Union Budget 2023 highlights

The Union Budget was presented in Parliament on Wednesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the revision of income tax slabs providing complete tax relief to individuals earning up to Rs 7 lakhs annually.

New Delhi: The Union Budget presented in Parliament on Wednesday highlighted growth and welfare with a priority to provide support to farmers, women, marginalized sections, and the middle class.

Here are the key highlights in the Budget:

Income Tax: The rebate limit of Personal Income Tax will be increased to Rs 7 lakh from the current Rs 5 lakh in the new tax regime. Thus, persons in the new tax regime with income up to Rs 7 lakh will not have to pay any tax. The tax structure in the new personal income tax regime, introduced in 2020 with six income slabs, will be changed by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax
exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh.

Indirect Taxes:A total of 16 per cent tax has been increased in NCCD on certain cigarettes. Now cooperatives that commence manufacturing in March 2024 will get a lower tax rate of 15 per cent. The number of basic customs duty rates on goods, other than textiles and agriculture, has been reduced to 13 from 21 per cent.

Saving Scheme announcements:The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Saving Scheme is to be enhanced to Rs 30 lakhs from Rs 15 lakhs. The monthly Income Scheme limit doubled to Rs 9 lakhs and Rs 15 lakhs for joint accounts. One-time new saving scheme Mahila Samman Saving Certificate for women to be made available for 2 years up to 2025.

Railways:The capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which is the highest ever and about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14.

Capital Expenditure:Rs 10 lakh crore capital investment, a steep increase of 33 per cent for the third year in a row, to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd-in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds. The effective capital expenditure of the Centre has been budgeted at Rs 13.7 lakh crore, which will be 4.5 per cent of GDP.

Fiscal Management:The states will be allowed a fiscal deficit of 3.5 per cent of GSDP of which 0.5 per cent will be tied to power sector reforms. The Revised Estimate of the total receipts other than borrowings is 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are 20.9 lakh crore. The Revised Estimate of the total expenditure is Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs 7.3 lakh crore. The Revised Estimate of the fiscal deficit is 6.4 per cent of GDP.

MSME:The revamped credit guarantee for MSMEs will be effective from April 1, 2023, with an infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus. The new credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs will reduce the cost of credit by 1 percentage point.

Banking:The government proposed amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, the Banking Companies Act, and the Reserve Bank of India Act to improve governance in banks.

Youth Power:The government will launch Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0. To skill the youth for international opportunities, 30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across different States.

Aviation:50 additional airports, heliports, water aero drones, and advanced landing grounds will be revived to improve regional air connectivity.

Digital Service: The scope of services in DigiLocker will be expanded. A total of 100 labs for developing applications to use 5G services to be set up in engineering institutions. PAN will be used as the common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies to bring Ease of Doing Business.

Housing:The outlay for PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66 per cent to over 79,000 crores.

Logistics: Investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources, for 100 critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first-mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer, and food grains sectors.

Interest-free loan to states:Centre to continue 50-year interest-free loan for one more year.

Health:Mission to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047.

Education:Three centers of excellence for artificial intelligence to be set up in top educational institutions and 157 new nursing colleges will be established in colocation with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. Eklavaya Model Residential Schools to be set up in the next 3 years. The Centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for 740 schools serving 3.5 lakh tribal students.

Agriculture:An Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set-up to encourage agri startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas. The Fund will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers.The agriculture credit target will be increased to 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries.

Fisheries:A new sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana will be launched with a targeted investment of 6,000 crores to further enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies and expand the market.

Tourism:50 tourist destinations will be selected through challenge mode to be developed as a whole package for domestic and international tourism. States will be encouraged to set up a ‘Unity Mall’ in the State capital or the most popular tourist destination in the state for the promotion and sale of ‘One District, One product’ and GI products and other handicrafts.

Seven Priorities:Seven priorities of the Budget, 'Saptarishi', are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power, and the financial sector.

PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman (PM VIKAS): A package of assistance for them has been conceptualized for traditional artisans and crafty people.

Free Food Scheme:A scheme has been implemented from January 1, 2023, to supply free food grain to all Antyodaya and priority households for the next one year, under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). The entire expenditure of about 2 lakh crore will be borne by the Central Government.