Key Highlights of Union Budget 2023-24

Union Budget 2023-24 Vision for Amrit Kaal

• Growth and Job Creation
• Strong and Stable Macro Economic Environment
• Opportunities for Citizens with focus on the Youth

Amrit Kaal: Saptarishi – 7 priorities

• Inclusive Development
• Infrastructure and Investment
• Reaching the Last Mile
• Youth Power
• Green Growth
• Financial Sector
• Unleashing the potential

Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas – Inclusive Development

Agriculture and Co-operatives

• Expand Digital Technologies to boost the agriculture sector
• Promote Natural Farming and fund rural start-ups
•  Build and open-source, digital public agriculture and infrastructure
• Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme – To boost the availability of disease free quality planting material for horticulture with an outlay of Rs.2,200 crore.
• Shree Anna: Making India a Global Hub for Millets – IIMR Hyderabad upgraded as centre of excellence
• PM Matsya Sampada Yojna target investment of Rs.6k crore: To boost Fishing Value Chain
• Setting-up of widely available Storage Capacity to enhance Farmers Remuneration
• Rs.20 Lakh crore agriculture credit targeted at Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries Sector

Health

• Sickle-cell anaemia focus on health push
  1. 157 new nursing Medical Colleges
• Boost to Media and Pharmaceutical Research via ICMR

Education and Skills

• States to be urged to set-up physical libraries at Panchayat and ward levels
• National Digital Library to be set up for children and adolescents
• Revamped Teachers Training via; District Institutes of Education and Training
• Launched Skilled India Digital Platform
• National Apprenticeship Scheme (NAS) under which 4.7 million youths will be provided stipend support via; Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
• 1000 Labs to come up for engineering institutes for developing applications using 5G services
• Boost Mid-day meal scheme to increase in allocation to Rs.11.6 crore in F.Y. 2023-24 from Rs. 10.2 cr. in F.Y. 2022-23.

Inclusive Development for all

• Ujjawala: Rs. 9.6 crore LPG connections
• Rs. 220 crore Covid Vaccinations of 102 crore person
• SBM: Constructed Rs. 11.7 crore household toilets
• Rs. 9crore Drinking Water connections to rural houses
• PM-KISAN: Cash transfer of Rs.2.2 lakh crore to over 11.4 crore farmers
• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana: Insurance cover for 44.6 crore persons
•  PM Jan Dhan Bank Account – Rs. 47.8 crore

Infrastructure and Investment

• Incentives to boost Investment in Infrastructure and Productive capacity
• Increased capital investment outlay by 33.4% to Rs. 10lakh crore
• Highest ever capital outlay of Rs. 2.4o lakh crore for Railways
• Continuation of 50 year interest free loan to State Governments to incentivize infrastructure investment
• 100 transport infrastructure projects identified for end-to-end connectivity for ports, steel, fertilize sectors
• Creating Urban Infrastructure in Tier 2&3 cities via; establishment of Urban Infrastructure Development Fund.

Unleashing the Potential Trust Based Governance

• AI in India: To set-up educational institutes in education institutes
• National Data Governance Policy: To enable access to anonymized data for research by Start-ups and academia
• Vivad se Vishwas I: Relief to MSMEs by executing less stringent contract
• Vivad se Vishwas II: Standardized settlement scheme for contractual disputes of Govt. and Govt. undertakings
• E-courts: Launched phase 3 of E-courts for effective administration of justice
• Entity Digi Locker: Facilitating secure online storing and sharing of documents with the business ecosystems
• Lab Grown Diamonds sector: R&D grant to reduce import dependency

Green Growth

• Rs. 35,000 crore outlay for growth in Green Energy Transition
• Launched PM-PRANAM (Program for restoration, awareness, nourishment and amelioration of Mother Earth): To incentivize States/UTs to promote usage of alternative fertilizers
• GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resource Dhan) Scheme: 500 new ‘Waste to Wealth’ plants for promoting circular scheme
• Green Credit Program to incentivize sustainable actions
• MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes): For mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands
• Amrit Dharohar: For optimal usage of wetlands
• Setting up of 10,000 bio-input resource centre to facilitate farmers to adopt natural farming
• Promotion of Battery energy storage systems
• Promotion of coastal shipping for energy efficient transportation
• Allocation of funds for replacing old-polluting vehicles

Amrit Peedhi: Youth Power

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna 4.0. scheme: To skilled lakhs of youth, covering new courses like coding, AI, Robotics, 3D Printing etc.
• Measures to boost Tourism Sector: At-lease 50 destinations selected through challenge mode, to be developed as a complete package for domestic and foreign countries
• States will be encouraged to set-up Unity Malls: For promotion and sale of ODOP (One District-One Product) , GI and handicraft products

Financial Sector

• Setting-up of National Financial Information registry: To enable efficient lending and promote financial stability
• Mahila Samman Bachat Patra : One-time new small savings for a 2 year period with the deposit facility of up-to Rs.2 lakh for women
• Setting up of a Central Data Processing Centre: For faster handling of administrative work under the Companies Act
• Benefits for Senior Citizens: Enhanced maximum deposit limit from Rs.15 lakh to Rs.30 Lakh.
• Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs: Expanded corpus under a revamped scheme to enable additional collateral free guaranteed credit of Rs.2 lakh crore
• Initiative s to promote business activities in GIFT IFSC
• Create more trained professionals in Securities Market

Fiscal Management

50 years Interest Free Loans to State

• To be spent on Capital Expenditure within 2023-24
• Part of the loan is conditional on States increasing actual Capital expenditure and parts of outlay will be linked to States undertaking several reforms
• Fiscal Deficit of 3.5% of GSDP allowed for States
• Fiscal Consolidation: Targeted Fiscal Deficit to be below 4.5% by 2025-26

Tax Proposals

Indirect Tax Proposal

Simplification in Indirect Taxes to deliver:

• Higher Exports
  1. Higher domestic manufacturing
  1. More value addition in the economy
• Green energy and mobility

Changes to Custom Duty:

• Import of capital goods for Lithium-ion battery manufacturing for Greener mobility
• Import of mobile camera lens for deepening value addition
• Denatured ethyl alcohol for Chemical Industry
• Key inputs for producing shrimp feed to benefit marine export
• Continuing concessional basic custom duty on copper scrap for augmenting raw material availability for MSMEs.
• Compounded rubber to bring it at par with natural rubber to duty circumvention

Direct Tax Proposal

Tax reliefs to citizens

• 45% tax returns on tax payers portals were processed within 24 hours
  1. Average Processing Period reduced from 93 to 16 days in 8 years
• Processed more than 6.5 crore return this year

Personal Income Tax – New Tax Regime

• Income limit for rebate of income tax increased from Rs.5 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh
• Highest surcharge rate on income above Rs.5 crore to be reduced from 37% to 25%
• Extended benefits of standard deduction for salaried and pensioners
• Increasing tax exemption limit to Rs.25 lakh on leave encashment on retirement for non-government salaried employees
• Tax exemption limit raised from Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 3 Lakh

Proposed (FY24) concessional, or new, tax regime

• Income upto Rs.3 lakh are not liable for Tax
• Income between Rs.3 to 6 lakh, to pay 5% of income in excess of Rs.3 lakh
• Income between Rs.6 to 9 lakh, to pay Rs. 15,000 plus 10% of the amount by which the income exceeds Rs.6 lakh
• Income between Rs.9 to 12 lakh, to pay Rs. 45,000 plus 15% of the amount by which the income exceeds Rs.9 lakh
• Income between Rs.12 to 15 lakh, to pay Rs. 90,000 plus 20% of the amount by which the income exceeds Rs.12 lakh
• Income above 15 lakh, to pay Rs. 1,50,000 plus 30% of the amount by which the income exceeds Rs.15lakh

Tax Benefits for Industry

MSME

• Enhanced limit for micro enterprises and professionals to avail benefits of presumptive taxation; 95% of receipts to be non cash
• Deductions on payment made to MSMEs to be allowed only when payment is actually made

Cooperatives

• Extending 15%corporate tax benefit to  new co-operatives, commencing manufacturing till 31^st March 2024
• Higher limit of Rs. 2 lakh per member for deposits and loans in cash by PACS and PCARDBs
• Higher limit of Rs.3 crore for TDS on cash withdrawal for co-operative societies

Start-ups

• Extension of the date of incorporation by one year for income tax benefits to start-ups
• Benefits of carry forward of losses on change of shareholding of start-ups from 7years of incorporation to 10 years

Rationalisation

• Income of authorities, boards and commission setup by statues of the Union or State to be exempted from income tax in certain sectors
• Extension of period of tax benefits to fund relocating to IFSC, GIFT City till 31^st March 2025

Allocation of Specific Ministeries (Value in Rs. Lakh Crore)

• Ministry of Defence – Rs. 5.94
• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways – Rs. 2.70
• Ministry of Railways – Rs. 2.41
• Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution – Rs. 2.06
• Ministry of Home Affairs – Rs. 1.96
• Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizer – Rs. 1.78
• Ministry of Rural Development – Rs. 1.60
• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare – Rs. 1.25
• Ministry of Communication – Rs. 1.23

Allocation to Major Schemes for F.Y. 2023-24(In INR Crore)

• Development of Pharmaceutical Industry – Rs. 1250
• Jal Jeevan Mission – Rs. 70,000
• Eklavya Model Residential School – Rs. 5943
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna – Rs. 79,590
• Scheme for Faster Adaption and Manufacturing of EV’s (FAME) – Rs. 5172
• North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme – Rs. 2491

What’s Costlier

• Electric Kitchen Chimney
• Articles made of Gold, Platinum
• Silver Doors and Bars
• Copper
• Compounded Rubber
• Cigarettes
• Clothes

What’s Cheaper

• Camera Lenses
• Mobile Phones
• TV Parts
• Denatured Ethyl Alcohol
• Acid Grade Flourspar
• Domestic Manufacture of Shrimp