Key Highlights of Union Budget 2022-23

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament.

Following are the key highlights of the annual budget:

• Total expenditure in 2022-23 estimated at Rs 39.45 lakh crore. Total receipts other than borrowings in 2022-23 estimated at Rs 22.84 lakh crore
• Fiscal deficit in the current financial year is estimated to rise to 6.9 per cent of GDP against 6.8 per cent in Budget Estimates.
• For 2022-23 financial year the fiscal deficit is pegged at 6.4 per cent of GDP. A target set to reduce fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
• Allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore in 2022-23 to assist the states in catalysing overall investments in the economy: fifty-year interest-free loans, over and above normal borrowings
• In 2022-23, States will be allowed a fiscal deficit of 4 per cent of GSDP, of which 0.5 per cent will be tied to power sector reforms.
• On the Direct Tax side, the budget allows taxpayers to file updated income tax return within 2 years for correcting errors. It also provides tax relief to persons with disability.
• Alternate Minimum Tax paid by cooperatives brought down from 18.5 per cent to 15 per cent. Surcharge on cooperative societies reduced from 12 per cent to 7 per cent for those having a total income of more than Rs 1 crore and up to Rs 10 crore.
• Tax relief to persons with disability: Payment of annuity and lump sum amount from insurance scheme to be allowed to differently-abled dependent during the lifetime of parents/guardians, i.e., on parents/ guardian attaining the age of 60 years.
• Parity in National Pension Scheme Contribution: Tax deduction limit increased from 10 per cent to 14 per cent on employer’s contribution to the NPS account of State Government employees.
• Gems and Jewellery: Customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones being reduced to 5 per cent; Nil customs duty to simply sawn diamond – To give a boost to the Gems and Jewellery sector.
• A simplified regulatory framework to be implemented by June this year – To facilitate export of jewellery through e-commerce.
• Tariff measure to encourage blending of fuel: Unblended fuel to attract an additional differential excise duty of Rs 2/ litre from October 1, 2022. – to encourage blending of fuel.
• A Digital University will be established to provide access to students across the country for world-class quality universal education with personalised learning experience at their doorsteps. This will be made available in different Indian languages and ICT formats.
• The Government proposed to introduce Digital Rupee, using blockchain and other technologies, to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23 for more efficient and cheaper currency management system.
• Indian economy is projected to grow at 9.2 per cent in 2021-22. This will be the highest among all large economies in the world.
• Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in 14 sectors to create 60 lakh jobs. PLI schemes have the potential to create an additional production of Rs 30 lakh crore.
• Entering Amrit Kaal, the 25 year long lead up to India @100, the budget provides impetus for growth along four priorities: PM GatiShakti, Inclusive Development, Productivity Enhancement & Investment, Sunrise opportunities, Energy Transition, and Climate Action and Financing of investments.
• The seven engines that drive PM GatiShakti are Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure.
• The scope of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan will encompass the seven engines for economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency.
• National Highways Network to be expanded by 25000 kms in 2022-23. Rs 20000 crore to be mobilised for National Highways Network expansion in 2022-23.
• Contracts to be awarded through PPP mode in 2022-23 for implementation of Multimodal Logistics Parks at four locations.
• Railways: 2000 kms of railway network to be brought under Kavach, the indigenous world class technology and capacity augmentation in 2022-23. 400 new generation Vande Bharat Trains to be manufactured during the next three years. 100 PM GatiShakti Cargo terminals for multimodal logistics to be developed during the next three years.
• One Station One Product concept to help local businesses & supply chains.
• Agriculture: Rs 2.37 lakh crore direct payment to 1.63 crore farmers for procurement of wheat and paddy. Chemical-free Natural farming to be promoted throughout the county. Initial focus is on farmer’s lands in 5 kms wide corridors along river Ganga.
• NABARD to facilitate fund with blended capital to finance startups for agriculture & rural enterprise.
• ‘Kisan Drones’ for crop assessment, digitisation of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients.
• Ken Betwa project: 1400 crore outlay for implementation of the Ken – Betwa link project. 9.08 lakh hectares of farmers’ lands to receive irrigation benefits by Ken-Betwa link project.
• MSMEs: Udyam, e-shram, NCS and ASEEM portals to be interlinked.
• 130 lakh MSMEs provided additional credit under Emergency Credit Linked Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). ECLGS to be extended up to March 2023.
• Guarantee cover under ECLGS to be expanded by Rs 50000 crore to total cover of Rs 5 Lakh crore.
• Rs 2 lakh Crore additional credit for Micro and Small Enterprises to be facilitated under the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
• Raising and Accelerating MSME performance (RAMP) programme with outlay of Rs 6000 crore to be rolled out.
• Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood (DESH-Stack e-portal) will be launched to empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill through on-line training. Startups will be promoted to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ and for Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS).
• Health: An open platform for National Digital Health Ecosystem to be rolled out. ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ for quality mental health counselling and care services to be launched.
• A network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence will be set up, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technology support.
• 60,000 crore allocated to cover 3.8 crore households in 2022-23 under Har Ghar, Nal se Jal.
• Housing for All: Rs 48,000 crore allocated for completion of 80 lakh houses in 2022-23 under PM Awas Yojana.
• New scheme PM-DevINE launched to fund infrastructure and social development projects in the North-East. An initial allocation of Rs 1,500 crore made to enable livelihood activities for youth and women under the scheme.
• 100 per cent of 1.5 lakh post offices to come on the core banking system. Scheduled Commercial Banks to set up 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) in 75 districts.
• e-Passports with embedded chip and futuristic technology to be rolled out.
• Scheme for design-led manufacturing to be launched to build a strong ecosystem for 5G as part of the Production Linked Incentive Scheme.
• Export Promotion: Special Economic Zones Act to be replaced with a new legislation to enable States to become partners in ‘Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs’.
• Defence: 68 per cent of capital procurement budget earmarked for the domestic industry in 2022-23, up from 58 per cent in 2021-22. Defence R&D to be opened up for industry, startups and academia with 25% of defence R&D budget earmarked.
• Independent nodal umbrella body to be set up for meeting testing and certification requirements.
• Government contribution to be provided for R&D in Sunrise Opportunities like Artificial Intelligence, Geospatial Systems and Drones, Semiconductor and its eco-system, Space Economy, Genomics and Pharmaceuticals, Green Energy, and Clean Mobility Systems.
• Additional allocation of Rs. 19,500 crore for Production Linked Incentive for manufacture of high-efficiency solar modules to meet the goal of 280 GW of installed solar power by 2030.
• Outlay for capital expenditure stepped up sharply by 35.4 per cent to Rs 7.50 lakh crore in 2022-23 from Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the current year. The outlay in 2022-23 to be 2.9 per cent of GDP.
• ‘Effective Capital Expenditure’ of Central Government estimated at Rs 10.68 lakh crore in 2022-23, which is about 4.1 per cent of GDP.
• Digital Rupee: Introduction of Digital Rupee by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23.
• Enhanced outlay for ‘Scheme for Financial Assistance to States for Capital Investment’: From Rs 10,000 crore in Budget Estimates to Rs 15,000 crore in Revised Estimates for current financial year.

Source: ANI