The Union Budget 2023 was presented today by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with a focus on infrastructure, manufacturing, and welfare spending. The budget session was opened with the theme of Amrit Kaal, which symbolizes 100 years of independence and the making of a developed India. The government is expected to increase capital expenditure from 2.9% to 3.5% of GDP and simplify personal income-tax rates. The Economic Survey projects India's GDP to grow 7% in FY2023. The budget highlights include agriculture, nursing colleges, a clean plant program, and a sub-scheme under the Prime Minister Matsya Sampada Yojana to support the fishing sector. The government is also focusing on urban planning and infrastructure, technology and innovation, and inclusive development. The finance minister announced a grant for the research and development of lab-grown diamonds to reduce import dependency. Stay tuned for further updates.

- Focus on infrastructure and manufacturing sector

- Incremental welfare spending

- Capital expenditure targeted to increase from 2.9% GDP to 3.5%

- Possibility of rationalizing personal income tax rates

- Projected GDP growth of 7% in FY23

- Macroeconomic stability, job creation, and aspirations of young population as key focus themes

- Inclusive development with improved credit access for farmers and agricultural start-up fund

- Seven new nursing colleges to be opened in four locations

- Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program with an outlay of Rs. 2,200 crore

- Seven priorities outlined: inclusive development, green growth, financial sector, connectivity, capital investment, youth potential, and employment

- Urban planning to encourage sustainable cities and drive private investments in railways and infrastructure

- Sub-Scheme under Prime Minister Matsya Sampada Yojana with an outlay of Rs. 6,000 crore to bolster the fisheries sector

- Emphasis on technology and innovation, including AI and Make AI in India initiative

- Research and development grant for indigenous production of Lab Grown Diamond seeds.

The Indian Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced the Union Budget 2023 on February 1, 2023. The budget presentation was opened with the theme "Amritkaal," which marks 100 years of independence and the making of a developed India.

The Economic Survey, a crucial document for the budget, was released ahead of the budget presentation. The survey projects India's GDP to grow by 7% in FY23, surpassing the RBI's prediction of 6.8%. It also mentions that India's inflation remained within its tolerance range compared to advanced nations.

The budget highlights the welfare achievements of the government, including an insurance cover of Rs 46 Cr, a cash transfer of Rs 11.4 Cr to farmers, 11.7 Cr washrooms under Swach Bharath, and 200 Cr vaccinations.

Key Focus Themes

The budget focuses on macroeconomic stability, job creation, and the aspirations of the young population.

Recognition by the World

The Finance Minister stated that the world has recognized India as a "bright star" for its remarkable growth rate of 7%, which is the highest among major economies despite the global slowdown caused by the pandemic and the war.

The budget focuses on technological development, infrastructure, green growth, and youth power for the agriculture sector. The government aims to improve credit access to farmers, provide a start-up fund, and collaborate with the public and private sectors to increase the distribution of disease-free plants and emerge as a millet hub. The government will provide free grains to all priority households until December 2023, incurring an expenditure of Rs 2 lakh crore.

Seven new nursing colleges will be opened in four locations across the country.

The government has launched the Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme with an outlay of Rs 2,200 Cr. The program will help improve the availability of high-quality planting material for horticultural crops and support farmers to produce superior-quality harvests and increase their income.

7 Priorities

The budget prioritizes inclusive development, green growth, financial sector development, last mile connectivity, capital investment, youth potential, and youth aspirations and employment.

The budget provides 50-year interest-free loans for state governments for another year and aims to drive more private investment into railways and infrastructure. It also aims to make cities more sustainable by promoting sustainable urban planning.

PM Matsya Sampada Yojana

The budget announced the launch of the Sub-Scheme under the Prime Minister Matsya Sampada Yojana with a planned outlay of Rs 6,000 crore to bolster the fisheries sector.

Technology & Innovation

The budget aims to unleash the startup ecosystem, promote AI research, and provide a grant for indigenous production of lab-grown diamonds. It also aims to set up a national digital library for children and adolescents to bridge the digital divide and provide access to world-class learning content.

The budget aims to simplify business processes by using PAN as a common business identifier, expanding the scope of documents under Digi locker, and increasing credit access to MSMEs to generate employment opportunities.

The budget prioritizes inclusive growth and learning with the Eklavaya scheme for education and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram for skill development.

These are the key highlights of the Union Budget 2023 presented by the Indian Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.

Tax slab rationalisation is announced under new regime with new slabs as shown below: