PRIORITIES OF THE UNION BUDGET 2023-24

   The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament. The highlights of the Budget are as follows:

Revised Estimates 2022-23:

o The total receipts other than borrowings is Rs 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are Rs 20.9 lakh crore.

o The total expenditure is Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs 7.3 lakh crore.

o The fiscal deficit is 6.4 per cent of GDP, adhering to the Budget Estimate.

Budget Estimates 2023-24:

o The total receipts other than borrowings is estimated at Rs 27.2 lakh crore and the total expenditure is estimated at Rs 45 lakh crore.

o The net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 23.3 lakh crore.

o The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 5.9 per cent of GDP.

o To finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore.

o The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

Priorities of the budget

 Per capita income has more than doubled to ₹1.97 lakh in around nine years.

 EPFO membership has more than doubled to 27 crore.

 7,400 crore digital payments of ₹126 lakh crore has taken place through UPI in 2022.

 11.7 crore household toilets constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission.

 9.6 crore LPG connections provided under Ujjwala.

 220 crore covid vaccination of 102 crore persons.

 47.8 crore PM Jan Dhan bank accounts.

 Insurance cover for 44.6 crore persons under PM Suraksha Bima and PM Jeevan Jyoti Yojana.

 Cash transfer of ₹2.2 lakh crore to over 11.4 crore farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Seven priorities of the budget ‘Saptarishi’ 

are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing thepotential, green growth, youth power and financial sector. Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program with an outlay of ₹2200 crore to be launched to boost availability of disease-free,quality planting material for high value horticultural crops.

 157 new nursing colleges to be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014.

 Centre to recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students over the next three years.

 Outlay for PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66% to over Rs. 79,000 crore. Capital outlay of Rs. 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which is the highestever outlay and about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14.

MSMEs

Entity DigiLocker to be setup for use by MSMEs, large business and charitable trusts to store and share documents online securely.

100 labs to be setup for 5G services based application development to realize a new range ofopportunities, business models, and employment potential. .

  Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, to be launched to skill lakhs of youth within the next three years covering new age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics,mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.

 30 Skill India International Centres to be set up across different States to skill youth for international opportunities.

 Revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus. This scheme would enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore and also reduce the cost of the credit by about 1 per cent.

 Central Processing Centre to be setup for faster response to companies through centralized handling of various forms filed with field offices under the Companies Act.

 The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme to be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

Targeted Fiscal Deficit to be below 4.5% by 2025-26.

Agriculture

Agriculure and Accelerator Fund to be set-up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas. Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program with an outlay of ₹2200 crore to be launched to boost availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high value horticultural crops.

20 lakh crore agricultural credit targeted at animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries

GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-AgroResources Dhan) 500 new ‘waste to wealth’plants unde scheme to be established for promoting circular economy at total investment of

Rs 10,000 crore. 5 per cent compressed biogas mandate to be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and bio gas.

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

Digital public infrastructure for agriculture to be built as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good to enable inclusive farmer centric solutions and support for growth of agri-tech industry and start-ups.

 Computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of ₹2,516 crore initiated..

 New Programme to promote research in Pharmaceuticals to be launchRs. 10 lakh crorecapitalinvestment, a steep increase of 33% for third year in a row, to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd-in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds.

Aspirational Blocks Programme covering 500 blocks launched for saturation of essential government services across multiple domains such as health, nutrition, education, agriculture,water resources, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure.Sustainable micro irrigation and filling up of surface tanks for drinking water.

 Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions’ to be set up in a digital epigraphy museum, withdigitization of one lakh ancient inscriptions in the first stage.

‘Effective Capital Expenditure’ of Centre to be Rs. 13.7 lakh crore. Continuation of 50-year interest free loan to state governments for one more year to spur investment in infrastructure and to incentivize them for complementary policy actions.

More than 39,000 compliances reduced and more than 3,400 legal provisions decriminalized to enhance Ease Of Doing Business..

To make India a global hub for 'Shree Anna', the Indian Institute of Millet Research,Hyderabad will be supported as the Center of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level. .

     Hence, the highlights of the Budget focuss on Digital India including AI,Fintech, Agitech and 5G,Green Energy Trasition and Climate Sustainability. A very positive Budget ensuring its continuity in its focus on creating jobs investing in Education and skill that will continuity in its focus on creating jobs investing in Education and skill that will truly help faster growth of nation.