tax regime. Although, people will still have the option to avail benefits under old tax regime on opt-out basis.
The top Announcements by FM Nirmala Sitharaman include the objectives and goals for the country going forwards and how these can be achieved through- economic empowerment of women, scaling up operations to service large markets and focussing on green growth and efficient use of energy.
Read More Here: Boost for infrastructure, innovation and employment
I introduced in 2020, the new personal income tax regime with 6 income slabs, starting from Rs 2.5 Lakhs. I propose to change the tax structure in this regime by reducing the number of slabs to 5 and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 Lakhs: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
1. Those with income between Rs 0-3 lakh will not be taxed.
2. Those with income above Rs 3 lakh and up to Rs 6 lakh to be taxed at 5% under new regime.
3. Those with income of more than Rs 6 lakh and up to Rs 9 lakh will be taxed at 10% under new tax regime.
4. Those with income from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 12 lakh will be taxed at 15%
5. Those with income from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh will be taxed at 20% under new tax regime.
6. Income above Rs 15 lakh is to be taxed at Rs 30%
Fm made Five major tax announcements! “Currently those who have income up to Rs 5 lakhs do not pay any income tax. I propose increasing the rebate to Rs 7 lakhs. I propose to increase the rebate limit in the new tax regime. Those with income upto Rs. 7 lakhs will not have to pay any tax at all,” FM said.
“I propose to reduce the number of basic custom duty rates on goods other than textiles and agriculture, from 21 to 13. As a result, there are minor changes in the basic custom duties, cesses & surcharges on some items including toys, bicycles, automobiles,” FM Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Cigarettes will get more expensive and customs on kitchen chimneys will go down, FM announced.
Customs duty relief for certain inputs for the camera lens, and lithium batteries twill also continue for one more year. Gold, silver, and diamonds to get expensive.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman fixes fiscal deficit for 2023-24 at 5.9%. She has moved on to Part B of the budget. Stay tuned for further updates.
The FM announced that the government has plans to introduce a 5% compressed biogas mandate for all entities marketing natural gas in India, which may mean that companies marketing natural gas in India will have to market compressed biogas, or CBG, to the extent of 5 per cent of their volumes.
Sitharaman announced a revamped credit guarantee scheme that will take effect from April 1, 2023, through the infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus. This will enable additional collateral-free credit of Rs 2 lakh crore to MSMEs.
Priorities for the budget that complement each other would include inclusive development, unleashing potential, infrastructure and investment, green growth, reaching the last mile, financial sector, youth power – Sandeep Jhunjhunwala, Partner, Nangia Andersen LLP
The Finance Minister said that this budget focusses on green growth. The budget allocated Rs 19,700 crore to the National Hydrogen Mission. The objective, Sitharaman said, is to reach hydrogen production capacity of 5 metric million tonnes by 2030.The budget also provides RS 35000 crore towards energy transition and energy security.
We have formulated the National Education Policy. Now, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will be launched within the next three years. This scheme will cover courses like AI, robotics, AI, 3d printing, drones, and other soft skills. The launch is keeping in mind the need to skill the youth for international opportunities. 30 Skill India International Centres will also be launched.
50 additional airports, helipads, water aero drones, advanced landing grounds will be revamped to improve regional air connectivity: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
The Finance Minister announced a Capital outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for the Railways, the highest-ever allocation since 2013-14.
More than 39,000 compliances have been reduced and more than 3,400 legal provisions have been de-criminalised to improve ease of doing business, the FM said. She also said that all cities and towns will be enabled for 100% mechanical de-sludging of septics tanks & sewers to transition from manhole to machine hole mode.
The Finance Minister has announced that the 50-year interest-free loans to the state governments will be extended for one more year!
The PAN will be used as a common identifier for all digital platforms on government agencies. This will be facilitated through Legal mandate. The system of a unified filing process for filing information will be adopted. Aadhaar Pan will be linked to Digilocker to be used for single identification in different govt schemes.
The agricultural credit target is of Rs 20 lakh crores with focus on animal husbandary, dairy and fishery. The government will launch a sub-scheme under PM Matsya Sampada Yojana with an outlay of Rs 6,000 crore to further enable those involved in fisheries, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-location with the existing 157 med colleges established since 2015. FM also announced the mission to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047. Select ICMR labs will also be made available for research by public and private medical facilities: FM
The capital investment is being increased steeply to Rs 10 lakh crores which would three times the outlet that was provided in 2019. This substantial increase in recent years is to enhance growth and job creation.
Pradahan Mantari primitive vulnerable tribal groups development mission is being launched to improve the socially economical conditions of this group. This mission will saturate these families and habitations with basic facilities like access to education, health, road connectivity etc. An amount of 15000 crores for next three years will be used for this mission: FM Sitharaman
We made significant progress in sustainable goals. We also achieved many milestones in Swachh Bharat, PM Suraksha Bima Yojana, Direct benefit transfer, and Jan Dhan accounts, FM Sitharaman said in her speech.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed seven priorities of this Budget including inclusive development, green growth, youth power and more.
Traditional craftsmen have brought recgnition for India for centuries. A package of assistance for them has been conceptualised. The new scheme will enable them to integrate them with MSME value chain. It will give them financial support and give them advanced training, brand promotion, digital payments, and social security. This will greatly benefit people belonging to weaker section and women.
The economy is on the right track despite challenges and our focus on wide-ranging reforms helped us perform well in these trying times, the Finance Minister said. She added that in these times of global challenges, India’s G20 presidency gives us a unique opportunity to strengthen India’s role in the world economic order.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her Budget speech by saying that this is the first budget in 'Amrit Kaal'. This budget hopes to build on the foundation laid in the previous budget and the blueprint drawn for India at 100. The current year’s economic growth is estimated to be at 7%.
Delhi | This will be the best budget. This will be a pro-poor, pro-middle class budget: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, on #unionbudget2023 pic.twitter.com/vRYkAXVOfF
— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2023