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.”

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.

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“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.

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.

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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.