New Delhi: In a major boost to regional air connectivity, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the Centre was in the process of setting up a total of 50 additional airports, helipads, and other air transportation centers.
"Fifty additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes, and advance landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity," the FM said while presenting the Union Budget 2023.
A further Rs 3,113.36 crore was allocated to the Civil Aviation Ministry. Notably, Rs 165 crore has also been set aside for the medical benefits of retired Air India employees.
The FY 2022 budget allocated Rs 10,667 crore to the Aviation Ministry, out of which Rs 600.7 crore has been allocated to UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), a regional connectivity scheme.
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The 2023 budget session was kickstarted at 11 am on Wednesday and followed a paperless form, similar to the last two budgets under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration. Ahead of the General Elections set to take place in the country in April-May of 2024, the budget assumes significance.
Meanwhile, in a major decision in the domain of personal income tax, the limit of tax rebates was increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. "I had introduced, in the year 2020, the new personal income tax regime with six income slabs starting from Rs 2.5 lakh. I propose to change the tax structure in this regime by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh," the Union Finance Minister stated.
