“Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, stated in the Union budget 2023 statement that she will continue to prioritise economic growth. This requires strengthening vital economic sectors like manufacturing and infrastructure as well as creating new employment.”
Union Budget 2023: Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the final full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi administration on February 1, 2023. The government made the new income tax system more acceptable by removing income taxes from amounts up to Rs. 3 lakhs. Due to a rebate, individuals earning up to Rs. 7 lakh are no longer required to pay income tax. The FM, which also simplified the tax legislation, produced the “default income tax system”.
The Union Budget 2023–24 was delivered on February 1st, 2023 by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs. The budget for 2023 emphasized the agricultural and educational sectors while also including provisions for green growth and inclusive growth of all facets of society. In the Union Budget 2023–24, a general overview of the Indian economy and COVID–19 achievements was presented. It also advised fresh quotas for almost every industry in an effort to promote development and job creation. In the article that follows, we’ll look at some of the highlights of the Union Budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2023–2024.
Since this is Amrit Kaal’s first budget, it aims to expand on the framework created by the prior budget and the strategy created for India at 100, according to Sitharaman. The key priority is still on enhancing and broadening the range of economic growth, boosting crucial areas including infrastructure, industry, and job creation, according to the finance minister’s budget statement.
Union budget 2023 highlights
Mentioned below are some of the major union budget 2023 highlights.
Indian economy on the right track
The Indian economy is on the right track, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and is positioned for success despite obstacles. We were able to work efficiently during challenging times because of our focus on complete improvements and sensible policies. Thanks to a number of achievements, including a cutting-edge digital public infrastructure, the Covid vaccination program, and a proactive approach in frontier regions, India is gaining more and more attention on the global stage.
Free food grain programme under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
The PM Gaarib Kalyan Anna Yojana is a government initiative that was put in place to give prioritized households free food grains for the forthcoming year, as stated by the finance minister. As per the finance minister, the government would be accountable for paying the total cost of roughly Rs 2 lakh crore.
Priorities for Budget 2023
The Union Budget 2023, according to the finance minister, would be centered around the major goals discussed below. These are the financial sector, infrastructure, and investment, unleashing potential, green growth, young power, and equitable growth.
Budget for Amrit Kaal
According to the finance minister, this budget will put the foundation for the Amrit Kaal, in which there will be a knowledge-based sector and growth that is powered by technology. “A technology-driven, knowledge-based economy with a sound financial system and a thriving financial sector is part of our vision for the Amrit Kaal.” It is indeed critical to achieving this “janbhagidari” through “sabka saath, sabka prayaas,” she explained.
Big boost to agriculture
The finance minister announced a number of initiatives to support the agriculture industry as a whole, including offering farmers accessible answers to problems they confront. She introduced a fund to “speed up” the agriculture industry.
An increase in the target for agricultural financing to Rs 20 lakh crore will be made, with a focus on dairy, fisheries, and animal husbandry. Nirmala Sitharaman declared, “We would introduce a brand-new sub-scheme with the targeted investment of Rs 6,000 crore to support the operations of fishers, salmon sellers, and MSMEs.
Health Education and Skilling
In addition to the 157 medical colleges that have already been operating since 2014, the finance minister said that 157 new nursing colleges will also be created in the same place. To promote teamwork in research and innovation, ICMR labs will indeed be made accessible for use by medical college professors from both private and public universities as well as R&D teams from the commercial sector.
In addition, she presented a fresh program to promote pharmaceutical innovation and research. The government would also empower businesses to make investments in key sectors for research and development.
A national digital library for children and teens will be created, according to the finance minister, to make it simpler for people to access excellent books across all categories, subjects, and languages, as well as across all geographies and device kinds.
Increased spending for PM Awas Yojana
The government of India is increasing the budget for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, a programme that would offer affordable homes for urban poor people, by 66% to more than Rs 79,000 crore.
Huge increase in investment in capital
According to the finance minister’s budget statement, the government’s primary objective is still an investment and job development.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, stated during her budget statement that the capital investment expenditure will rise by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore or 3.3 percent of GDP.
She also disclosed that the clause for 50-year interest-free loans to state governments has been extended by a further year. With an increased budget of Rs. 1.3 lakh crore, this would be done to encourage infrastructure investment and to provide them with incentives for complementary policy measures.
Railway spending would be 2.40 lakh crore
According to the finance minister, the overall expenditure for the Indian Railway budget would be Rs 2.40 lakh crore, which is nine times the total expenditure for 2013–14.
Conclusion
The necessities of the average Indian were taken into consideration when planning the balanced Budget for 2023–24. Nirmala Sitharaman has emphasised through her Budget plans that saving and spending go hand in hand and that her administration is committed to assisting Indians in better managing their needs and costs. Her suggestions range from personal tax revision to the availability of credit to small and medium companies.
