Latest Budget 2023 News | Top Budget 2023 News Headlines Today | Today India news | Breaking Budget 2023 News Today | English Budget 2023 News Headlines - TheDailyGuardian

Today in Rajya Sabha, FM Sitharaman will deliver Supplemental Demands for Grants for J&K.

March 14, 2023, 12:30 pm

The Supplemental Demands for Grants in respect of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2022–2023 will be presented to the Rajya Sabha by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.
As BJP leaders requested Rahul Gandhi issue an apology for his address in London, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were suspended on Monday and won’t reconvene until 11 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the records, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha both have close to nine bills that need to be passed.

In the upcoming session, the government may introduce the eagerly anticipated “Personal Data Protection Bill.”
The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 are among the bills that are still pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, the Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill are among the bills that are still pending for passage and have not been subjected to any parliamentary scrutiny.
The Rajya Sabha’s business was interrupted on Monday as the House adjourned for the day amid commotion over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments about Indian democracy made in London. The government demanded Gandhi’s apology, while the Opposition party objected to the rulings.

The Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar declared the second adjournment of the House after the members of the treasury benches and the Opposition persisted in yelling insults at one another and making a commotion.

Nirmala Sitharman visits Sikkim for post financial budget outreach programme for 2023

February 28, 2023, 7:38 am

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday held an interaction with stakeholders, officers and chambers of commerce, SHGs and entrepreneurs at Chintan Bhawan in Gangtok.
Taking note of her visit to Sikkim, as part of the post-Financial Budget Outreach programme for 2023, Sitharaman termed it a ‘Gateway to the North East’ for the Budget outreach programme. “In the last four-five years, post the budget, we made it a practice to have the entire Ministry move around the country to various cities and there interact with the stakeholders, officers and chambers of commerce, SHGs, and so on to understand what they have perceived of the budget and if they need any clarity. They could have an exchange of ideas, the first time I did it in 2019 I found it very useful,” Sitharaman said.

Inclusive Development: A mantra loudly chanted in the Budget-2023

February 24, 2023, 1:55 pm

As the annual post-budget commotion seems settled, a critical analysis of the budget and the overall opinion seem tilted in favour of Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman. Although it will sound political, the fact remains that the budget has been able to reflect the most used slogan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sab ka Saath Sabka Vikas. The idea of inclusive development stressed at the Commencement of the budget speech by the FM was like a mantra loudly chanting to invoke Amrit Kaal’s arrival.

As, unlike other peer economies, the Indian economy possesses unique differentiated demographic properties, inclusive development is a must to scale up and have sustainable development. Inclusive development, as the first saptarishi(seven sages of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas and other ancient Indian literature)of the Amrit Kaalbudget, has focused heavily on agriculture, health, and education. Decoding the three focus areas under inclusive development,a comprehensive assessment of the budget proposalismade to study how the government plans to achieve – inclusive and sustainabledevelopment.

Agriculture

The Covid 19 pandemic has reaffirmed that agriculture continues to be the backbone of the country’s economy and the most powerful and critical engine of the country’s growth. An increase in overall budgetary allocation for the agriculture ministry to an estimated Rs. 1.25 lakh crore for the next financial year proves that the government is planning to uplift the sector. The government’s favourite PM-KISAN scheme got a hopping share of Rs. 60 thousand crores. The proposal to emphasisedecentralised storage will likely prove the game changer when coupled with multi-faceted operation green.

The proposal to set up an Agriculture Accelerator Fund to encourage startups in rural areas, if implemented in earnest and used in tandem with the establishment of Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence, will revolutionise the entire agriculture and rural economy sooner than expected. This fund will bring innovative and feasible solutions to many problems our agriculture and farmers have been facing.

Digital public infrastructure for agriculture as an open source will facilitate inclusive small farmers-orientedend-to-end farming practices and marketing.

Education

The government’s intention to prepare a solid education structure in the country is largely visible from an 8.3% rise in the financial provisions, which is the highest-ever allocation for education. This year’s budget for education integrates technology, training for trainers, resource distribution, and elementary education to draw a meticulous blueprint for celebrating India at 100.

Allocation of rupees 4000 crores for the PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) programme to 14500 select schools to impart high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive, and joyful school environment reflects the spirit of strengthening the elementary education system. This year’s increased allocation for Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti by little more than 11% is aimed at improving our school education. A special focus on the northeastern area by increasing budgetary allocation by 15.6% is a farsighted and welcome step. Further, the plan to extend the accessibility and scope of the National Digital Library (NDL) for school children would enable them to access quality materials. The scheme of assisting states in setting up physical libraries at the panchayat and ward levels can augment the footfalls in NDL for learning. The budget allocation made in Budget-2023 for school education conveys that money will not be aconstraint for having quality elementary education in India.

An estimated expense of rupees 400 crores for the PM research fellowship (PMRF) may see a rise in the number of scholarships for quality research in top-ranked higher education institutions. Further, the outlay for select academic and research institutions has been considerably increased for more focused research and innovation. Premier higher educational institutes of the countries like IITs, IIITs, NITs, IISER, and Central Universities have got sufficient allocation to make India Vishwa Guru again.

Health

The importance of sturdy health infrastructure was well felt during the pandemic’s peak,and the arrangements made in war foot also saved thousands of Indians from the Covid grave. Addressing the needto create a robust health infrastructure, the recent union budget has increased spendingfrom 1.4% of the GDPto 2.1% of the GDP in the current fiscal. To be precise, the health sector has received an increased allocation of rupees 2350 crores from the previous financial year. Specifically, Ayushman Bharat, the flagship health scheme of the union government, has witnessed a hike in the allocation of by rupees 743 crores compared to the previous financial year. Similarly, the national health mission scheme programme has received an allotment of rupees 36,785 crores – which is more than 3000 crores in comparison to revised estimates of the FY 2022-2023.

Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission has been provided funds of rupees 4200 crores. Theseincreases in allocation would primarily enhance health services through the creation of infrastructure and skilled human resources. Moreover, the provision for the establishment of 157 new nursing colleges would enrich the human capital dedicated to elementary as well as higher health services.

The overall assessment of the budget-2023 for the health sector indicates that the government aims to improve the entire ecosystem for health and be ready to face any challenge like the covid.

If the intentions and funds allotted to primary sectors of development are to be believed, it seems that the government had a meticulous blueprint for celebrating 100 years of independence as a country which is not only the largest democracy in the world but is also among the few countries which have transformed for better in the most challenging situations. Let’s celebrate and hope for the better.

Sashikanta Khuntia & Niraj Kumar are faculty at the School of Rural Management, XIM University, Bhubaneswar.

What Ashwini Vaishnav has to say about Union Budget 2023?

February 2, 2023, 5:24 pm

In a recent interview with newsX, Ashwini Vaishnav presented his views on Union budget 2023. Ashwini vaishnav is an Indian politician and former IAS officer, currently serving as Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology.

TDG NETWORK: What do you make of the budget? Has it covered everything that the Aam Aadmi Party was hopeful for? How would you rate the budget?

ASHWINI VAISHNAV: I will focus on the three responsibilities that I hold today, railway, telecom and Information and electronics. Now first of all I would like to thank the Honourable PM for giving a visionary budget in these hard times when India has already emerged as a ray of hope and a bright spot. This budget will make India the global engine of growth. First of all, within railways, the allocation for investment in infrastructure is very good. We have given Rs two lakh 41 thousand crores. This will help us meet the deficit infrastructure, the deficit which has been there for decades and as you can see that it is now getting completed in the last 8 years. Using this allocation, there will be a lot of focus on improving passenger amenities. We are taking up 1275 stations for complete redevelopment to world standards. Then Vande Bharat Express trains which are very well received by the passengers and which was developed as per his vision. The production will now be ramped up; right now it is manufactured in Chennai, now it will also be manufactured in Haryana, UP, Maharashtra. In the spirit of green growth, Railways is developing a hydrogen train by December 2023. It will be indigenously designed, made in India, manufactured in India, and designed in India. That way the budget is very good for railways. I thank the Honourable PM and Honorable FM for that.

TDG NETWORK: 2.4 Lakh crores for the railways. The railway is the backbone of India when it comes to the common man and his aspirations. In your opinion, how is India poised, even if you consider the capital expenditure announced today, how do you think India is poised, to become the next destination for the world when it comes to investment and an alternative to China?

ASHWINI VAISHNAV: I will give an example, electronic manufacturing which has brought great results when the Prime Minister announced the make in India programme 7 years back. At that time electronic manufacturing was practically negligible. Today, it is close to 87 billion dollars. The export of smartphones itself is 9 billion dollars. It is one of those multiple factors which have propelled India to the situation where the entire world sees India as a bright spot, a very reliable and trusted partner. With diverse talent and stable policies, India is emerging as an investment destination in the world.

I will take the example of telecom also. See, on 1st October last year, PM launched 5G and the target was to complete 200 cities by March 2023. I am very happy to share with all of you that we are in February and we have already covered more than 200 cities. So this is one of the fastest cases of 5G rollout. The Union Budget 2023 has provided enough for the industries.

Union Budget 2023: Here’s what Dr. Jitendra Singh has to say

February 2, 2023, 5:13 pm

In a recent interview with newsX, Dr. Jitendra Singh presented his views on Union budget 2023. Dr. Singh is an Indian physician and politician. He is the Minister of State for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Minister of state for ministry of earth science.

TDG NETWORK: The FM spoke about the Amrit Kaal which is at play here. Do you think that this grand scheme of things is being understood by the common man?

Dr Jitendra: I believe so. All the things are unfolding in a very substantial way one after the other. For example, in the global innovation index, we have jumped 40 ranks higher, from 81 to 40. In the startup ecosystem, we are number 3. It gives a huge degree of self-esteem to the common Indian citizen. We have overtaken the economy of the UK, a country which ruled over us for 200 years has been overtaken despite so many restrictions and constraints that we face. Over the last 8-9 years Prime Minister Modi has sought to streamline and channel the resources in the most optimum way, most objectively and scientifically. Look at the concept which was mentioned today the aspirational blocks and districts. I was highly impressed when PM Modi presented this concept. It is absolutely out of the box. Earlier on, we had a backwards district with subjective parameters. Here we have 41 aspirational districts. So we are preparing ourselves over the last 8-9 years and in the next 25 years, I am sure we are going to be a front-line nation.

Union Budget 2023: Start-ups get warm hug from govt, IT-benefits extend till March 31 next year

February 1, 2023, 5:49 pm

In her Budget speech on Wednesday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government proposed an extension of the date of incorporation for income tax benefits to start-ups from 31 March 31 2023 to 31 March 31 2024.

According to the Union Budget, the government also said it would provide the benefit of carry-forward of losses on change of shareholding of start-ups from seven years of incorporation to 10 years.

During her Budget speech in Parliament today, the finance minister also announced an agriculture accelerator fund that will be set up to encourage agriculture based start-ups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas. This will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. It will also bring in modern technologies to transform agricultural practices and increase productivity and profitability.

In her speech, Sitharaman also added that a similar digital document wallet will be launched for business entities as well. “An entity DigiLocker will be set up for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), large businesses and charitable trusts. This will be towards storing and sharing documents online securely, whenever needed with various authorities, regulators, banks, and business entities,” Sitharaman said.

According to government data, DigiLocker has onboarded more than 14.6 crore individuals on the platform, and issued 5.6 billion documents. Among the top issued documents are Aadhaar Card, policy documents, PAN verification records, and insurance policy for two-wheelers.

The Finance Minister said that to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia, a National Data Governance Policy will be brought out, which will enable access to anonymized data.

Sitharaman announced that an Entity DigiLocker will be set up for use by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, large business and charitable trusts for storing and sharing documents online securely, whenever needed, with various authorities, regulators, banks and other business entities.

Union Budget 2023: Overall economic outlay

February 1, 2023, 4:45 pm

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday gave her speech on Union Budget, after which the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 11am tomorrow. In her nearly one and a half hour long speech, she highlighted the government’s expenditure to several sectors for the financial year 2023-2024.

“(This overall outlay) would be 3.3 per cent of GDP, almost three times the outlay made in 2019-20. With the substantial increase, it is central to government’s efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation, the crowd in private investments and provides a cushion against global headwinds,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

Earlier on Monday the government proposed a capital outlay of about Rs. 2.40 lakh crore for railways. This new outlay for the railways is the highest ever and nine times of what it was in 2013. This was the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term. Similar to the previous two Union Budget, the 2023-24 Union Budget was also presented in paperless form. This was the fifth time Sitharam is presenting the budget. This year’s budget is more important given that the country is scheduled to have next Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024. Sitharaman along with ministers of state, Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad and Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan called on President Droupadi Murmu. The government also proposed to increase the agricultural credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore with more focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries. Currently agriculture sector of the country has been growing at an average annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the last six years. In addition to this the government will also launch a sub-scheme of the existing PM Matsya yojana to improve value chain efficiencies.

Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports gets a boost of highest ever budget

February 1, 2023, 4:36 pm

India is all set to play in the Asian Games later this year and the Paris Olympics next year. The centre has furthered its efforts in strengthening the sports arena by allocating the highest ever budget of 3397.32 crores under union budget 2023-2024.

Last year, the sports sector received a budget of Rs 3062.60 crore, which means there has been an increase of 334.72 cr.

‘Khelo India — National Programme for Development of Sports’ India’s flagship sports scheme is being allotted Rs 1,045 crore as against the revised budget of Rs 606 crore in 2022.

The National Sports Federations (NSFs) have received an increase from the previous year’s revised budget of Rs 280 crore and will now get Rs 325 crore.

India was faced with a record number of dope violations this year. The government has now pivoted from its earlier policy of allocating the budget for the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) to the Sports Authority of India.

NADA ( 21.73 cr), NDTL (19.50 cr) and India’s contribution to WADA (4 cr)will take place individually and not under the Sports Authority of India.

Union Budget 2023 eyes Green and Sustainable future

February 1, 2023, 4:14 pm

The last detailed budget of the present government was laid on the table today. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a budget that spoke of simplicity while focusing on a bigger target. According to the minister, this budget would lay the foundation for a self-reliant India. The major focus was on Green Growth and Digitization. The world has been grappling with many environmental and ecological challenges. With this budget, Nirmala Sitharaman tried to steer the focus on reducing the carbon intensity of the sub-continent.

In her speech, she stated that the government would be focusing on meeting clean energy targets and providing large-scale green job opportunities. ‘Green Growth’ was one of the seven key points of union budget 2023, wherein the minister spoke about the initiatives this government is planning to initiate towards, green fuel, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, and green equipment.

In her address, the finance minister said that India is moving toward net zero carbon emissions by 2070 to usher in green industrial and economic transition.

Accelerating Green Hydrogen Mission

A large budget of 19700 crore was announced for the recently launched National Green Hydrogen Mission. The mission would focus on transitioning India towards low carbon intensity economy while reducing the dependence on fossil fuel imports. The targeted annual production is of 500 MMT (million metric tonnes) of green hydrogen by 2030.

Transition towards Zero Carbon Emission

Narendra Modi led BJP government is targeting net zero carbon emission and has allocated a sum rupees 35,000 crores for priority capital investment toward energy transition, net zero objectives, and energy security by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Green revolution through old vehicle scrapping

The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated more funds towards the Vehicle Scrapping Policy mentioned in Budget 2021-22. States will also be supported in replacing old vehicles and old State ambulances. Also, the minister announced the viability gap funding for battery energy storage systems with a capacity of 4,000 MWh (megawatt hour).

Building an interstate transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of 13 Gigawatt renewable energy from Ladakh, with an investment of 20,700 crore (central support of 8300 crore) was also announced.

Here’s what real estate developers have to say about Union Budget

February 1, 2023, 3:26 pm

The Budget session is the extension of GOI’s overall commitment towards infrastructure growth, spurred urbanization, and affordable housing projects. This will be beneficial to the real estate industry, as it will set the tone for increased growth and demand. The government has allocated INR 10,000 Crore in infrastructure funds that will be managed by National Housing Board (NHB). The fund will boost infrastructure in Tier 2 and 3 cities and drive housing demand. The overall capital expenditure has been raised to INR 10 lakh Crores, almost three times than in 2019. Capital expenditure is an important cog in the wheel of economic prosperity and growth, says Subhash Goel, Director of Goel Ganga Developments.

Gurmit Singh Arora, National President, Indian Plumbing Association says that GOI’s commitment to continuing top-class urban and rural infrastructure development in the form of higher capital investments and dedicated urban infrastructure funds also entails windfall for Indian plumbing and other related industries. The total capital expenditure will be INR 13.7 lakh Crores forming 4.5% of the overall GDP. This will translate into increased investment inflow into roadways, construction, water supplies, urban growth, logistics, etc. This in turn will drive demand for plumbing, pipelines, fittings, etc. Meanwhile, GOI has also announced to increase in the outlay towards PM Awas Yojna to INR 79,000 Crores. The thrust towards affordable housing projects will also unlock new opportunities for the plumbing businesses in India.

The Indian real estate was looking forward to the upcoming budget, as a slew of policy overhauls and regulatory impetus were expected. In this regard, nothing has been announced and this is a little disappointing. However, the silver line is the government’s push toward urban development and infrastructure growth through increased capital investments. The overall Capex for the given fiscal has been increased to INR 10 lakh Crores, close to 3.3% of the total GDP. This will give a huge push to physical infrastructures such as highways & roadways, railway corridors, urban corridors, industrial clusters, aviation, etc. This can have a multiplier effect on the overall economy, job creation, expansion in the entrepreneurial ecosystems, and a general surge in income levels. The positive ramification of such a gigantic shift won’t just be restricted to housing but also commercial, warehouse, retail and other categories of Indian real estate. The government has also increased the allocation for PM Awas Yojna, which is a laudable step, said Atul Goel, MD, Goel Ganga Group.

Union Budget 2023: Opposition criticises the new budget

February 1, 2023, 3:18 pm

While the salaried class is happy with the new tax slab that are introduced in the budget 2023, the opposition is not much liking the simplified budget. One of the firsts to react was Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, Tejashwi Yadav. He said, “Bihar is a backward state. The PM and the centre had made commitments to grant Bihar a special package and status several times before. I do not think anything of this sort will be done. They have only fooled us. Let us see what is being done for Bihar in the budget.”

The deputy chief minister also compared the previous budgets with the ones presented by the BJP-led government now. Comparing this budget with the previous ones, he added, “There is a lot of difference between previous budgets and the budget now. During UPA’s time, there was a separate railway budget. The present government has totally removed the railway budget. Now the common budget is small without any detailing. The people should be clearly told about the revenue and the expenditure. People should be told where the money is coming from and where is it going.”

Actor and Politician Shatrughan Sinha targeted the government and said, “The budget was presented keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and there was nothing special mention for the middle-class people. Looking at the budget, it seems as if it has been created to specially care about the ‘Hum Do Humare Do’ as it is evident from the significantly reduced highest slab for Income Tax payers. People understand it well whom have they done it for.” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during the Budget session today, announced an increase in the income tax rebate limit from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh stating that the new tax regime will now be the default tax regime.

Further, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the government over its changed income tax slab and said, “Changes in income tax slabs will not help anyone.”

Reacting to the Budget 2023, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “Last year’s Budget drew applause for allocation towards agriculture, health, education, MGNREGA & welfare of SCs. Today the reality is evident. Actual expenditure is substantially lower than budgeted. This is Modi’s OPUD strategy of headline management—Over Promise, Under Deliver.”

Budget 2023: FM Sitharaman revamps credit guarantee scheme with Rs 9,000 crore in corpus for MSMEs

February 1, 2023, 3:16 pm

To help MSME’s in India, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs that will go into effect on April 1 of this year. This could result in a Rs 9,000 crore infusion into the corpus.

The government proposed a special focus on the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in the Budget Speech 2023, which is expected to provide a significant boost to the sector, which is regarded as a driving force for economic growth for the nation. Ancillary collateral-free credit is expected to assist MSMEs in meeting the difficulties posed by the pandemic as well as allowing them to continue to expand and generate jobs.

Key experts and voices from the MSME platform had also shared their reviews for the MSME sector.

“Assistance to MSMEs continues in line with last year’s expectation for Budget 2023. Budget 2023 is providing wings to India’s growth story with special focus on investment increased expenditure, employment and ease of doing business. Revamped credit guarantee scheme will take effect from April 1, 2023, through the infusion of Rs 9,000 Cr in the corpus. This enables additional collateral-free credit of Rs 2 lakh crore to MSMEs and will enable to lower cost of credit by 1% as proposed by FM Nirmala Sitharaman. This comes off as a great news for MSMEs that are still recovering from the impact of pandemic. Budget 2023 has stood up to the expectation of including supportive measures aimed at democratising credit and speeding up financial inclusion” , said Ashish Aggarwal, Director, Acube Ventures

Amit Gupta, MD, SAG Infotech also added that “Existing legislation will be changed to make compliance easier – a single point of contact for SEZ, GSTN, and IFSC registration will be established. Vivad se Vishwaas, MSMEs Relief – In the event of non-performance, the government will reimburse 95% of the contract money to provide relief. PAN will be used as a unique identifier for all digital systems of the government agencies listed.”

According to Delphin Varghese, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at Adcounty Media, “The Vivad Se Vishwas scheme, declared by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget 2023, provides a ray of light to failed MSMEs. MSMEs will receive 95% of the performance security from the government under this scheme in cases of failure to execute contracts. The credit guarantee programme for MSMEs had a rocky start, but by getting banks on board and encouraging them to lend, the scheme has helped reduce stress in the sector. According to the FM, the updated Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs would go into operation on April 1, 2023, with an injection of Rs 9000 crore into the corpus. This will permit an additional Rs 2 lakh crore in collateral-free credit guarantees, lowering the cost of credit by 1%.”

“Calling MSMEs the “growth engines of the economy”, FM extended the benefits of presumptive taxation to micro-enterprises with a turnover of up to 2 crores.”, he added.

Raghunandan Saraf, Founder & CEO, Saraf Furniture ,further added “MSME credit assurance It was proposed last year to revamp the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs. The revamp scheme, with a corpus infusion of 9000 crores, will go into effect on April 1, 2023. This will enable another two lakh crores of rupees in collateral-free guaranteed credit. Credit costs will also be reduced by about 1%. The infusion of Rs 9,000 crore into the corpus of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) should allow for better and broader scheme implementation, as well as improved claim meeting. This decision is expected to offer a significant benefit to India’s MSME sector, which is regarded as a major economic growth driver. Supplemental collateral-free credit is expected to aid MSMEs in meeting the obstacles posed by the global epidemic and allowing them to continue to grow and create employment. It could be a positive step in safeguarding the well-being and expansion of India’s MSME sector.”

Govt. not addressing common man’s issues: KC Venugopal on Union Budget

February 1, 2023, 2:43 pm

KC Venugopal, Congress General Secretary responded negatively on the Union Budget presented by finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday and stated that the government is not addressing the serious economic conditions in the country including common man’s plight.

The Congress General Secretary said, “The government is not addressing the serious concerns of the country’s economic condition and the common man’s plight. This is my first reaction.” Stating that people are in a distressed mood in the country, he said, “The actual problem is whether the Budget is addressing the current economic issues including price rise, and unemployment. There is no income for the people. How can they benefit by increasing the tax limit?”

On Wednesday, Finance Minister stated that the new tax regime will now be the default tax regime and announced an increase in the income tax rebate limit from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.7 lakh. She also proposed to change the tax structure in this regime by increasing the tax exemption limit to 3 lakh and reducing the number of tax slabs to 5.
“Tax for income of Rs.0-Rs. 3 lakh is nil, for income above Rs.3 lakh and up to Rs.5 lakh will be taxed at 5 per cent, for income of above Rs.6 lakh and up to Rs.9 lakh will be taxed at 10 per cent and for income above Rs.12 lakh and up to Rs.15 lakh to be taxed at 20 per cent and above 15 lakhs at Rs.30 per cent.” Finance minister stated addressing personal loan.

Venugopal also attacked the government regarding poor track record of previous unfulfilled promises.

Budget: CM Bommai extends gratitude for the grant in Karnataka’s Upper Bhadra Project

February 1, 2023, 1:59 pm

Price rise on Cigarettes leads to meme fest on Social Media

February 1, 2023, 1:57 pm

The union budget for the financial year 2023-2024 is out. The finance minister has introduced many exemptions for the middle class, however, the budget has not been modified much. As soon as the budget was introduced, netizens got active on the social media. The one thing that is being doing rounds is the Finance Minister’s announcement on the 16 % tax hike on cigarettes. The netizens are going crazy over hiked cigarette price and sharing hilarious memes, have a look at some of the quirky ones here…

Budget 2023: Squad responsible for preparing the budget

February 1, 2023, 1:54 pm

The Union Budget 2023 has been presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Though the union minister is the face of the budget, yet it requires a significant amount of team work in preparing budget as it impacts every sector and individual of the country at a large scale. Here is a look at the core members responsible for carrying out the budget:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The finances of the government have traditionally been controlled by the Ministry of Finance. The Second woman Finance Minister after Indira Gandhi, Sitharaman took charge as Finance Minister in 2019 when the country was already slowing down. The uncertainties during her tenure have been much worse than than her predecessors P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee, which made her job more difficult.

T V Somanathan

T V Somanathan is the finance secretary in the government, the senior-most officer in the finance ministry. He is also in charge of the finance ministry’s expenditure department. Before taking charge finance secretary, he was an additional secretary and joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Ajay Seth

Ajay Seth is the secretary of the finance ministry’s economic affairs department designated with a core position in deciding budget as Ajay Seth is the secretary of the finance ministry’s economic affairs department.

Tuhin Kanta Pandey

Tuhin Kanta Pandey is the secretary of the finance ministry’s DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management). He is a 1987-batch IAS officer from Odisha cardre. He was responsible for Major disinvestments like LIC and Air India.

Sanjay Malhotra

Sanjay Malhotra in December 2022 took charge as the finance ministry’s revenue secretary. He is a 1990-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre. Malhotra was working as an officer on special duty in the revenue department since October 2022.

Vivek Joshi

Vivek Joshi is the secretary of the finance ministry’s Department of Financial Services (DFS). The department is responsible for functioning of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and NPS. A 1989-batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, Joshi was earlier the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

V Anantha Nageswaran

V Anantha Nageswaran is the chief economic advisor of the government. Nageswaran spearheaded the drafting of the Economic Survey for 2022-23. Nageswaran has served as a part-time member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council from 2019 to 2021.

Budget 2023: I-T rebate limit increased, no tax on income up to Rs 7 lakh

February 1, 2023, 1:51 pm

In a major relief to common people, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced an increase in the income tax rebate limit from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh stating that the new tax regime will now be the default tax regime.

The minister also proposed to reduce the tax slabs to 5 and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh in order to change the tax structure. The FM on personal income tax announced, “Tax for income of Rs 0-Rs 3 lakh is nil, for income above Rs 3 lakh and up to Rs 5 lakh will be taxed at 5 per cent, for income of above Rs 6 lakh and up to Rs 9 lakh will be taxed at 10 per cent and for income above Rs 12 lakh and up to Rs 15 lakh to be taxed at 20 per cent and above 15 lakh at Rs 30 per cent.”

The minister also mentioned the pensioners in the budget as she announced extending the benefit of standard deduction to new tax regime. Each salaried person with an income of Rs. 15.5 lakh or more will benefit by Rs, 52,500.

“A person earning Rs 9 lakh a year will now be paying just Rs 45,000 instead of Rs. 60,000 currently. Similarly, a person earning Rs 15 lakh will now pay only 10 per cent of this as tax.”
The finance minister also said: “The limit of Rs 3 lakh for tax exemption on leave encashment on government salaried employees. That was set in 2002 when government salaries were lower and is now being raised to Rs 25 lakh.”
She also added, “The new income tax regime will now become the default option, but people will still have the option to go for earlier regime.”
The average processing time for income tax returns has been reduced from 93 days to 16 days.

Union budget 2023: Key Points

February 1, 2023, 1:18 pm

The finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has just laid the union budget 2023 before the house. This was the fifth time that the lady finance minister presented the budget and the last time before the next general election that are scheduled next year. In a nutshell, budget 2023 is a futuristic budget where the finance minister spoke about need of energy conservation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digitization as the foundation for next 50 years. She spoke about an all-inclusive budget where the focus was “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”.

The many tax reforms and tax exemptions will definitely ease the burden of inflation from middle-class. This budget was created around seven key points which were;

Inclusive Development
Reaching the last mile
Infra and Investment
Unleashing the potential
Green Growth
Youth Power
Financial Sector

Some of the important highlights announced today were an agriculture accelerator fund will be set up to help agri startups in the country and the government has announced to raise farm credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore.

The FM also announced PM Vishwa Karma Kaushal Samman which will be a package of assistance for traditional artisans and craftsmen. The government said it would improve quality, scale and scale of their products, which will integrate these entrepreneurs with MSME value chain.

Other highlights of the Union Budget 2023 are:

There are no changes to the existing Tax System
Allocation for PM Awas Yojana raised by 66 percent
Individuals with income of Rs 15.5 lakh and above will now be eligible for standard deduction of Rs 52,500 in new tax regime in Budget 2023.
Standard deduction is hiked to Rs 52,500 in new tax regime
An individual with annual income of Rs 9 lakh will have to pay only Rs 45,000
Now anyone can update address, identity proof easily via DigiLocker

Union Budget 2023 allocates 2.40 lakh crores to railways

February 1, 2023, 12:21 pm

The government proposed a capital outlay of about Rs 2.40 lakh crore for railways, said Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in Lok Sabha. This is the highest ever allocation to the railways.

This budgeted outlay for the railways, Sitharaman told Parliament, is the highest ever and nine times of what it was in 2013. Overall, the government proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which would be 3.3 per cent of the GDP, said Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Further, the government proposes to increase the agricultural credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, Sitharaman told Parliament. The agriculture sector of the country has been growing at an average annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the last six years.

Union Budget 2023: The first budget of Amrit Kaal focuses on 7 key points

February 1, 2023, 11:58 am

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has a lot to offer in this Union Budget 2023. The states got a boost with an extension of one year in the interest-free loan. The finance lady focused the budget 2023 on seven key points or the “Saptrishi guiding us through Amrit Kaal” as the finance minister stated. The seven key points are Inclusive Development, Reaching the last mile, Infrastructure & Investment, Unleashing the potential, Green Growth, Youth Power and Financial Sector.

She also highlighted that the capital investment outlay has been increased by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crores that is 3.3% of the GDP. The finance minister addressed the parliament saying that this budget is the blue print of the next 25 years and the first of the Amrit Kaal. She has said the government will implement a scheme to supply food grains from1 January 2023 to all Antyodaya and priority households for the next one year.

There was a lot of focus on including Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the education centre. The Finance minister said that three AI Centre of Excellence will be introduce in collaboration with industries.

The government also focused on decreasing the carbon emission to zero by 2070 by focusing the development on Green Growth. The government plans to spend 35000 Crores towards Energy transmission.

Budget 2023: Fin Minister calls for ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’

February 1, 2023, 11:38 am

The Budget 2023 is being read by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the last time before the next election in 2024. The union budget 2023, this year is focused on building a more strengthened digital support to various industries and fields in India.

Nirmala Sitharaman began her speech speaking about the need of Inclusive development that would cover all Agriculture, Education, Tribal, Economically weaker sections, neglected sections and others. She focused on “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” and “Vanchito ko Variyta”.

The budget was focused on digitizing all the sectors and boosting the growth with the help of modern technology. Many PM schemes like PM Matsya Yojna and PM Housing scheme would be reinforced with sub-schemes to benefit the marginalised.

The FM pushed for a tech and knowledge-driven India. The buzz is that Nirmala Sitharaman’s fifth budget will have sops for India’s middle class and lower middle class, while she balances between populism and prudence. One key announcement is likely to be on changes to the income tax structure.

The government reportedly may introduce a new tax slab at Rs 8-10 lakh with a tax rate of 10-15 percent against 20 percent currently.

57 new nursing colleges will be established in core locations, says FM

February 1, 2023, 11:31 am

Budget copies reaches Parliament ahead of Union Budget 2023

February 1, 2023, 10:53 am

The much awaited budget copies have reached the parliament and the session will begin soon. Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2023-24 with a digital device instead of the traditional ‘bahi-khata’ in her hands. In 2019, the Union Budget was presented in a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ rather than a leather briefcase. It was the first time since independence that any Finance Minister had ‘opted out’ of a briefcase or a hardbound leather bag.

High hopes with Budget 2023: Sensex at 60K level today

February 1, 2023, 10:46 am

The domestic equity market opened with gains as Budget expectations lifted investors’ sentiment while the stocks seemed to have recovered from last week’s volatility from Adani Group stocks’ decline.

Most of the global markets’ indices were also trading in the green as investors looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.

Key indices of the domestic markets — BSE’s Sensex recovered its 60,000 level and went up 470 points to 60,001.17 while NSE’s Nifty surged 105 to 17,766.40 in the opening of Wednesday session.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei was trading in the green as it went up 49 points and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 63 points. In American markets, Dow Jones had closed with 368 points up, Nasdaq surged 190 points in its closing, NYSE rose and settled 217 points higher while S&P surged 58 points while it closed on Tuesday. US stocks edged higher on Tuesday on the back of strong earnings and encouraging inflation data.

In European markets, FTSE went down 13 points while CAC and Deutsche Borse were trading in the green.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament today, the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term. It is expected that taxpayers will get more relief as the government might put some money in the common man’s pockets. There are expectations that the government might raise import duties on certain items to encourage domestic manufacturing.

FM Sitharaman meets President Murmu ahead of Union budget presentation

February 1, 2023, 10:39 am

Ahead of tabling of the Union budget 2023 in Parliament on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with ministers of state Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad and Finance Secretary T V Somanathan called on President Droupadi Murmu.
As per established tradition, the Finance Minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhawan before heading to Parliament to present the Union Budget. This is the fifth budget presentation by Sitharaman.

“Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, MoS Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan,” the President of India tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a cabinet meeting at 10 am before the Budget is tabled in Parliament.
Speaking to ANI ahead of the Budget, MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that the people’s expectations would be reflected in the Budget.
“UnionBudget2023 will meet the expectations of every section of society. Modi govt has always worked in the favour of the people of the country”, Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary told ANI.
MoS Finance Dr B Karad speaking to ANI this morning said that the “Country has made good recovery from COVID. If we look at Economic Survey, all sectors are making progress. Compared to other countries, our economy is good. When PM took oath in 2014, India was 10th (in terms of economy), today it is fifth.”
On January 31 the first day of the budget session of Parliament, Sitharaman tabled the pre-budget Economic Survey for 2022-2023.
Finance Minister laid on the table, a copy (in English and Hindi) of the Economic Survey, 2022-23 along with Highlights and a Statistical Appendix.
The budget session of Parliament that began with the President’s address to a joint sitting of the houses will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers.
The Economic Survey document, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, gave insights into the state of the economy and various indicators in the current financial year 2022-23 (April-March) and outlook for the next year.
Meanwhile, addressing reporters outside Parliament before the start of the budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today’s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India’s budget. Amid the unstable global economic situation, India’s Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens. I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations.”
This budget will be the last full-fledged Union Budget of PM Narendra Modi’s government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Like the previous two years, the Union Budget will be delivered in paperless form this year also.
The 259th Session (Budget) of the Rajya Sabha is likely to be concluded on April 6. In order to enable the Standing Committees to consider the Demands for Grants of Ministries and Departments and prepare their Reports, both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will adjourn on February 13 to meet again on March 13.

Budget 2023: Sitharaman reaches North Block

February 1, 2023, 10:38 am

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday morning arrived at the Ministry of Finance in the North Block in the Central Secretariat building ahead of the Budget presentation today in Parliament.

This Budget marks the last Budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government in the Parliament of this term. The Finance Minister will table the Union Budget 2023-24 at 11 am in Lok Sabha today, following which she will address the House.

The government will present the Union Budget in paperless form like the previous two ones. The government had presented the first paperless budget in 2021.

On Tuesday, Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey for the Financial Year 2022-23 in Lok Sabha, which said that India’s economic recovery from the Covid pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 per cent to 6.8 per cent in the coming financial year 2023-24.

This is in comparison to 7 per cent this fiscal and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. In view of the upcoming budget, top business leaders of the country have also put forward their suggestions for Nirmala Sitharaman.

Arihant Infrastructures, CMD, Ashok Chhajer told ANI on Monday that the government should focus on reducing home loan rates. “The government should reduce home loan rates. The affordable housing segment, which is capped at Rs 45 lakh, should be changed to Rs 60-75 lakh which is the average cost of a house in Metro cities and 2-tier cities,” said Chhajer.

Hiranandani Group MD, Niranjan Hiranandani said the Budget should focus on further investments in roads, railways, ports, airports and highways, as well as slum rehabilitation schemes.

“There should be more focus on further investments in roads, railways, ports, airports and highways. The focus must also be on the slum rehabilitation schemes to make India a slum-free country,” said Hiranandani.

The Budget Session of the Parliament began on January 31 with President Droupadi Murmu’s Address to the joint session of both houses.

The President touched upon various subjects during her inaugural address, which was her first one after being elected to the topmost office of the country last year. She mentioned women empowerment, India’s defence exports, and Aatmanirbhar Bharat by 2047 among others.

Ahead of the President’s Address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the media outside the Parliament. Prime Minister Modi said that India’s Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens amid the unstable global economic situation.

“Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today’s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India’s budget,” PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister firmly exuded confidence that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make efforts to meet the expectations.

“Amid the unstable global economic situation, India’s budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens. The ray of hope being seen by the world grows brighter-for this, I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations,” PM Modi said while addressing the media.

The Prime Minister cited the “credible voices from the world of economy” and said that they have brought a positive message ahead of the session.

“Today, the Budget Session is commencing. Credible voices from the world of economy, have brought in a positive message, a ray of hope and a beginning of enthusiasm,” he said.

The budget session that began on Tuesday with the President’s address will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers.

The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6.

The whole world has its eyes on India’s Budget, says PM Modi ahead of Parliament Session

January 31, 2023, 5:39 pm

Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India’s Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens amid the unstable global economic situation.
“Our Finance Minister will present one more Budget before the country tomorrow. In today’s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India’s budget,” PM Modi said. The Prime Minister firmly exuded confidence that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make efforts to meet the aspirations.
“Amid the unstable global economic situation, India’s budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens, the ray of hope being seen by the world glows brighter-for this, I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations,” PM Modi said while addressing the media.
The Prime Minister cited the “credible voices from the world of economy” and said that they have brought a positive message ahead of the session.
“Today, the Budget Session is commencing. Credible voices from the world of economy, have brought in a positive message, a ray of hope and a beginning of enthusiasm. It is an important event today,” he said.
PM Modi said the maiden inaugural address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of both Houses is a matter of pride for the Constitution.
“The President is going to address a joint session for the first time today. The President’s first address to the joint session of Parliament is a matter of pride for our Constitution, and especially for respect of women. The whole world has its eyes on India,” he said.
“Our Finance Minister is a woman too. She will present one more budget before the country tomorrow. In today’s global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India’s budget,” PM Modi added.
The budget session will take place in 27 sittings till April 6 with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on February 13. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the Budget Session and will conclude on April 6.

Capex on Housing declined 32% yearly in first 8 months of 2022-23: Econ Survey

January 31, 2023, 4:26 pm

Capex on infrastructure in railways has received tremendous boost since 2014: Econ Survey

January 31, 2023, 4:25 pm