New Delhi: Ahead of the five state elections, Finance Minister Niirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget in Parliament today. The Budget Speech delivered by Nirmala Sitharaman had shortest duration. The duration was 1 hour and 30 minutes.
This Union Budget seeks to lay foundation & give a blueprint of the economy over ‘Amrit Kal’ of next 25 years – from India at 75 to India at 100 said FM Sitharaman.
Just like the last year, the finance minister delivered a paperless budget, reading out her speech from a tablet.
Here Are the Important Takeaways From Ministers Budget Speech
Fiscal deficit target: Country’s total expenditure is estimated at ₹39.45 lakh crore while receipts are estimated at Rs 22.84 lakh crore. FY’23 fiscal deficit target projected at 6.4 percent of GDP.
I-T returns within 2 years: To provide an opportunity to correct an error, taxpayers can now file an updated return within 2 years from the relevant assessment year.
Tax deduction limit: Both Centre and States govt employees’ tax deduction limit to be increased from 10 percent to 14 percent to help the social security benefits of state govt employees and bring them at par with the Central government employees.
Digital assets: Income from transfer of any virtual digital asset shall be taxed at the rate of 30%. TDS of 1 percent on payment made for transfer, above a monetary threshold.
LTCG: Income from Long Term Capital Gains will be taxed at 15%.
Digital rupee: Digital rupee to be issued using blockchain and other technologies and will be issued by RBI starting 2022-23. “This will give a big boost to the economy,” said the finance minister.
SEZ Act: Special Economic Zones Act will be replaced with new legislation for the development of enterprise and hubs. It will cover the existing industrial enclaves and enhance the competitiveness of exports.
Rs 1 lakh crore allocated to states: For 2022-23, allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore has been made to assist the states in catalysing overall investments in the economy. These 50-year interest-free loans are over and above normal borrowings allowed to states. It’ll be used for PM Gati Shakti-related and other productive capital investments of states.
2,000 km of rail network: 2,000 km of rail network to be brought under the indigenous world-class technology KAWACH, for safety and capacity augmentation.
Vande Bharat trains: 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains to be built over the next three years.
Gati Shakti Master Plan PM Gati Shakti is driven by 7 engines: Roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infra. All 7 engines will pull forward the Economy in unison. Gati Shakti Master Plan for expressways to be drawn up this financial year. 100 new cargo terminals to be built over the next three years. The National Highway network will be expanded by 25,000 kms in 2022-23.
5G rollout: Required spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022, to facilitate roll-out of 5G mobile services by private telecom players, announced the government.
Natural farming and Kisan drones: Chemical-free natural farming to be promoted across the country. Farm procurement value for FY23 to be Rs 2.37 trillion. Use of Kisan Drones to be promoted for crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients.
Mental Health program: The pandemic has brought mental health problems in people of all ages to the fore. To better the access to quality mental health counseling and care services, a National Tele Mental Health program will be launched, said the finance minister.:
Digital education: ‘One class, one TV channel’ program of PM eVIDYA will be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. According to the government this will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1 to 12. A digital university will be developed to provide access to students for world-class quality education with ISTE Standards.
Paperless e-bill system: A completely paperless, e-bill system will be launched by ministries for procurement.
E-passports: The issuance of E passports using embedded ship and futuristic technology will be rolled out in 2022-23.
PM Awas Yojna: Government announces Rs 48,000 crore is allotted for PM Awas Yojana and 60,000 houses will be identified as beneficiaries in rural and urban areas.
Defense: 68% of capital procurement budget to be earmarked for the domestic Defense industry. Private domestic industry to be encouraged to manufacture in collaboration with DRDO.
Affordable housing: In 2022-23, 80 lakh households will be identified for the affordable housing scheme.
Animation and Gaming: Animation, visual effects, gaming and comics sector offers immense potential to employ youth. An AVGC promotion task force with all stakeholders will be set up to recommend ways to realise this and build domestic capacity for serving our markets and the global demand.
All 1.5 lakh post offices to connected: 100 percent of post offices to come under core banking system allowing online transfer between post offices and bank accounts. This will be helpful especially for farmers and senior citizens in rural areas, enabling interoperability, and financial inclusion, said Sitharamn.
Hospitality: Hospitality services by the small & medium sector are yet to bounce back, therefore, the government has decided to extend the ECGL service for this sector by March 2023 with an increased cover of Rs 50,000.
Solar modules: To facilitate domestic manufacturing of 280 gigawatts of installed solar capacity by 2030, an additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crore for PLI for manufacturing of high-efficiency modules with priority to fully integrate manufacturing units to solar PV modules will be made by the government.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
