India Budget Highlights 2023

In her fifth budget under Modi 2.0, Nirmala Sitharaman today presented the Union Budget 2023. In the last full-fledged Budget before the general elections next year, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Indian economy is on the right path and heading towards a bright future. Sitharaman announced major changes in tax slabs under the new tax regime, along with big investments in railways and capital expenditures, which were welcomed by taxpayers and the economy.

Here are key highlights of India Budget 2023:

Income Tax payers:

• No changes in the old tax regime
• New tax regime to become the default tax regime
• No tax on income up to Rs 7.5 lakh a year in new tax regime
•  Govt proposes to reduce highest surcharge rate from 37% to 25% in new tax regime

New slabs under new tax regimes

Rs 0-3 lakh : Nil

Rs 3-6 lakhs: 5%

Rs 6-9 lakhs: 10%

Rs 9-12 lakhs: 15%

Rs 12-15 lakhs: 20%

Rs Over 15 lakhs: 30%

Capital gains deductions on residential investments would be capped at Rs 10 crore by the government

Those earning Rs 9 lakh a year will pay only Rs 45,000 in taxes: FM Sitharaman

A tax rate of Rs 1.5 lakh will apply to income of Rs 15 lakh, down from Rs 1.87 lakh

As part of the new regime, taxpayers are entitled to a Rs 50,000 standard deduction

The Agniveer Corpus Fund payment received by Agniveers is exempt from tax

In the case of online games, the government proposes to tax winnings at the time of withdrawal and at the end of the fiscal year.

As a result of the government’s announcement in the budget, fully imported luxury cars and electric vehicles will cost more.

Non-government salaried employees are now exempt from paying tax on leave encashment on retirement.

The next-generation Common IT Return Form is to be rolled out for the convenience of tax payers

It is necessary to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism.

The cost of what gets cheaper and the cost of what gets more expensive:

Cheaper

Mobile phones

TV

Lab-grown diamonds

Shrimp feed

Machinery for lithium ion batteries

Raw materials for EV industry

Costlier:

Cigarettes

Silver

Compounded rubber

Imitation Jewellery

Articles made from gold bars

Imported bicycles and toys

Imported kitchen electric chimney

Imported luxury cars and EVs

Indirect Taxes:

Tax hikes on certain cigarettes of 16%

A 15% tax rate will be offered to new cooperatives that begin manufacturing before March, 2024

The basic customs duty on crude and glycerine has been reduced to 2.5%.

The import duty on silver bars has been raised to align it with that of gold and platinum

Extend the duty-free period on mobile phone parts by one year

In order to encourage TV manufacturing, customs duty on open cells of TV panels has been reduced to 2.5%

Certain parts and inputs, such as camera lenses, are exempt from Customs Duty

An extension of the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries has been granted

As a result, the number of basic custom duty rates for goods other than textiles and agriculture has been reduced from 21 to 13. Consequently, there has been a small change in taxes on certain items such as toys, bicycles, and automobiles as a consequence.

Announcements regarding savings schemes

A maximum deposit limit of Rs 30 lakhs has been raised from Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 30 lakhs for the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme

In addition, the limit for the Monthly Income Scheme has been doubled to Rs 9 lakh and Rs 15 lakh respectively for joint accounts.

The Mahila Samman Saving Certificate, a new one-time scheme for saving money for women, will be available for a period of two years, from March 2025 to March 2028.

A deposit facility of up to Rs 2 lakh will be available in the name of women or girls for a duration of two years at a fixed interest rate of seven per cent with the option of partial withdrawals.

A massive boost is given to the railways:

There has been an outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for the railways during FY24.

A total of $1.2 billion has been allocated to Railways in FY15, which is a nine-fold increase from the allocations in FY14.

The cost of capital expenditures increased by 33%

There would be a capital investment of Rs 10 lakh crore, a steep increase of 33 per cent for the third year in a row, to increase growth potential and job creation, to attract private investment, and to provide a cushion against global headwinds.

An effective capital expenditure of Rs 13.7 lakh crore is expected to be incurred by the center

There will be a 3.3% capital investment outlay on the GDP in FY24.

It is estimated that the Centre spent Rs 13.7 lakh on effective capital expenditure in FY24

An increase of 13% has been made to the defence budget:

It is estimated that the defence budget will increase to Rs 5.94 lakh crore from last year’s Rs 5.25 lakh crore.

This includes a budget of Rs 1.62 lakh crore that will be set aside for capital expenditures, including the purchase of weapons, aircraft, warships, and other military equipment.

During the fiscal year 2022-23, Rs 1.52 lakh crore has been allocated as a budgetary allocation for capital expenditure

Position in terms of finances:

In order to achieve this goal, the fiscal deficit is expected to be below 4.5 percent by 2025-26.

According to the Revised Estimates for FY23, the budget deficit target has been reduced from 6.4% to 5.9%, which is lower than the 6.4% target set in the Revised Estimates for FY22.

During the FY24, gross market borrowing was estimated at Rs 15.43 lakh crores

The net market borrowing in FY24 is estimated to be Rs 11.8 lakh crores

A revised estimate of the net tax receipts for FY23 now stands at Rs 20.9 lakh crores, which is higher than the previous estimate

The revised estimate of total expenditure for FY23 stands at Rs 41.9 lakh crore

FY23 revised estimate of the total receipts other than borrowings of Rs 24.3 lakh crores has been made

There was a net tax receipt of Rs 23.3 lakh crore in FY24

SME sector

There will be a revised credit guarantee for MSMEs beginning on April 1, 2023 with an infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the fund

In addition to increasing collateral-free guaranteed credit to Rs 2 lakh crore, the scheme is also expected to reduce the cost of credit by about one percent as well.

The Banking Sector:

As part of its effort to improve the governance of banks, the government is considering amending the Banking Regulation Act

Jobs:

There is going to be a launch of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 by the Government

There will be 30 Skill India International Centres in various states across the country so that youth can get trained for international opportunities.

In the coming three years, a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme will be rolled out in which stipend support will be provided to 47 lakh young people in the form of direct benefit transfers.

Clean Energy:

As part of the energy transition, Rs 35,000 crores will be allocated as priority capital

It is expected that the green credit program will be notified under the Environment Protection Act in the near future

It is necessary to get funding to cover the viability gap in battery storage.

As part of this initiative, the government will assist in the setup of a battery energy storage system capable of storing 4,000 megawatt hours of energy

With an outlay of Rs 19,700 crore, the National Green Hydrogen Mission can facilitate the transition of the economy to low carbon intensity, reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports, and help the country become a world leader in technology and market share.

Jewellery and gems include:

There is a proposal to offer a five-year research and development grant to one of the IITs in order to encourage the production of lab-grown diamonds in India

In Part-B of the Budget document, we propose to review customs duties on lab-grown diamonds in order to reduce their costs

Aviation:

There will be a revival of 50 additional airports, helicopters, water aero drones, and advanced landing grounds to improve regional air connectivity, including:

Ease of Doing Business:

A second scheme of dispute resolution, called Vivad Se Vishwas-II, is being introduced by the government for the resolution of commercial disputes in India

– The PAN will be used as a common identifier for all the digital systems used by government agencies

The use of digi locker and Aadhaar as the basis of establishing an integrated identity management system is intended to be one-stop solution for reconciling and updating identities maintained by various agencies

It is intended that a central processing centre will be established to handle companies’ filings under the Companies Act in a faster manner

For business establishments that are required to have Permanent Account Numbers (PAN), the PAN will be used as a common identifier for all digital applications of specified government agencies requiring PANs.

Over 39,000 compliances have been reduced and 3400 legal provisions have been decriminalized to make it easier for businesses to do business

There has been an introduction of the Jan Vishwas Bill, which amends 42 Central Acts to further trust-based governance.

In an effort to boost business activity in GIFT City, the Finance Minister has announced a series of measures

 Digital services

DigiLocker’s range of services will be expanded in the near future

A total of 100 labs will be set up in engineering institutions where applications will be developed to use 5G services in the near future

There will be labs on smart classrooms, precision farming, and health care applications covered in the course.

It has been decided to launch the third phase of the E-court project with an outlay of Rs 7,000 crores

Leaders in the industry will partner with one another in order to develop, provide scalable options for various sectors such as health, agriculture, and others.

Urban Development:

It is anticipated that the government will spend Rs 10,000 crore per year on the urban infrastructure development fund

It is intended to increase the creditworthiness of municipal bonds by encouraging cities to do so

A 100 percent water-saving system will be available for all cities and towns, so they will be able to upgrade their septic tanks and sewer lines.

Health:

We are on a mission to eradicate sickle cell anemia by the year 2047

Housing:

There has been an increase of 66% in the expenditure for PM Awaas Yojana to over Rs 79,000 crore

Loans to states at no interest will continue to be provided

It has been decided that the Center will extend the interest-free loan to state governments for another year

It is planned to establish a digital library for children and adolescents:

Children and adolescents will have access to a national digital library which will be established

To replenish non-curricular titles in regional languages, English to digital libraries through the National Book Trust and Children’s Book Trust, respectively.

In order to facilitate access to the resources of the National Digital Library, states need to be encouraged to establish physical libraries for them at the panchayat and ward levels as well as provide infrastructure to facilitate its use

Education:

A total of three artificial intelligence centers are to be established in top educational institutions as centers of excellence.

We will be establishing 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges that have been established since 2014, in addition to the existing 157 nursing colleges.

* The establishment of Eklavaya Model Residential Schools, which will be set up within the next three years. A total of 38,800 teachers and support staff will be recruited for 740 schools serving 3.5 lakh tribal students as part of a recruitment drive by the Centre.

Agricultural sector:

An Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be established in order to encourage young entrepreneurs to start up agri-startups as part of this program

A digital public infrastructure is to be developed in the agricultural sector as part of this project

A credit facility of Rs 20 lakh crores has been granted to the animal husbandry, dairy and fishing sectors

It is expected that over the next 3 years, one crore farmers will receive assistance to adopt natural farming methods.

There will be a total of 10,000 bio input resource centers set up

It has been decided to launch a sub-scheme under PM Mastya Sampada Yojna with an outlay of Rs 6,000 crore in order to further facilitate the activities of fishermen

The Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad has been selected as the Centre of Excellence for it will help to contribute to the mission of making India a global hub for ‘Shree Anna’ through the sharing of best practices, research and technologies on an international scale.

It is estimated that Rs 2,516 crore will be spent on the computerisation of 63,000 credit societies

The upper Badra project in Karnataka is expected to receive a central assistance of Rs 5,300 crore to provide sustainable micro-irrigation to the drought-prone central regions of the state.

As part of the GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme, 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants are to be set up for the promotion of circular economy, with a total investment of Rs 10,000 crore.

There is a proposal that all organizations involved in the marketing of natural gas and biogas be mandated to use five percent compressed biogas as part of their operations on a daily basis.

Welfare of the tribes:

As part of the Pradhan Mantri Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Group (PMPVTGS) mission, efforts have been made to improve the socioeconomic condition of these tribes

* The Government of India will provide Rs 15,000 crores over the next three years to tribals for safe housing, sanitation, drinking water, and electricity.

In sports:

An increase of Rs 723.97 crore has been allocated to the sports sector, bringing the total allocation to Rs 3,397.32 crores.

‘Saptarishi’, the budget’s seven priorities, are outlined in the following paragraphs:

The development of an inclusive society.

We are at the end of the road.

Infrastructural development and investment.

Making the most of your potential.

Green growth.

Youth power.

Sectors that deal with finance.

Among the aims of Budget 2023 are the following:

1. It is important to provide ample opportunities for citizens, especially young people, to grow and develop

2. Assisting in the creation of jobs and stimulating economic growth

3. Enhancing the stability of the macroeconomic system

4. As part of the Budget 2023, we will strive to empower women

5. For the purpose of enabling women self-help groups to reach the next stage of economic empowerment through self-help groups

6. Aims to assist self-help groups with the supply of raw materials, branding, and marketing of their products

The tourism industry:

A mission mode approach will be used to promote tourism through active state participation, the convergence of government programs and partnerships between the public and private sectors.

There will be a total of 50 tourist destinations that will be selected through the challenge mode for development into a whole package that will be available both domestically and internationally

This initiative encourages the state to establish a ‘Unity Mall’ at the capital of their state or at the state’s most popular tourist attraction as part of the initiative for the purpose of promoting and selling the GI products and other handicrafts made in their states and districts.

A lot of domestic as well as foreign tourists find the country to be an extremely attractive destination. In the tourism industry, there is a huge potential that can be exploited. It is believed that the sector has a huge potential to create jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people in particular.

PM Vishwa Karma Kaushal Samman:

As part of the PM Vishwa Karma Kaushal Samman package, a package of assistance has been conceptualised for traditional artisans and craftspeople, enabling them to improve the quality, scale, reach and reach of their products, as well as the integration with the MSME value chain.

The free food scheme will continue until 2024 as follows:

To continue the commitment we have made to food security, we are implementing a scheme from January 1, 2023, under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, that will supply free food grain to all Antyodaya and priority households for a period of one year

It was our responsibility to make sure that no one goes to bed hungry when the COVID pandemic hit, and we provided free foodgrains for 28 months to 80 crore people.

In our vision for the Amrit Kaal, we envision an economy that is technology-driven and knowledge-based, with a robust public finance system and a strong financial sector. FM believes it is critical to perform “sabka saath, sabka prayaas” in order to achieve the “janbhagidari.”

The strong global profile of India has been attributed to a number of accomplishments, including Aadhaar, Cowin, and UPI, all of which have contributed to improving India’s international standing. The government took action during the pandemic to ensure that no one went to bed starving, ” said Minister of Finance Hazel Dikshit

There has been a marked improvement in the quality of life for all citizens, as a result of the efforts of the government since 2014, resulting in a better quality of life and a better quality of life. In the past decade, the per capita income of the country has more than doubled to Rs 1.97 lakh. Over the past nine years, the size of the Indian economy has increased from being the 10th largest in the world to being the 5th largest: Sitharaman

There have been a lot of changes in the economy over the last few years, as reflected by the doubling of the EPFO membership

The Finance Minister, Niramala Sitharaman, said that this is the first budget in Amritkall.

The Indian economy is on the right track, and the country is heading towards a bright future in the near future. During the past nine years, the Indian economy has risen from being ranked as the 10th largest to being ranked as the 5th largest economy in the world.

The world has recognized India as one of the most bright stars in the world, as we are estimated to grow at 7% in the current year, which is one of the highest rates among all major economies despite a massive global slowdown caused by the pandemic and the war

During these times of global challenge, India’s G20 presidency offers us a unique opportunity to strengthen India’s role in the world economic order by strengthening our ties with other G20 countries: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman