Everything that FM Sitharaman has proposed, from the new "default tax regime" to the infra increase,broken into granular details in a simplified manner
Bollywood films used to boast that they would have "everything" from action and romance to drama and humour. The last complete budget from Modi 2.0 is consistent with previous ones, offering something for everyone The government would prioritise the following seven areas (Saptarishi) in order to reach Amrit Kaal, as stated by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, that included - Inclusive Development, Reaching the last mile, Infrastructure and Investment, Unleashing the Potential, Green Growth, Youth Power and Financial Sector.
10-Point Cheatsheet of Budget 2023 for the bizz-men
1. The new, default tax system has streamlined government-mandated tax brackets. After surcharges, the maximum tax rate in India has been cut from 42.7% to 39.6%, while the exemption threshold has increased to 7 lakh (from 5 lakh). A larger refund is one of the selling points of the new tax system. The minister said that "it also provides for simplified and smaller slabs."
2. In the new system, there will only be five tax brackets, down from seven. Earnings up to Rs. 3 lakh are exempt from taxation. The tax rate for people making between INR 3 million and INR 6 million is 5 percent, INR 6 million and INR 9 million is 10 percent, INR 9 million and INR 12 million is 15 percent, INR 12 million and INR 15 million is 20 percent, and INR 15 million and INR more than 30 percent.
3. After the success of the Covid stimulus package, the government has announced that it would spend a record 10 lakh crore on long-term capital spending, an increase of 33%. In the fiscal year (2023–2024), this amount will equal 3.3% of GDP.
4. Development, final-mile access, infrastructure and investment, potential release, green growth, young leadership, and the financial sector are among the seven topics the administration has identified as top priorities.
5. The PM Awas Yojna budget was boosted by 66%, to over 79,000 crore, and the agricultural loan objective was raised to 20 lakh crore, both of which are populist measures. In addition, the government has pledged to build fifty additional airfields and helipads.
6. The minister has proposed an expenditure of 2.4 lakh crore for the railroads, the most in over a decade and four times the budget from the previous year. According to her, "this is about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14," referencing the last year of Congress's UPA rule.
7. All of the digital systems of some government organisations will share a single identity called the Permanent Account Number (PAN). With the use of the Digilocker service and Aadhaar, the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure may be streamlined, and a central location for identity updates can be set up. As a means of streamlining the present duplication across many departments, a system of "Unified Filing Process" will be put up.
8. The government is planning to introduce a new dispute resolution mechanism to help businesses resolve legal disagreements. The minister promised a central repository where IDs from different government departments could be checked against one another.
9. Ms. Sitharaman has said that the government plans to produce 5 MT of Green Hydrogen by 2030 as part of its efforts to transition to green fuel.
10. The updated forecast for the current fiscal will not change the deficit objective of 6.4%. Ms. Sitharaman has said that this figure would be reduced to 5.9% of GDP in the next fiscal year 2023-2024.
Some key numbers
- The average salary has increased by over 90% in only nine years, reaching 1.97 lakh.
- The Indian economy has grown rapidly over the previous decade, moving up from the 10th to the 5th biggest in the world.
- More than twice as many people are now enrolled in EPFO.
- In 2022, UPI processed 7,400,000,000 digital payments totaling 126 lakh crore.
- 102 crore people were vaccinated against 220 crore covids.
- 47.8 billion PM Jan Dhan accounts opened.
- Alongside the 157 medical schools that have opened up since 2014, 157 new nursing schools will be founded.
- Over the following three years, the government will hire 38,800 educators to work at 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools for 3.5 million pupils from indigenous communities.
- An unprecedented capital budget of Rs. 2.40 lakh crore has been allocated to the Railways, over nine times the amount allocated in 2013–14.
- Public agencies in Tier 2 and 3 cities will have access to the Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) created with the deficit from prioritised Sector Lending and administered by the National Housing Bank.
The "Yojana" Performance Reviewed
- The PM Suraksha Bima and PM Jeevan Jyoti Yojana programmes provide health and life insurance to 44,6 million people.
- PM Awas Yojana funding has been increased by 66%, reaching more than Rs. 79,000 crore.
- More than 11.4 billion farmers would get a total of 2.2 lakh crore in cash as part of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi programme.
- Under Ujjwala, 9.6 billion people now have access to LPG.
- The Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme will be established with a budget of 2200 crore to provide access to healthy seedlings for high-value horticultural crops.
- The Swachh Bharat Mission succeeded in building toilets for 11.7% of Indian households.
The Budget Size
Capital expenditures are projected to amount to '10,00,961 crore(10 Lakh Crore) in BE 2023-24, out of a total expected expenditure of '45,03,097 crore(45.03 Lakh Crore). The Union Government's continued commitment to bolstering economic growth via investments in infrastructure development is shown in a 37.4% increase in capital spending in the Union Budget 2023 compared to RE 2022-23.
A rise of 30.1% from RE 2022-23 can be seen in BE 2023-24's Effective Capital Expenditure total of 13,70,949 Crore(13.71 Lakh Crore).
The Bottom Line
According to the Union Budget 2023-24, India's GDP is expected to expand by 7% this year, making it the "highest among all the major economies." Finally, she kept the revised projection for the budget deficit at 6.4% for FY2022-23, and she brought it down to 5.9% for the next fiscal year. By 2025–26, the government deficit would be reduced to less than 4.5 percent, Ms. Sitharaman promised.
