Profile
- Taxpayers earning up to Rs 7 lakhs will not have to pay taxes as compared to the current limit of Rs 5 lakhs.
- Surcharge on annual income above 5 crores reduced from 37% to 25%.
- Each salaried person with an income of Rs 15.5 lakhs or more to benefit by Rs 52,500.
- 38,800 teachers and staff to be recruited for 740 schools serving 3.5 lakh tribal students.
- Three centers for Artificial Intelligence will be set-up in top educational institutions.
- 157 nursing colleges to be set-up in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges.
- A National Digital Library for children and adolescents will be set-up for facilitating availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels.
- The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
- Mahila Samman Savings Certificate introduced, allows savings up to 2 lakh for 2 years at 7.5%.
- Rural women mobilized into 81 lakh self-help groups; government to provide raw materials and marketing for products.
- Push in tourism sector to create more jobs for the youth, in particular.
- The green growth efforts will provide large-scale green job opportunities.
- Investments in Infrastructure and productive capacity will have a multiplier effect on jobs.
- 100 labs for developing apps using 5G services to be set up in engineering institutions to realise employment potential.
- PM Pranam scheme will be introduced for farmers which will give them access to better fertilizers.
- Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set-up to bring affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers.
- Government to implement a plan to set up decentralised storage capacity so farmers can store produce.
- 1 crore farmers to be supported to adopt natural farming, for this, 10,000 bio input resource centres & network for distributing micro fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing to be set up.
- Time period on IT benefits to companies registered as startups increased further by another year.
- An entity DigiLocker will be set up for securely storing and sharing documents online.
- Over 39,000 compliances reduced, 3,400 legal provisions decriminalized for Ease of Doing Business.
- In cases of failure by MSMEs to execute contract during COVID period, 95% of forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security to be returned by government.
- Youth to be trained and given courses on the needs of the industry, especially new age courses.
- Scheme to supply free food grain to all Antyodaya and priority households for the next one year, under PMGKAY.
SeCTORS
- Open-Source Digital Public Infra for insurance will create huge opportunities for the sector.
- One hundred labs for developing applications using 5G services which will cover health to be set up.
- Mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia by 2047 will be launched.
- A new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up.
- Multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure availability of manpower for medical technologies.
- The defence services today got a hike of around 13 per cent in their budget for 2023-24 as Rs 5.94 lakh crore were allocated.
- The modernisation budget has also been hiked to Rs 1.62 lakh crore, used for the acquisition of weapon systems and equipment from Indian firms.
- The pension budget of the Forces has been increased to Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
- Mission launched to provide PGTVs with facilities, including telecom connectivity.
- New tariff lines are also proposed to be created, which will help in better identification of products, including telecom products.
- To increase manufacturing of telephones, relief in customs duty will decrease the cost of phones, increasing demand and boosting the telecom industry.
- Budget’s indirect tax proposals aim to boost domestic manufacturing.
- New co-operatives that commence manufacturing activities till 31.3.2024 shall get the benefit of a lower tax rate of 15%.
- Customs duty on certain TV parts was reduced to boost TV manufacturing while making it less expensive for consumers.
- Basic customs duty on electric kitchen chimneys is being increased to 15% to encourage domestic manufacturing.
- Exemption from Basic Customs Duty on raw materials for manufacture of CRGO Steel, ferrous scrap and nickel cathode is being continued.
- The government’s focuses on green and clean mobility, allocated of funds for replacing government vehicles.
- Customs duty exemption extended to import of capital goods and machinery required for manufacture of lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles.
- Rs 35,000 crore provided for priority capital investments towards energy transition and net zero objectives.
- The Inter-state transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of 13 GW renewable energy from Ladakh to be constructed with investment of Rs 20,700 crore.
- Battery Energy Storage Systems with capacity of 4,000 MWH will be supported with Viability Gap Funding.
- Higher thrust on renewables, green energy, biomass, and energy transition getting outlay of Rs 19,700 crore.
- Propose to exempt basic customs duty on denatured ethyl alcohol which supports the Ethanol Blending Programme and facilitates transition to green energy.
- Increase in government capex on infrastructure to Rs 10 lakh crore, increase of 33% compared to last year.
- To allocate Rs 15000 crore over three years under Schedule Tribe Mission towards safe housing and infrastructure development towards Road.
- 100 transport infrastructure projects, for last and first mile connectivity will be taken up on priority with investment of Rs 75,000 crore (Rs 15,000 crore from private sources).
- Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) will be established through use of priority sector lending shortfall.
- The newly established Infrastructure Finance Secretariat will assist stakeholders for more private investment in railways.
- Capital outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore provided for the Railways.
- Promotion of tourism will be taken up on mission mode, with participation of states, convergence of government programmes and PPP.
- A scheme that will be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, focusing on eco-tourism opportunities.
- Under the Vibrant Villages Programme, tourism infrastructure and amenities will also be facilitated in border villages.
- States and cities encouraged to undertake urban planning reforms and actions to transform cities into ‘sustainable cities of tomorrow’.
- Through property tax governance reforms, cities will be incentivized to improve their creditworthiness for municipal bonds.
- The creation of large producer enterprises, the economic empowerment of women, and an emphasis on the growth of handicrafts in rural regions would all contribute to economic growth, encourage rural consumption, and benefit consumer goods companies.
Who Got What
The union budget is an extremely relevant financial report for all members of the economy – from common citizens and investment analysts to the government itself. Not only does it provide information on the nation’s expenditure and revenue, it also aids in maintaining stability and control over the finances of the government. The budget is a means of providing accountability through financial reporting. India aims to improve the standard of living of its people and eradicate issues such as poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment and the budget helps the government in creating policies and meeting these goals. Citizens can see exactly how much, and on what the government spent in the last fiscal year and how much they plan to spend in the coming financial year. It also helps them plan their personal finances better by knowing how the macroeconomic guidelines intend to change in the coming year.
From women and senior citizens to salaried-class individuals and different industries all have been expecting some relief from the Union Budget 2023. This is Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and the BJP government’s last full budget ahead of the 2024 general elections. However, this annual document can prove to be a rather complex one to interpret by the masses, since it includes a plethora of economic jargon and analysis.
Therefore, with the budget right around the corner, it becomes essential to break it down in a way that it becomes accessible to everyone and anyone it concerns. Keeping this in mind, The Financial Express has built a separate page dedicated to the union budget – Who Gets What. The page aims to provide extensive coverage of all sectors, including Infrastructure, Railways, Retail/FMCG, Manufacturing, Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals, IT, Telecom, and social service sector.
Prior to the budget release, Who Gets What will cover the expected policies, guidelines and other economic variables as per the forecasts of industry experts and specialists. After the budget is released on 1st February, 2023, FE will cover a thorough analysis of the actual policies as well as their implications on different parts of society. Hence, the page aims to provide the reader with both the expectational forecasts as well as real data- all while being concise and straightforward.