Budget Session 2023 Highlights: Ruckus in Parliament for second day in row over probe into Adani Group; Sitharaman to address BJP MPs today

The stock market turmoil created by rout in Adani group shares is a "storm in a tea cup" from a macroeconomic point of view, finance secretary T V Somanathan said on Friday, emphasing that India's public financial system is robust.

The senior most bureaucrat in the finance ministry also said that movements in the stock market per se is not the government's concern and there are independent regulators to take necessary action.

Replying to a question on the impact of the fraud allegations on the Adani group on financial system considering banks and insurance companies exposure to the group, Somanathan said India's public financial institutions are robust.

"There is absolutely no concern from the point of view of financial stability, either for depositors, or for policyholders, or for anyone holding shares in these institutions. The share of any one company is not such as to create any impact at the macro level and so there is absolutely no concern from that point of view," he told PTI in a post-budget interview.

The first Union Budget of the "Amrit Kaal" will ensure rapid development of the country and Uttar Pradesh will benefit immensely from it, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday.

He said Uttar Pradesh will get a share of Rs 1.83 lakh crore as compared to Rs 1.46 lakh crore it had received in the previous budget and it will help the state government take up various development works. "Seven opportunities have been addressed as 'saptarishi' in the budget. The 'saptarishi' have been the founders of Indian systems under whose guidance the sanatan traditions of India grew and established India as the leader of the world," the chief minister said at a press conference in Lucknow.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who presented the Union Budget for 2023-24 on Wednesday, listed seven priorities -- Saptarishi (seven priorities) -- to guide the country through the Amrit Kaal, the 25-year journey towards its centenary as a modern nation. (PTI)

The salaried common man would benefit from the new income tax regime announced in the Union budget 2023-24, said finance secretary TV Somanathan.

"The vast majority of people will benefit and we expect that the majority of people will shift to the new income tax regime. We are confident of that," Somanathan told news agency ANI.

Somanathan said there are only winners in the new income tax regime, no one is a loser. "I am confident that people will choose the new income tax regime. Today's situation is that if someone's income is up to five lakhs, then they do not have to pay tax. From the next year, those whose income is up to Rs seven lakhs will not have to pay tax. This limit has been increased by 40 percent which was Rs 5 lakh earlier. This is absolutely beneficial. Government jobs or private, whose monthly salary is 40,000 to 60,000, they come in this bracket. For them, there is only profit. Those who are saying that it is not beneficial, are wrong." (ANI)

Terming the Union Budget 2023 all-inclusive, balanced and development-oriented, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel Thursday said the upcoming state budget would take inspiration from it.

IIT Madras announced that will receive a grant of Rs 242 crores over a period of five years to conduct research on lab-grown diamonds (LGD). The research will be focused on driving the indigenous manufacturing of LGDs.

New schemes, a change in tax slabs, econ. trivia that shows up every year — without taking a peek, how much of the Union Budget do you think you remember?

In the Union Budget 2023-24 tabled Wednesday, Rs 1,258.68 crore was allotted to the Union Cabinet, under various heads of expenditure, including salaries, sumptuary (food etc), travel by ministers and entertainment of foreign State guests.

The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), a national platform of a group of organisations that coordinates action and activities on health and healthcare, on Thursday condemned the inadequacies in the Union Budget and its allocation for the health sector.

India’s economy will withstand the stock rout caused by allegations against Adani Group, while any impact on the broader equity markets is set to be short-lived, a top minister said.

SENSING an opportunity to put the Narendra Modi government on the mat in a crucial election year, the Opposition Thursday put up a united front seeking a probe by either a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) or headed by the Supreme Court or monitored by the Chief Justice of India, into the allegations of accounting fraud and stock manipulation against the Adani Group.

The protests by the Opposition did not let Parliament function the day after the Union Budget was tabled, and could end up derailing the rest of the Session as well.

Around the same time five years ago, the BJP government and Modi had faced Opposition heat over the Rafale fighter jet purchase. While the allegations then did not stick to the BJP, both politically and legally, the difference this time is that the Opposition can make it about the hard-earned savings of crores of Indians being “endangered” through investment in Adani Group companies. Manoj C G writes

The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday evoked mixed reactions from various sectors with some experts raising concerns about government making no efforts to control steel price, and less allocation in health sector, and some terming the Budget as growth-oriented and MSME-friendly and one meant to give a fillip to the economy.

Even as industry representatives welcomed the 2023-24 Budget speech by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announcing that a new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through centres of excellence, stakeholders believe that though a macro move, it will encourage skill development and innovation, which in turn will result in indigenous versions of medical devices.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Thursday said the Hindenburg research expose about the Adani Group has "created fear among common man".

"SBI, LIC have money of common man which was invested. Large section of the country is investing in stock market. We've demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe from government," news agency ANI quoted Chowdhury as saying.

Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman who presented the Narendra Modi government's last full budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, will hold a briefing for the BJP MPs both of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Friday, sources said.

She will explain the budget to the MPs in the meeting. The briefing will be held at 9 am at the Balayogi Auditorium in Parliament Library Building in the national capital, all MPs have been informed.

This briefing comes at a time when the party has asked all its members of Parliament to go to the respective constituencies and tell the common man what does budget means and how it has been brought out, keeping the interest of every stratum of society in mind. (ANI)

After both the houses were adjourned on Thursday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed reporters outside the Parliament, where he asked why the Centre forced government institutions to invest in or lend to companies which have been blamed of malpractice in the Hindenburg report.

Kharge demanded an investigation into forced investments made by the Life Insurance Corporation, State Bank of India and other public institutions in the Adani Group. He also sought a probe either by a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a team constituted by the Chief Justice of India to look into the issue, which has cost the government-owned companies huge losses in recent days.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day as Opposition members demanded discussions on the Adani Group. They submitted adjournment notices, stating that “a significant volume of public money through SBI and LIC is locked in the Adani Group.”

Earlier, following ruckus in both Houses, proceedings in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday. Ahead of the Parliament Session, a meeting organised by Kharge was attended by leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction, DMK, CPM, AAP and CPI(M), where they had decided to raise the issue together.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as Opposition parties sought a discussion on allegations of fraud against Adani Group.

Both Houses are set to resume at 2 pm. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned shortly after proceedings began Thursday morning as Opposition members demanded discussions over the Adani Group.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates!

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sought details from banks about the exposure to Adani group of companies amid the sustained fall in its share prices and scrapping of the Rs 20,000 crore FPO, a source said. 

When contacted, an RBI official refused to comment on the development. After Credit Suisse stopped accepting bonds of Adani Group as collateral for margin loans to its private banking clients, Citigroup’s wealth unit has stopped extending margin loans to its clients against securities of Adani group companies. “This might have prompted the regulator to step in,” said a banking source. Read more

The shares of Adani Group of companies continued to plunge on Wednesday, a day after it announced scrapping of the Rs 20,000 crore FPO of Adani Enterprises and said that it would refund the money to the investors. 

While shares of Adani Enterprises were down 8 per cent, the shares of Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy and Adani Total had fallen 10 per cent. While Adani Ports was down 2.7 per cent, Adani Power and Adani Wilmar were down 8.3 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. Read more

A united Opposition Thursday stalled both houses of Parliament demanding a discussion on the row over a report by New York-based investor research firm Hindenburg Research, which has accused industrialist Gautam Adani’s companies of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”.

Leaders of several Opposition parties met at Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber in Parliament to discuss the floor strategy. Among those who attended the meeting were Ramgopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress’s Derek O Brien, NCP’s Vandana Chavan, Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction’s Sanjay Raut, DMK’s Kanimozhi, CPM’s Elamaram Kareem, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, and CPI’s Binoy Viswam. Read more

Led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the members of Opposition parties have demanded a probe, either by a Joint Parliament Committee or a CJI-appointed panel, into the Adani Group.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Both Houses of Parliament adjourned today till 2 pm because Government did not agree to the combined Opposition demand for an investigation into forced investments by LIC, SBI and other public institutions that have lost huge value in recent days endangering savings of crores of Indians."

The Opposition had demanded a discussion over the Adani Group. 

Both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm after members caused a commotion, demanding a discussion on the investments by LIC and public sector banks in the Adani Group of companies.

Proceedings in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday as Opposition demanded a discussion over the diminishing shares of the Adani Group, following accusations by the Hindenburg Research firm. In the Lok Sabha, members raised slogans, interrupting the Question Hour. In Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar stated that none of the notices received fulfil the requirements under Rule 267, and hence, “they are declined”. His decision was met with shouts from the members, following which Dhankar adjourned the House till 2 pm.

Congress president Mallikajrun Kharge submitted an Adjournment notice in Lok Sabha, demanding a discussion on the issue of LIC, public sector banks and financial institutions investing in companies losing market value, which "endangers the hard-earned savings of crores of Indians".

Equity benchmarks fell in initial trade on Thursday, but later bounced back to trade in the positive territory, amid firm global market trends and foreign fund inflows. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex had fallen 492.46 points to 59,215.62 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty declined 170.35 points to 17,445.95 in initial trade. Read more

The government has gone all out in its attempt to convince individual taxpayers to migrate to the new income tax regime by overhauling slabs and offering additional sops to the lowest as well as the top strata of taxpayers. In the Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pitched hard for the new tax regime, offering a slew of incentives in comparison to the old system, and dangling the carrot of negligible compliance burden that the simplified new regime promises.

Considering various scenarios across income groups, it appears that the spruced up tax regime will be more lucrative and nudge a large number of taxpayers to switch to it. The analysis showed that unless an individual claims hefty tax exemptions, he/ she stands to benefit by migrating to the new system. Read more

Congress members Manickam Tagore and Manish Tewari on Thursday gave adjournment notices in the Lok Sabha to discuss the Adani Group issue and Chinese transgressions along the border.

Tagore, the party's whip in Lok Sabha, said there is an emergency situation due to diminishing shares of the Adani group. (PTI)

The third day of Parliament will see a Motion of Thanks for the President's address in both the Houses. President Droupadi Murmu on January 31 addressed a joint sitting of the Houses, in which she called the Narendra Modi government as a "decisive government", hailing decisions such as the abrogation of Article 370 and triple talaq.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates!

In a big push to rural infrastructure, the government has allocated Rs 54,487 crore for its flagship rural housing scheme—Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin—for financial year 2023-24, which is the highest ever allocation since the inception of the scheme in 2016. Besides, an allocation of Rs 70,000 crore has been made for Jal Jeevan Mission, a scheme aimed at providing tap water connections to rural households. Read more

The Modi government’s big initiatives during its almost nine years in power have been largely aimed at the very poor, the farming community and corporates. As cynics would say, the first and second have the votes, while the last bring in the notes.

By freeing individuals with annual income up to Rs 7 lakh from paying any tax — and reducing the burden to Rs 1.5 lakh (from Rs 1,87,500 now) for even those drawing Rs 15 lakh or Rs 1.25 lakh/month — the Narendra Modi government has delivered some relief for a class that has long felt ignored.

The Budget signals: The Middle Class Finally Matters! Read more

With smart tweaking in tax slabs and rates under the new tax regime and extending the benefit of standard deduction, the government has made a big pitch for taxpayers to move from the old tax regime (OTR) to the new tax regime (NTR) by making taxation under the new regime nearly equivalent to OTR without the need for any deduction. 

It comes on the back of the announcement to increase the limit of rebate from Rs 5 lakh earlier to Rs 7 lakh beginning April 1, 2023. This means that if an individual earns up to Rs 7 lakh, he/she is not required to pay any tax. However, if the salary is more than Rs 7 lakh he/she will have to pay taxes as per the applicable tax slabs under the new tax regime. Read more

Varun Sridhar, CEO, Paytm Money, said, "The Union Budget 2023 reflects the government's focus on inclusive growth and digitisation. The stability of reforms will contribute to the India's growth story and will positively boost the morale of capital markets. From the simplification of KYC, cap on the maximum tax rate, to increasing the rebate on income tax and strengthening our infrastructural power — there are many welcome moves that will benefit Indians.”

In her post-Budget interview with DD news, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the new tax regime will be the default system, but not compulsory, and that the government intends to gradually attract people to this new regime. 

She added, "The stability, which this government has given, because of receiving a strong mandate (along with) treating tax matters, not with impetuousness, but with a more level-headed approach keeping stability and predictability in the tax regime, we will definitely be attractive." Read more

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Nirmala Sitharaman’s fifth Budget, presented on Wednesday, while being bereft of populism, entails giveaways for some sections, especially the middle class and the youth. There is also a clear focus on reviving job-creating sectors such as housing and construction. The Budget, the last full one before the Narendra Modi government goes for the next Lok Sabha elections, also appeared to have kept as target its support base in the forthcoming state elections, with key announcements for tribals, youth, women and the middle class.

With the BJP keen on protecting its middle class support base, announcements made in the Budget are not only expected to please the middle class, but also provide a boost to the economy via the expected increase in consumption due to the rebate on personal income tax. Read more

Reacting to the Budget 2023, Sanjeev Barnwal Founder and CTO of Meesho, said, "Making emerging tech mainstream by introducing it in engineering campuses is a masterstroke by our visionary government. The establishment of 5G labs and AI Centres of Excellence conveys a clear focus on boosting research and development, upskilling our workforce and preparing them for a new gamut of opportunities. At the same time, initiatives like the Agriculture Accelerator Fund and a unified Skill India digital platform have potential to deliver meaningful change at the grass roots."

In her last full Budget ahead of Lok Sabha elections next year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman kept her focus on two key aspects: one, growth – by setting aside a large outlay for an unprecedented surge in capital spending, and two, fiscal consolidation, by slashing subsidies and spending on the job guarantee scheme. 

The big Budget idea came in the form of raising the threshold at which income tax kicks in to Rs 7 lakh a year from Rs 5 lakh a year, plus a solid nudge prodding individuals to shift to a new tax regime by restructuring the tax slabs. This does key things: pushing people to a clutter-free zero exemption tax regime, to freeing up money in the hands of those earning just under Rs 60,000 a month for spending and also directing money from tax-focused saving instruments to discretionary spending or investment in the markets. Read more

In A move which will attract overseas inflows, the Union Budget 2023-24 exempted income distributed on offshore derivative instruments (ODIs), also known as participatory notes (P-note), entered into with an offshore banking unit of International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), GIFT City in Gandhinagar.

P-note is an instrument issued by a registered foreign portfolio investor to an overseas investor who wishes to invest in Indian securities without registering with SEBI.

Under the ODI contract, the IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) makes the investments in permissible Indian securities. Income earned by the IBU on such investments is taxed as capital gains, interest, dividend under Section 115AD of the Act.

The current tax levied is 10 per cent on long term capital gains and  15 per cent for short-term.

After the payment of tax, the IBU passes such income to the ODI holders.

Currently, the exemption is provided only on the transfer of ODIs and not on the distribution of income to the non-resident ODI holders. Read Full Report

The Centre’s subsidy outgo on the three Fs – food, fertiliser and fuel (petroleum) – is expected to be Rs 1.47 lakh crore lower in the coming fiscal compared to 2022-23.

Along with a Rs 29,400 crore reduction in the Budget for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA), it would generate savings of over Rs 1.76 lakh crore, amounting to 0.6 per cent of GDP. That’s more than the fall in the fiscal deficit – from 6.4 per cent to 5.9 per cent of GDP – targeted by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for 2023-24.

The above savings are a result of the economy ostensibly emerging completely out of the pandemic-induced disruptions.

Take the food subsidy bill, which was elevated during 2020-21 to 2022-23, mainly due to the provision of 5 kg of additional grain per month, free of cost, to over 81 crore Indians. This free grain, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, was over and above their regular monthly 5-kg ration at Rs 2/kg (wheat) and Rs 3/kg (rice). PMGKAY was operational for much of these years and discontinued after December 2022. While there will be no more additional free grain, the Narendra Modi government has, however, decided to make available the basic 5-kg quota free of cost (instead of Rs 2-3/kg) with effect from January 2023. Read Full Report

Amid tensions with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a 44 per cent hike in the Indian military’s sustenance budget—Rs 90,000 crore—that will be utilised towards stocking up on fuel, ammunition, and maintenance of assets through procurement of critical spares and other capabilities.

The overall defence budget earmarked for 2023-24 is Rs 5.94-lakh crore—including pensions of Rs 1.38-lakh crore—up by 12.9 per cent from Rs 5.25-lakh crore allocated in the previous (2022-23) fiscal. This is 13.18 per cent of the total budget outlay of Rs 45,03,097 crore.

Excluding the pay and allowances, Rs 90,000 crore was allocated for revenue procurements—procurement of already sanctioned assets in service including renewals and replacements—over the previous fiscal’s allocations of Rs 62,431 crore, spread across works, transportation, ordnance and supply stores.

Top government officials told The Indian Express that a need for additional sustenance funds came in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war which began in February last year, leading to spiralling oil prices and difficulties in procuring spares for India’s Soviet-origin military hardware. Read Full Report

The Centre has allocated Rs 1.13-lakh crore for education sector in the Union Budget 2023-24, raising the projected expenditure on school and higher education by around 8.3 per cent compared to 2022-23, when the institutions of learning gradually came out of the shadow cast by Covid-19.

In the budget allocation for school education, there has been an overall increase of Rs 9,752.07 crore (16.51 per cent), and for higher education, an amount of Rs 44,094.62 crore has been made as compared to Rs 40,828.35 crore in RE 2022-23, an increase of 8 per cent.

The Samagra Shiksha scheme, which is expected to be the major driver behind reversing learning losses, has registered a nominal hike of 0.18 per cent, with allocation under it increasing from Rs 37,383 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 37,453 crore in 2023-24.

The outlay for PM-Poshan has been increased by 13.3 per cent, taking the allocation from Rs 10,233 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 11,600 crore. While no new major sector-specific scheme was announced, Sitharaman said a National Digital Library will be set up for “children and adolescents” to provide a supply of good quality books at a time students are trying to cope with the learning losses during the pandemic. Read Full Report

Increasing the FY24 healthcare budget to Rs 89,155 crore from the previous year’s estimate of Rs 86,200 crore, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday also announced a plan to set up 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014.

The 157 medical colleges were established in three phases covering 39 aspirational districts under a centrally-sponsored scheme, along with existing district or referral hospitals.

“The setting up of 157 nursing colleges is a welcome step as there is a huge shortage of qualified nurses in our country, much more than doctors,” said Ravi Wankhedker, former president of the Indian Medical Association.

But he added that there is a shortage of teachers in nursing colleges which the government needs to look into before establishing new colleges.

Nursing unions and doctors also flagged the unavailability of infrastructure in existing nursing colleges.

The Finance Minister also announced a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047. The programme will include awareness, counselling and universal screening of seven crore people aged up to 40 years in affected tribal areas. Read Full Report

The Union Budget has proposed more incentives to senior citizens and women to save more money at a better interest rate. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new savings scheme for women and hiked the limit for Senior Citizens Savings Scheme and Monthly Investment Scheme (MIS).

Presenting the Union Budget, Sitharaman said a one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, will be made available for a two-year period up to March 2025 for commemorating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. This will offer deposit facility up to Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for a tenure of two years at a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option. The interest rate under this scheme is higher than the rates offered by banks for a similar period.

On the other hand, the maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. The current interest rate on this scheme is 8 per cent, higher than most bank deposit rates. However, it has a lock-in period of five years. The total outstanding in this scheme as of February 2022 was Rs 1,17,239 crore, according to RBI data.

The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Scheme Account for senior citizens has been enhanced from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for a single account, and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for a joint account. Read Full Report

The Congress and several opposition parties on Wednesday panned the Budget, arguing that it has given no relief to the poor, not offered much for the electorally key middle-class barring the “minor” tax relief and has no concrete proposals for employment generation and to tackle price rise.

While the Congress called it a “callous Budget that has betrayed the hopes of the vast majority of the people,” the Left termed it contractionary and anti-people. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Budget, which will benefit only one class of people, was “not futuristic”, “totally opportunistic”, anti-people and anti-poor. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too spoke on similar lines.

The CPM slammed the Government for reducing the allocation for MGNREGA and the cut in food, fertilizer and petroleum subsidies.

While the government is banking big on the massive capital expenditure (capex) hike, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram pointed out that the government had spent Rs 22,000 crore less of what it had allocated for capital expenditure this fiscal. “Allocating money is not equal to spending the money. Nor is allocating money equal to creating jobs. It is only when you actually spend the money, fill the vacancies your objective will be achieved,” he said. Read Full Report

With smart tweaking in tax slabs and rates under the new tax regime and extending the benefit of standard deduction, the government has made a big pitch for taxpayers to move from the old tax regime (OTR) to the new tax regime (NTR) by making taxation under the new regime nearly equivalent to OTR without the need for any deduction.

It comes on the back of the announcement to increase the limit of rebate from Rs 5 lakh earlier to Rs 7 lakh beginning April 1, 2023. This means that if an individual earns up to Rs 7 lakh, he/she is not required to pay any tax. However, if the salary is more than Rs 7 lakh he/she will have to pay taxes as per the applicable tax slabs under the new tax regime.

“Each salaried person with an income of 15.5 lakh or more will thus stand to benefit by Rs 52,500,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while announcing the change in the new tax regime.

Not only will taxpayers already under the new tax regime benefit from this tweaking (to a maximum of Rs 52,500), the announcement has also made taxpayers (under OTR) do their math to understand whether they should move from OTR to NTR. Read Full Report

What’s the big political economy message from Nirmala Sitharaman’s latest Budget? The answer probably lies in five words: The Middle Class Finally Matters.

By freeing individuals with annual income up to Rs 7 lakh from paying any tax — and reducing the burden to Rs 1.5 lakh (from Rs 1,87,500 now) for even those drawing Rs 15 lakh or Rs 1.25 lakh/month — the Narendra Modi government has delivered some relief for a class that has long felt ignored.

The Modi government’s big initiatives during its almost nine  years in power have been largely aimed at the very poor, the farming community and corporates. As cynics would say, the first and second have the votes, while the last bring in the notes. Read Full Report

Electric vehicle manufacturers' body SMEV on Wednesday said the continuation of the existing import sops for machinery used to produce lithium-ion batteries will help support current battery pricing.

The credit relief measures given to MSMEs in the Union budget are a welcome move, SMEV said and added that since many EV manufacturers also fall in this category, it hopes that these credit relief measures would be extended to them also, as they too had faced tremendous hardships during the pandemic. The hike in customs duty on SKD/CBU is opportune as it will further incentivize the local suppliers because of the relative pricing advantage.

“There are still a lot of EV component parts that need to be imported, including lithium batteries, permanent magnets for electric motors, semiconductors, etc. We anticipated that the customs duty on these necessary imports would be rationalised in order to help keep EV prices in check,” Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) Director General said in a statement. (PTI)

In good news for four central government-run hospitals in the national capital, the union budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has increased allocation to them as compared to last year.

The budget allocated to Delhi Police saw a 15 percent increase from the last year with more than Rs 11,000 crore allocated to the state police this year and funds mostly focusing on developing traffic and bolstering the communication network.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Wednesday criticised the Centre's Budget 2023-24, saying it does not work up to the expectations of tribals, dalits, backwards, farmers, youth, women and labourers among others.

He claimed that the budget "cut the pockets of the poor" and added "convenience to the moneybags". Soren added that Jharkhand did not benefit from new rail lines or trains with increased scope of operations even though the state contributed "maximum profit" earned by the state on a per kilometre rail line basis.  

“There has been no discussion on increasing the MSP. I think they (Central government) have accepted that farmers' income will be doubled just by telling it every time without any concrete steps… It was expected that special arrangements would be made regarding health, education, employment – the sectors which were most affected during the Corona pandemic... But contrary to expectation, the budget was cut on health, and also there was a cut on the life line of rural India – MNREGA.The silence of the budget on the subject of jobs, employment, inflation etc. is worrying,” Soren added. 

The Government has allocated over Rs 990 crore towards India’s G20 presidency, even as the Ministry of External Affairs’ Budget for FY 2023-24 was increased marginally.

Three years after the pandemic broke out, the FY24 healthcare budget has marginally increased to Rs 89,155 crore from the previous year’s estimate of Rs 86,200 crore. This health outlay stands at 2.1 per cent of the GDP, crawling towards the government’s aim of increasing healthcare spending to 2.5 per cent of the GDP by 2025.

An all-rounder in cricket adapts to conditions and steps up as the situation demands, be it in bowling or batting or exceptional fielding. In many ways, the government and the finance minister have burnished their credentials as all-rounders and delivered as the situation demanded.

In a big push to rural infrastructure, the government has allocated Rs 54,487 crore for its flagship rural housing scheme — Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin — for financial year 2023-24, which is the highest ever allocation since the inception of the scheme in 2016.

In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The outlay for PM Awaas Yojana is being enhanced by 66 per cent to over Rs 79,000 crore.”

The details available in the budget documents shows that out of Rs 79,000 crore allocated for the PMAY (Rural & Urban both), an amount of Rs 54,487 crore has been earmarked for the PMAY-Gramin. Harikishan Sharma writes

There is no populism in Union Budget for 2023-24, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fifth in a row, no foreshadow of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections – or its imperatives for a party working for a third term. If at all, this Budget clearly points to continuity to the government’s economic strategy. It is bold, and innovative too with the hope that good economics isn’t necessarily bad politics.

The Congress Wednesday slammed the Centre's Union Budget 2023 for "betraying" the hopes of a vast majority of Indians. 

Calling the budget "callous", former finance minister P Chidambaram, at a press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, cited the government's GDP estimates for 2022-23 at Rs 258,00,000 crore. "In today’s Budget papers, the GDP for 2022-23 has been estimated at Rs 273,07,751 crore which yields a growth rate of 15.4 per cent, much above the earlier estimate. Given this impressive number, real GDP ought to have grown in double-digits. Yet the FM (and the Economic Survey) put the GDP growth at only 7 per cent this year. Will the government explain?" he asked.

Chidambaram added, "No taxes have been reduced except for the small number who have opted for the new tax regime. No indirect taxes have been reduced. There is no cut in the cruel and irrational GST rates.  There is no reduction in the prices of petrol, diesel, cement, fertilizers etc. There is no cut in the numerous surcharges and cesses which are, any way, not shared with the State governments."

Being the last full budget of the current BJP led-government, people had high expectations but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dashed all such hopes. The Union Budget 2023-24 turned out to be nothing but a bag of deceptions. It is a ruthless budget, with no announcements or benefits for the youth, farmers, labourers, women, Scheduled Tribes and the poor.