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
There are a lot of expectations from the private healthcare sector to make healthcare facilities affordable for the common man. This budget may see govt amending healthcare schemes, implementing direct PPPs, and lowering corporate tax rate overall for hospitals.
Budget 2023 should focus on further investments in roads, railways, ports, airports and highways. Another key area of focus for the real estate sector is affordable housing. Industry experts said many people are struggling to find affordable housing options with the increasing cost of living and rising real estate prices. The government is expected to announce new initiatives and funding for affordable housing projects to make them more accessible to a wider range of people.
Union Budget 2023-24 is expected to provide tax incentives or subsidies for the production of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles, as well as measures to promote the adoption of these vehicles by consumers. Subsequently, measures to support the development of charging infrastructure for EVs are expected as well.
In the Union Budget 2023, the infrastructure sector expects the spending on infrastructure development to go up to 10% of GDP. Increased spending will help in building assets for the future, generate employment, and circulate capital in the economy, says Pradeep Misra, CMD-REPL
At a time when the 'Mission 2024' has become the buzzword, the ruling BJP is going a step further. Ahead of the Union Budget, several party leaders including Sushil Modi said that a special campaign will be launched to make people aware about the 'pro-people' steps taken by the Narendra Modi government. The campaign will be run for a period of 12 days, a PTI report said. BJP Chief JP Nadda has already formed a special team that will conduct this nationwide drive. This campaign will conclude on February 12.
The Economic Survey may say that both retail inflation and wholesale inflation may have somewhat been tamed but there's conditions applied scenario. Simply put, should there be any re-emergence of new strain of coronavirus or there is sudden spike in commodity prices, India may see upward trend in inflationary numbers. The Economic Survey says that issues beyond coronavirus such as fresh geo-political turmoil may also add to the inflation woes.
The Budget Session of Parliament began on 31s January. The Opposition parties that are demanding a House debate over the alleged tax evasion by the Adani group as claimed by the American research firm Hindenburg are RJD, Aam Aadmi Party, CPM, CPI and Bharat Rashtra Samithi. These parties say that Parliament must debate on the issue as LIC and SBI have high exposure to the Adani Group. These parties had made the demand during an all-party meet before the Budget Session. Since most of the Congress leadership was occupied with Bharat Jodo Yatra, no one from the Grand Old party turned up for the meeting.
The Union Budget is a financial exercise, but the Budget Session is all about politics. The Opposition is demanding a debate on the report by Hindenburg Research that talks about Adani Group. It would be interesting to see how the Opposition will behave during the Budget speech. Loud chants, yes, walkout, maybe not!
It won't be wrong if we say that the most keenly watched announcement during any Union Budget is that related to the income tax. After all, it directly impacts the middle class. After the long period of stubborn inflation, the middle class is looking at Nirmala Sitharaman eagerly for tax sops. Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, it would be interesting to see how the Modi government balances between fiscal prudence and populist sentiments.
The task of preparing the Union Budget is a lengthy process. For the February 1st deadline, the preparations begin way back in August-September. It all begins with the Centre issuing circulars to all state governments, UTs and other autonomous bodies to prepare budget estimates. Then all ministries are also asked to furnish the estimates. The budget estimates not only include the expenditures but also the revenue earned in the past year. All this information is collated and then begins the round of consolations. Once all estimates are approved, they are sent to the Union Finance Ministry.
Part B of this process comes when the finance minister holds pre-Budget meets. The last stage is when all the FM takes the final call. Once everything is approved and sealed, the Union Budget is printed and presented by the finance minister in Parlaiment of February 1st every year.
For the starters, the Union Budget can be divided into two categories. One is known as the Revenue Budget and the other part is known as the Capital Budget. While the Revenue Budget largely consists of as the name suggests the expenditure incurred by the Centre and along with the revenue receipts, the Capital Budget has details of the capital expenditure as well as capital receipts.
Did you know that the incumbent Finance Minister holds the record for delivering the longest Budget speech of Independent India. Sitharaman spoke for over two hours – 2 hours and 42 minutes to be precise – while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21. Sitharaman broke her own record. In 2019, presenting her maiden Union Budget, Sitharaman's Budget speech went on for two hours and 17 minutes.
Gone are the days when the bundles of budgetary documents would be distributed among the media professionals. Now, it's all about digital presence. For third time in a row, Sitharaman will be presenting the Union Budget in the paperless form. So, for those who are interested to know the nitty-gritties, the Union Budget will be available on an app.
Ahead of the Union Budget, the International Monetary Fund's new forecast is proving to be comforting news. Amid global layoffs and recessionary fears, the IMF maintains that India will remain to be the 'bright spot' in the global economy. Strictly speaking about the numbers, the IMF says that India will be the fastest growing economy with a growth rate of 6.1 per cent. According to Gita Gopinath, 'global growth remains weak, but it may be at a turning point. We have slightly increased our 2022 and 2023 growth forecasts. Global growth will slow from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023 then rebound to 3.1% in 2024.'
The Economic Survey says that the Modi government will continue the capex thrust, just like what we saw in last two years. This is also being done to compensate the reluctance on part of the private players.
One of the key takeaways of the Economic Survey was about the GDP trajectory. The Survey says that India's GDP for current fiscal will grow at 7 per cent. For the next financial year, the GDP has been pegged at 6.6.8 per cent. It should be noted that the nominal GDP may grow at 11 per cent in the next fiscal. The Survey said that the GDP roadmap shows India's tough economic resilience in the face of troubled world situation.
The Economic Survey tabled on Tuesday called for fiscal prudence with a view that low interest rates will benefit all stakeholders. This comes as the middle class hopes for tax relief from Nirmala Sitharaman.
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