The attention and allocation to building a green infrastructure and a decarbonised energy regime is the core of the Union Budget which puts india on the path of being future proof, said Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar Capital.

“The ₹35,000 crore allocation for energy transition along with an ambitious target of 5 MMT of hydrogen will unleash new demand impulses across the length and breadth of the country thereby fielding green growth. This has been complemented by a custom duty and tax reliefs for green mobility” he added.

Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India said, “Sustainable growth in each sector is the Government’s top priority in this year’s budget. With an emphasis on shifting to green fuels, green hydrogen is another paramount of budget 2023; therefore, the ₹30,000 crore for energy transition investment will help the nation to touch green hydrogen production of 5 million tonnes by 2030,” he said. 

“In times of unprecedented volatility and uncertainty, the Government has maintained a consistent stance across five definitive themes – follow a path to fiscal prudence, continue to press on the capex accelerator to support growth and give a boost to private sector investment, provide adequate support to the most vulnerable sections and those who have been impacted the most by the pandemic, follow conservative & pragmatic budget maths and move further towards simplification and reform,” said Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of Baroda.

Bhargav Dasgupta, MD & CEO – ICICI Lombard on the Union Budget said, “The Union Budget FY23-24 is an extremely progressive and inclusive one with a huge focus on infrastructure and capex growth while maintaining the fiscal consolidation path. With fiscal deficit being reduced to 5.9% whilst providing an extremely bullish capex investment of ₹10 lakh crore (highest ever); will in effect convert revenue expenditure to capital expenditure which has a higher multiplier effect.”

Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder CEO, Garuda Aerospace said, “The Union Budget announced will certainly prove to be beneficial. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement has highlighted many points for the scope and development of the start-up economy.”

“Garuda Areospace’s virtual skilling and training universities will aim to empower 1 lakh youth by providing them with training and skilling for becoming drone pilots. Alongside this, Garuda will also provide them with job opportunities,” he said.

Sudhir Mehta, Founder & Chairman, Pinnacle Industries & EKA Mobility said, “The focus on capital expenditure with promising prospects for the commercial vehicle, green mobility, and railway sector is indeed encouraging. One of the most progressive announcements is the custom duty removal on capital goods imported for manufacturing Li-ion batteries, for electric vehicles built locally in India, which will ensure the cost rationalization for electric vehicles substantially.”

“This will not only help us achieve our sustainability goals but also promote ‘Made in India’ products & technology. The government is consistent in its focus on green mobility, and budget allocation toward the National Hydrogen Mission will bring new opportunities for growth & innovation,” he said.

K.V. Hariharan, Sr. Vice President-FP&A, Data Analytics & Strategic Planning, Amway India said, “The Government’s emphasis on upskilling, job creation, infrastructure development, and strengthening digital capabilities with inclusive growth at the core of the announcements has laid the blueprint for India’s road to a $5 trillion economy.”

The Union Budget seems to be full of good intentions but what happened to the good intentions of last year, how much of it was realised? Education budget is down to 2.5% from 2.64% while the health budget is down to 1.98% from 2.2%. Quality and accessibility of free basic education is still a big issue and still it is not addressed. There is no vision for improving the education sector, according to the Aam Aadmi Party, Mysuru.

Reacting to the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, the party asked, “The plan for Economic Empowerment of Women, Relief for MSMEs, National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents is looking good on paper, but how much of it will be realised? Mahila Samman Savings Certificate is good but why only for 2 years?”

Unfortunately, the potential of the women workforce of our country has never been harnessed. Women workforce could add to a significant increase in GDP for which there is a lack of vision from the Centre, argued Malavika Gubbivani, AAP leader, Mysuru.

The delivery of previous promises like piped water connection, PMAY housing, etc., has been less than 50%. How much of the promises will be delivered this time, she asked, in a press statement.

Gas subsidy should have been reintroduced. There is nothing to ease inflation, the statement added.

Corporate tax should have been increased and the benefits passed on to the middle class/salaried class. “Yet again, this government has proved it is pro-corporate,” she alleged.

In her 2022 budget, the Finance Minister had promised economic growth to be 9.2% but actual growth is likely to be 6.8% according to the RBI (prediction as of December). an outcome budget like the one presented by Delhi government should be followed. The effectiveness of the measures announced in the previous budget should be presented along with social audit results, argued Ms. Gubbivani.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said Phase III of eCourts Project will build on the gains made by the earlier two phases that proved crucial in the delivery of justice during the COVID-19 pandemic when courts were under lockdown protocol. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday allocated ₹7,000 crore for the launch of Phase III of the eCourts Project that seeks efficient administration of justice.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a series of tweets, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Finance Minister as well as Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, who headed the eCommittee of the Supreme Court.

Track Budget 2023 latest updates here

“This will ensure “Ease of Justice” and further improves the justice delivery system that the Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji has always envisioned,” Mr. Rijiju tweeted.

“I also compliment the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Dr D.Y. Chandrachud ji who as the Chairperson of the eCommittee of the Supreme Court of India has been instrumental in the success of the earlier phases of the eCourts Project and who personally supervised and mentored the formulation of the DPR [Detailed Project Report] of the Phase-III of the Project,” he added.

The Minister said Phase III of eCourts Project will build on the gains made by the earlier two phases that proved crucial in the delivery of justice during the COVID-19 pandemic when courts were under lockdown protocol.

“The project envisages various path breaking initiatives like: Digital & Paperless Courts that aim to bring court proceedings under a digital format in a court, thereby, limiting the use of paper and speeding up the disposal of cases, Online Court that focus on eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court, Expansion of scope of Virtual Courts beyond adjudication of Traffic Violations,” Mr. Rijiju said in the tweets.

The Minister noted that the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning would allow for data analysis to work towards reduction in pendency and understanding litigation patterns and forecasting future needs.

While 4,400 fully functional eSewa Kendras will provide assistance to all lawyers and litigants, live streaming of court hearings would allow for further transparency in judicial proceedings, he said.

Digitisation of all court records will further pave the way for a completely paperless environment in future. “An Online Dispute Resolution platform will encourage alternate dispute resolution and a robust video conferencing system will create seamless connectivity between the jails & courts, allowing for all bail appearances over VC,” Mr. Rijiju said.

File photo of officials collecting data as part of Census in 2011.
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

In an indication that the census exercise — meant to be completed in 2021, but delayed because of COVID-19 — may not be conducted in 2023-24, the Union Budget allocation for the Census Survey and Statistics head has been slashed to ₹1,565 crore from the ₹3,676 crore allocated in 2022-23. The last census was held in 2011.

Overall, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been allocated ₹1.96 lakh crore in the Budget 2023-24, a 5% hike from the almost ₹1.86 lakh crore allotted to it in the current fiscal.

In her Budget speech on Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that States must spend the entire fifty-year loan given to them on capital expenditure within the 2023-24 financial year. Parts of the outlay will also be linked to, or allocated for scrapping old government vehicles and housing for police personnel above or as part of police stations, she said.

Intelligence database funding up

The allocation for the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) has been more than doubled, growing a whopping 128% from ₹87.77 crore in 2022-23 to ₹200.53 crore in the coming year. NATGRID is one-stop destination for security and intelligence agencies to access databases related to immigration entry and exit, and the banking and telephone details of terror and crime suspects, using a “secured platform”. The Intelligence Bureau has seen an increase of 7% with an allocation of ₹3,418 crore in 2023-24.

The Official Languages division that promotes the use of Hindi language in official government work has been allocated a budget of ₹93.26 crore.

The Special Protection Group, which only provides security cover to the Prime Minister of India, has seen a 12% increase in budgetary allocation from ₹385 crore to ₹433 crore.

The Indo Tibetan Border Police Force that is deployed along the 3,488 km border with China has seen an 8% increase in its budget from ₹7,461 crore in the current fiscal to ₹8,097 crore in the next fiscal.

Managing border infra, movement

The budget for the Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking System (IVFRT) has increased 30% from ₹175 crore to ₹229 crore. IVFRT’s core objective is to develop and implement a secure and integrated service delivery framework that facilitates legitimate travellers, while strengthening security.

Border infrastructure and management has seen its budget grow 29%, from ₹2,744 crore in 2022-23 to ₹3,545 crore in 2023-24. The provision is allocated for barbed wire fencing, construction of roads, observation posts and border outposts, installation of flood lights, induction of hi-tech surveillance along the Bangladesh and Pakistan borders, and for other such construction activities at India’s international borders

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has been allocated ₹94 crore, almost 60% more than the ₹59 crore allocated the previous year

A large component of the budget, a total of ₹2,092 crore, has been reserved for “research,” which is almost 50% higher than the ₹1,400 crore revised estimates for 2021-22.

The modernisation of the Central Armed Police Forces, newly introduced as a budget head in 2022-23, has seen its allocation fall more than 18% to ₹202 crore, down from the ₹248 crore allotted earlier.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the media at Parliament House on the first day of the Union Budget session of Parliament
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 1 termed the Union Budget as the “first budget of Amrit Kaal” (the 25-year period between the 75th year of independence and its centenary) and said that it would lay a strong foundation for building a developed India.

“The first budget of Amrit Kaal will build a strong foundation for building a developed India. It gives priority to the deprived. This Budget will fulfil the dreams of an aspirational society including poor people, middle-class people, and farmers. I congratulate Nirmala Sitharaman and her team for this historic budget,” Prime Minister Modi said in a televised address after the presentation of the Union budget.

Also Read | Budget 2023 | Income tax rejig signals BJP’s return to core middle class support base close to 2024 polls

The Prime Minister called the middle class a big force to fulfil dreams of prosperous, developed India and said his government has taken many decisions to empower them. The Budget for this year rejigs tax slabs and exempts those with an income of ₹7 lakh per annum (up from ₹5 lakh per annum in the past) from paying personal income tax and also brings down the effective rate of tax for the higher tax brackets as well.

He hailed the unprecedented investment of ₹10 lakh crore in infrastructure and said it will give speed and new energy to development. Noting that PM Vishvakarma Kaushal Samman will bring a huge change in the lives of “Vishvakarmas,” the Prime Minister said that for the first time schemes relating to their support has been incorporated into the budget.

“Those toiling traditionally through their hands for the country, ‘Vishvakarmas’ are the creators of this country. For the first time scheme related to training and support for ‘Vishvakarma’ has been brought into the budget. Preparations have been made for their training, technology, credit and market support. PM Vishvakarma Kaushal Samman means PM Vikas will bring about a huge change in the lives of crores of Vishwakarma,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Modi underlined the government’s efforts to enhance the lives of women. “The government has taken several steps to make the lives of women, in rural and urban areas, easy. Women’s self-help groups will further enhance them. Special savings scheme will be started empowering women in households,” the Prime Minister said.

IDBI Bank is on the government’s list for privatisation. Image for representation
| Photo Credit: G. Ramakrishna

The Budget for 2023-24 has not separately mentioned the amount that the government plans to raise from disinvestment or privatisation of state-owned companies.

Earlier, proceeds from disinvestment were shown separately as part of the miscellaneous receipts in the Capital Receipts Budget.

As per the 2023-24 Budget document, the revised estimate for miscellaneous capital receipts for the current fiscal has been pegged at ₹60,000 crore, lower than the ₹65,000 crore projected in Budget estimates for 2022-23.

For the next fiscal beginning April 1, the miscellaneous capital receipts have been pegged at ₹61,000 crore.

As per the DIPAM website, the government has so far mopped up over ₹31,100 crore by way of minority stake sale in CPSEs, as against the full-year Budget target of ₹65,000 crore.

For the next fiscal, companies like Shipping Corporation of India, NMDC Steel Ltd, BEML, HLL Lifecare, Container Corporation of India and Vizag Steel, besides IDBI Bank, are in the government’s list for privatisation.

This fiscal (2022-23) is the fourth year in a row that the government has missed the budgeted disinvestment target.

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Watch | Budget 2023 | What’s cheaper and what’s costlier?

With a view to promoting exports, boosting domestic manufacturing, and enhancing value addition, the Union Budget 2023-24 has proposed a number of changes to the Customs Duty regime which is likely to make mobile phones and TVs cheaper and a certain class of automobiles, including EVs, as well as toys and bicycles dearer.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “a simplified tax structure with fewer tax rates helps in reducing compliance burden and improving tax administration. I propose to reduce the number of Basic Customs Duty (BCD) rates on goods, other than textiles and agriculture, from 21 to 13.” Consequently, there would be “minor changes in BCD, cesses and surcharges on some items, including toys, bicycles, automobiles and naphtha,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

A reduction in mobile phone prices is likely on account of BCD on camera lens and its inputs/parts, used in manufacture of camera module of mobile phone, made nil from existing 2.5%. It has been decided to continue concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries for another year. “The proposals are aimed at deepening domestic value addition in manufacture of mobile phones,” the FM said.

“Similarly, to promote value addition in manufacture of televisions, I propose to reduce BCD on parts of open cells of TV panels to 2.5% [from the existing 5%],” she said.

In another Indirect Tax proposal, she said towards rectifying inversion of duty structure and encouraging manufacturing of electric kitchen chimneys, BCD on electric kitchen chimney was being increased to 15% from 7.5%, while the levy on heat coils for the appliance is getting reduced from 20% to 15%.

For bicycles, the new rate is 35% as against existing 30%; for toys and parts of toys, other than parts of electronic toys, it will be 70% (60%). BCD on naphtha has been increased from 1% to 2.5%.

The duty on Styrene and Vinyl Chloride is being increased from 2 to 2.5%. As an impetus to green mobility, the duty exemption is being extended to import of capital goods and machinery required for manufacture of lithium-ion cells for batteries used in EVs, the FM said.

The Budget also proposed exemption from the levy on vehicles, specified automobile parts, sub-systems and tyres imported by notified testing agencies for the purpose of testing/certification.

Denatured ethyl alcohol, which finds applications in the chemical industry, is being exempted from BCD.

Here’s is a list of items that will become cheaper and costlier.

What’s cheaper

• Mobile phones and TV sets manufactured in India
• Denatured ethyl alcohol
• Acid grade fluorspar
• Shrimp feed
• Lab-grown diamonds
• Fish lipid oil used in manufacturing aquatic feed
• Machinery for manufacturing lithium ion cell to be used in electric vehicles
• Raw materials for manufacture of CRGO Steel, ferrous scrap and nickel cathode

What’s dearer

• Fully imported cars, including electric vehicles (EV)
• Kitchen chimney
• Imported bicycles and toys
• Articles made of gold, platinum
• Imitation jewellery
• Silver dores, bars, articles
• Copper scrap
• Compounded rubber
• Cigarettes

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2023-24
| Photo Credit: PTI

The government plans to borrow a record ₹15.4 lakh crore from dated securities in FY24 to meet its expenditure requirement to prop up the economy.

This is higher than the total borrowing of ₹14.21 lakh crore for the current financial year ending March 31, 2023.

Also Read | Budget 2023 | How is money allocated and where does it come from?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Budget on February 1 said the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at ₹11.8 lakh crore to finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24.

“The balance financing is expected to come from small savings and other sources. The gross market borrowings are estimated at ₹15.4 lakh crore,” she said.

The government has raised ₹12.93 lakh crore till January 27, which is 91% of the overall borrowing target of ₹14.21 lakh crore estimated for 2022-23.

The indebtedness of the Centre and State governments together is equal to 83% of the annual gross domestic product (GDP).

The Finance Minister retained the fiscal deficit target at 6.4% despite an increase in the subsidy bill.

“Coming to 2023-24, the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at ₹27.2 lakh crore and ₹45 lakh crore, respectively. The net tax receipts are estimated at ₹23.3 lakh crore,” she said.

She pegged the fiscal deficit at 5.9% of GDP for FY24.

“In my Budget Speech for 2021-22, I had announced that we plan to continue the path of fiscal consolidation, reaching a fiscal deficit below 4.5% by 2025-26 with a fairly steady decline over the period. We have adhered to this path, and I reiterate my intention to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26,” she said.

Also Read | Budget likely to cap fiscal deficit at 5.8% for FY24; Centre’s borrowings to rise

Ms. Sitharaman had pegged gross market borrowing through dated securities for 2022-23 at ₹14,95,000 crore.

However, the government in September 2022 decided to cut the gross borrowing to ₹14.21 lakh crore during FY23. The gross borrowing for 2021-22 was ₹12,05,500 crore.

With regard to the net borrowing, the government estimated a record ₹11.6 lakh crore raising from the market in 2022-23.

This was nearly ₹2 lakh crore higher than the current year’s Budget estimate of ₹9.7 lakh crore.

The total market borrowings of the government for 2022-23 are estimated at ₹11,58,719 crore, according to the previous Budget document.

The revised estimates for the same for 2021-22 are ₹8,75,771 crore against the Budget estimates of ₹9,67,708 crore.

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