Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget, said that the country is expected to grow at 9.27 per cent in the coming year. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)Budget 2022 Highlights: The focus of the Union Budget is on providing basic amenities to the poor, middle class and youth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, and asserted that it is imperative that India becomes self-reliant. Addressing BJP workers at ‘Aatmanirbhar Arthvyavastha’ event, Modi termed Budget 2022 as a step towards a modern and self-reliant India. Modi further said the Budget proposes to make a four-fold increase in public investments as compared to those in the UPA regime and that the measure will open up immense opportunities. Earlier on Tuesday, the Prime Minister had hailed the Union Budget as “people-friendly” and “progressive”.
Speaking at a press conference after presenting the Union Budget on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a conscious decision was taken not to increase taxes because of the hardship that people have been facing due to the pandemic. Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget, said that the country is expected to grow at 9.27 per cent in the coming year. With a focus on four pillars of development — inclusive development, productivity enhancement, energy transition and climate action — the Budget gives a blueprint of economy from India at 75 to India at 100, Sitharaman said.
The Budget estimates the effective capital expenditure of the Central government at Rs 10.68 lakh crore in 2022-23, making up about 4.1 per cent of the GDP. The gross GST collections for the month of January 2022 are Rs 1,40,986 crore — the highest since the inception of the tax in 2017 — the Finance Minister said. In a major push for digital currency, Sitharaman stated that digital rupee will be issued using blockchain technology by the RBI starting 2022-23. This will give a big boost to the economy, the Finance Minister said. She added that income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset shall be taxed at the rate of 30 per cent.
Nirmala Sitharaman made a statement with her sartorial pick for Budget 2021. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
The Union Budget 2022-23 brought in some amendments to the Income Tax Act that would be effective retrospectively.
Making a retrospective amendment to the Income-tax Act from 2005-06, the Budget has clarified that cess and surcharge will not be allowed to be claimed as deductions in the form of expenditure, a practice that some companies and businesses were resorting to in the absence of legal clarity.
It has also allowed exemption of the amount received for medical treatment and on account of death due to Covid-19 retrospectively from April 1, 2020. Read the Explained here
Income tax return forms from next year will have a separate column for making disclosures on gains made from cryptocurrencies and paying taxes, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Wednesday.
The government will from April 1 charge a 30 per cent tax plus cess and surcharges, on such transactions in the same manner as it treats winnings from horse races or other speculative transactions.
In an interview with PTI, Bajaj said gains from cryptocurrencies were always taxable and what the Budget proposed is not a new tax but providing certainty over the issue.
Signalling a move to protect domestic industries which are not necessarily capital, technology or labour intensive, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday introduced a slew of higher custom duties on items of daily use such as umbrellas, headphones, earphones, loudspeakers, smart meters, and imitation jewelry.
Most of these products are imported from China, either as complete units or as knocked down units which are then assembled in factories in India. For example, the customs duty on umbrellas was doubled to 20 per cent, while exemptions provided on import of parts of umbrellas were withdrawn. Similarly, the customs duty on single or multiple loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures was hiked to 20 per cent from 15 per cent. Read Explained Here
While the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has alleged that Union budget 2022 hardly has anything for Maharashtra, Viidyes K Totare, MD & CEO of Archers Wealth Management Pvt Ltd, an equity advisory firm based out of Pune, says the state is the second biggest gainer after Uttar Pradesh, as it has got over Rs 51,000 crore for implementing various central schemes. Read Manoj More Interview
Senior Congress leader and MP, Shashi Tharoor, who had earlier courted controversy for adopting a supportive stand for the LDF government's mammoth Silver Line rail corridor project in Kerala, has opined that the union budget announcement on the launch of 400 Vande Bharat train services in three years could be an alternative for the multi-crore semi high speed initiative.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP tweeted that one interesting element for Kerala in the union budget 2022 was the announcement of 400 new Vande Bharat trains, which can travel at 180 kmph.
Whether the Centre and the state government could see the Vande Bharat trains as a 'cheaper and more energy-efficient substitute' for the Silver Line? he asked. He also said it could address Chief Minister's Pinarayi Vijayan's concern for speedy train travel to promote development and alleviate the concerns of his own party, Congress's concerns about land acquisition and environmental impact.
A day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for the year 2022-23, most citizens in Pune were divided over the measures announced in the Government’s annual financial document. While some felt let down by the lack of tax breaks, some felt the Budget will allow the creation of employment in the country.
Amit Waghmare a young businessman from Moshi Pradhikarn, said the Budget is “old wine in a new bottle”. “Take out all the previous Budgets presented by the BJP Government. They have big promises and zero results. The same has been done this time too. Being middle-class taxpayers, we feel excluded. There is nothing for us,” Waghmare said. Read more
Several health sector professionals expressed disappointment after the Union Budget was presented in Parliament Tuesday and said the government failed to deliver in the healthcare sector despite Covid-19.
In a press note issued by the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD), forum coordinator Rajiv Nath expressed “deep disappointment and anguish over the Union Budget 2022 giving cold shoulder again to the Indian Medical Device Industry and nothing laudable for the healthcare”. Read more
Speaking to party workers on the Union Budget 2022, PM Modi said, 'Migration from border villages not good for national security. The budget has provisions to develop 'vibrant villages' along the border.'
'Vibrant village programme will benefit border villages in Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh,' he said. 'Government plans to impart National Cadet Corps training to youth in border villages. It will help them join armed forces,' he added.
The budget also focused on modernizing Indian agriculture with a focus on organic farming. This will make farming more lucrative. Kisan drones and other machinery will be made available to the farmers at reasonable prices, PM Modi said while addressing party workers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said, “There is a possibility of a new world order post-Covid pandemic. Today, the world’s perspective of looking at India has changed a lot. Now, the world wants to see a stronger India,” while addressing party workers on the Union Budget 2022.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said that the Union budget is a “useless” one with no direction or intent. “The Union budget can be called a ‘golmaal budget’,” he said in a statement.
He said that the budget has disappointed SC, ST, BC, minorities, farming community, the poor, hereditary professions, and employees. Stating that the country needed someone to take it in a new direction of development and accountability, Chandrasekhar Rao said that he would forge an alliance that will be an alternative to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The CM said that he would meet Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray in a few days in this regard. Read more
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been allocated in excess of Rs 1.85 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2022-23 which is over 11% higher than the allocation of Rs 1.66 lakh crore in the last budget for the current fiscal. In 2019-20, the Budget had allocated Rs 1.67 lakh crore to the MHA.
However, capital expenditure in the 2022-23 Budget for MHA has increased by only 5% from Rs 15,924 crore in the last Budget to Rs 16,753 crore this Budget.
The lion’s share of the Budget allocation for MHA has gone to police which has been earmarked in excess of Rs 1.17 lakh crore for the coming fiscal. The allocation for Delhi Police has increased from Rs 8,338 crore to Rs 10,096 crore between the last and this Budget. Read more
From a major push for capital expenditure and announcements related to virtual assets and digital currencies, to not acknowledging the distress in the economy and moving away from disinvestment, in this episode, Indian Express’s Udit Misra joins host Shashank Bhargava to discuss everything you need to know about the Union Budget 2022. Podcast
The linkage of National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) with the ‘One-Nation One-Registration Software’ will be promoted as an option for uniform registration process and “anywhere registration of deeds & documents”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Tuesday.
“Efficient use of land resources is a strong imperative,” Sitharaman said, adding that, “States will be encouraged to adopt Unique Land Parcel Identification Number to facilitate IT-based management of records. The facility for transliteration of land records across any of the Schedule VIII languages will also be rolled out.” Read more
How would you characterise the Budget?
That time when I made that statement (“once-in-a-hundred-year Budget”) that this Budget is being prepared at a time that once in a 100 years pandemic has hit us and we are preparing this Budget. But it so turned out that everyone started saying that it is a “once-in-a-hundred-year Budget”. No no, (this) Budget was being prepared in a once-in-a-100-year situation. But never mind, that stuck with me in a way. Read more
In a signal of its commitment to Afghan people, India on Tuesday set aside in its budget for 2022-23, an amount of Rs 200 crore as development assistance to Afghanistan besides allocating Rs 100 crore for the Chabahar port project.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated a total of Rs 17,250 crore to the Ministry of External Affairs in the Union Budget for the next fiscal, out of which Rs 6,292 crore is for development assistance to countries in India’s neighbourhood as well as in Africa and Latin America.
It is learnt that the allocation of Rs 200 crore to Afghanistan is a signal of India’s commitment to the Afghan people and the money may be spent on paying for old projects, scholarships and providing aid to the Afghan people. Read more
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday proposed to tax “any income from transfer of any virtual digital asset” at a rate of 30 per cent and impose a 1 per cent tax deduction at source (TDS) of transactions above a monetary threshold.
While the upside is limited from a revenue mobilisation perspective, the step is important as it is the first formal recognition by the Government of increasingly popular financial instruments, such as cryptocurrencies, and applications, such as non-fungible tokens. Read more
In a Budget expected to look into reversing Covid-induced learning losses and implementing key proposals of the New Education Policy announced nearly two years ago, overall financial allocation for 2022-23 has not increased much.
While it went up from Rs 93,224 crore (budget estimate) in 2021-22 to Rs 1.04 lakh crore, as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, the increase does not appear as substantial when seen against Rs 99,311 crore earmarked in 2020-21.
In her Budget speech, Sitharaman emphasised on strengthening digital modes of learning to aid supplementary teaching and proposed to establish a digital university. But allocation under the Digital India e-learning component was reduced to Rs 421 crore — from Rs 645 crore in 2021-22. Read more
As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rose to present the Union Budget for 2022-23 on Tuesday, she was faced with several competing demands. On the one hand, the government’s fiscal deficit (or total borrowings from the market) was a concern. On the other, there were demands for continued support to the weaker sections of the economy.
If she spent more to provide direct financial support to various sections of society, the fiscal deficit, which was already more than twice the prudential norms, would worsen. If she tried to sharply curtail expenditure, it might hurt vast sections of the economy that are already struggling in the wake of Covid-induced disruptions. Read more
The opposition leaders were taken by surprise Tuesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked across the aisle to greet them, enquired about the health of some senior leaders, patted some others and even gave advice to one MP on the importance of being digital-friendly.
When the Lok Sabha was adjourned after the presentation of the Union Budget, Modi, who was thumping at the desk frequently at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech, walked up to Sitharaman, who was seated at the second row due to social distancing restrictions, to congratulate her. Read more
The government’s ambitious disinvestment agenda, flagged in the Budget announcement last year, has been scaled down.
While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had set a target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore through disinvestment in the Budget estimates in 2021-22, the target has now been revised to Rs 78,000 crore. And for the year 2022-23, she has set a softer target of Rs 65,000 crore.
Incidentally, Sitharaman did not use the word ‘privatisation’ in her speech this year, the hallmark of her Budget presentation last year — the Opposition has been targeting the government for selling what it says are established companies and businesses to the private sector. Read more
In a Budget expected to look into reversing Covid-induced learning losses and implementing key proposals of the New Education Policy announced nearly two years ago, overall financial allocation for 2022-23 has not increased much.
While it went up from Rs 93,224 crore (budget estimate) in 2021-22 to Rs 1.04 lakh crore, as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, the increase does not appear as substantial when seen against Rs 99,311 crore earmarked in 2020-21.
In her Budget speech, Sitharaman emphasised on strengthening digital modes of learning to aid supplementary teaching and proposed to establish a digital university. But allocation under the Digital India e-learning component was reduced to Rs 421 crore — from Rs 645 crore in 2021-22.
The revised estimate for 2021-22 was Rs 367 crore. Read More
There was no hike in allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the Union Budget 2022-23, with the Finance Ministry retaining it at Rs 73,000 crore for the next fiscal year.
The development comes even as the Economic Survey 2021-22, tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament a day before, said that the demand for MGNREGS is still higher than the pre-pandemic levels.
The scheme guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It has emerged as one of the key safety nets for the poor and migrant workers who were among the worst hit by the pandemic. Read More
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been allocated in excess of Rs 1.85 lakh crore in the Union Budget for 2022-23 which is over 11% higher than the allocation of Rs 1.66 lakh crore in the last budget for the current fiscal. In 2019-20, the Budget had allocated Rs 1.67 lakh crore to the MHA.
However, capital expenditure in the 2022-23 Budget for MHA has increased by only 5% from Rs 15,924 crore in the last Budget to Rs 16,753 crore this Budget.
The lion’s share of the Budget allocation for MHA has gone to police which has been earmarked in excess of Rs 1.17 lakh crore for the coming fiscal. The allocation for Delhi Police has increased from Rs 8,338 crore to Rs 10,096 crore between the last and this Budget.
Of the 1.17 lakh crore, Rs 10,500 crore has been allocated for capital expenditure, just marginally higher than last Budget. In 2021-22, allocation for police stood at Rs 1.03 lakh crore with Rs 9,715 crore being capital expenditure. Both the figures were marginally lower compared to the 2020-21 Budget. Read More
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday acknowledged that children, especially those from economically weak sections, had lost almost two years of formal education due to disruptions triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, but in her Budget speech did not specify the roadmap to reverse the learning losses of such students.
The Union Ministry of Finance increased the outlay for education from Rs 93,224 crore (in the 2021-’22 Budget estimate) to Rs 1.04 lakh crore. While it constitutes a jump of about 12 per cent, the figure comes down to 5 per cent when compared to the allocation in the 2020-’21 Budget (Rs 99,311 crore). The finance minister also said a digital university would be set up, and the “one class-one channel” initiative would be expanded as part of its digital education push. Read More
The Centre has reduced its subsidy budget for food, fertiliser and fuel in the upcoming fiscal by 26.6 per cent, compared to the Revised Estimates for this fiscal.
Experts have noted that the move signals a normalisation of subsidy levels after two fiscals, which saw subsidy bills soar as the government sought to dampen the impact of the pandemic by offering a free food programme and bore the brunt of higher international fertiliser prices.
The Budget projected the Centre’s total subsidy bill for FY23 at Rs 3.56 lakh crore, down 27.1 per cent from Revised Estimates for the current fiscal. The food subsidy bill in the upcoming fiscal is projected to come down to Rs 2.07 lakh crore from Rs 2.86 lakh crore and the fertiliser one is set to come down to Rs 1.05 lakh crore from Rs 1.40 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Read More
In a move likely to boost investments in startups and make employee stock options (ESOPs) a more lucrative proposition to attract and retain top talent, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday proposed to cap the surcharge on long-term capital gains (LTCG) from shares of unlisted companies at 15 percent in the Union Budget 2022-23.
“The long-term capital gains on listed equity shares, units etc are liable to maximum surcharge of 15 per cent, while the other long-term capital gains are subjected to a graded surcharge which goes up to 37 per cent. I propose to cap the surcharge on long-term capital gains arising on transfer of any type of assets at 15 per cent,” she said in her Budget speech. Read More
The Finance Minister tabled the much-awaited Union Budget on Tuesday. While the common expectation was there could likely be some tax breaks from personal taxation, the focus appeared to be more on providing stability to taxpayers and encouraging voluntary compliance. As expected, the Finance Minister did address the open issue of taxation of digital currency. Here are the few significant changes that individual taxpayers should be aware of: Read the Explained Here
Terming the 2022 Union Budget as “people-friendly” and “progressive”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said the Budget brings with it new energy and strength to India’s development trajectory, especially at a time when the country is fighting the pandemic. “This Budget brings more infrastructure, more investment, more growth and more jobs,” he said. The Prime Minister said that the youth of India see this Budget as one that will give wings to their ambitions, and added that the emphasis on futuristic technologies in all spheres is noteworthy and will benefit a cross section of our citizens.
The Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday described Union Budget 2022 as "insignificant for the business community’’.
In a statement issued, Chamber president Arun Gupta said that the Finance minister has not proposed anything for small traders and industrialists. "Overall, everything has been touched in the budget but was a big disappointment for the traders and industrialists who were confronting mounting pressure in view of restrictions and continuous setbacks during the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its related problems,’’ he added.
He said that while the government has announced certain benefits for the overall development of the country like e-passports, two years' time for updating IT returns, increase in Defence budget, 80 lakh houses under the PM Awas Yojana, Master Plan for 25,000 km Expressway, 400 new generation Vande Bharat trains, Har Ghar Nal se Jal etc., what is missing in the budget is a big announcement for marginal traders who were worst hit by the pandemic and who are expecting relief from the Modi government in the form of significant sops or some other big reliefs or incentives. (ENS)
The commerce ministry is holding consultations with all stakeholders, including states and the industry, on the proposal to replace the existing law governing special economic zones (SEZs) with a new legislation, and it should take 4-6 months to come out with the final framework of the new law, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget Speech proposed to replace the existing law governing SEZs with a new legislation to enable states to become partners in 'Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs'.
The existing SEZ Act was enacted in 2006 with an aim to create export hubs and boost manufacturing in the country.
Goyal said the idea behind the new law is full utilisation of all the vacant land and buildings in the SEZs and industrial parks. “As regards the new law, we are in consultation with all the various stakeholders, states, SEZ developers and industrial parks across the country and also with the finance to see how the equalisation levy will be worked out. So, it should take 4-6 months. We can come out with the final framework of the new law governing SEZs and industrial parks," Goyal told reporters. (PTI)
A leading organisation representing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on Tuesday praised the Union Budget for 2022-23, saying its proposals are based on "long-term thinking”, while another business association expressed disappointment over pandemic-hit salaried class not getting any income tax relief.
MSME sector-linked Association of Industries' MP unit president Pramod Dafaria said, “The Centre's budget is based on its long-term thinking. It will strengthen MSMEs and boost infrastructure projects. A provision of Rs 7.5 lakh crore in the budget, an increase of 35.4 per cent in capital expenditure, will speed up industrial investment and development in the country,” he said.
Ahilya Chamber of Commerce president Ramesh Khandelwal termed the budget as “too disappointing". “We were hoping the Centre will reduce income tax rates to give relief to people who have suffered major setbacks because of COVID-19 and high inflation. But there is no change in the income tax slabs,” he said. (PTI)
The Ministry of Ayush has received an allocation of Rs 3,050 in the Union Budget 2022-23, a slight increase of 2.69 per cent from 2021-22 when Rs 2,970 crore was earmarked for it.
An amount of Rs 306 crore has been set aside for the Central Sector Schemes under the ministry, while Rs 110 crore has been allocated for Statutory and Regulatory Bodies.
Autonomous bodies like Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy and Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine have been allocated Rs 1,759 crore.
The allocation for the National AYUSH Mission has increased to Rs 800 crore from Rs 553 crore in 2021-22. (PTI)
The RSS on Tuesday hailed the budget as "well-balanced" which was needed for post-Covid recovery while its affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch suggested that after taxing cryptocurrency, the government should move towards banning it.
Senior RSS functionary Ram Madhav said a 'Digital Budget' has been announced by rolling out of 5G and taxing digital assets. He also praised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for overcoming naysayers and announcing the Reserve Bank India will introduce a digital rupee to boost the digital economy and for better currency management.
"The budget has also announced support to the states by way of the availability of advances to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore that will help states in racing ahead with the Centre," Madhav said.
"Overcoming the temptation of a 'popular' budget in election season, the finance minister comes out with a well-balanced budget strongly needed for post-Covid recovery giving a much-needed boost to infrastructure, healthcare and MSME sectors," he said. (PTI)
Higher minimum support prices allocation for farmers will help drive consumption of FMCG products in the hinterland while enhancement of public expenditure will create a multiplier impact on growth, leading FMCG firms said on Tuesday, terming the Union Budget as "futuristic" and "growth-oriented".
With an unexpected higher thrust on capital investment, putting more money in the pockets of farmers and continued focus on infrastructure development, it takes the much-needed investment route to drive long-term economic growth for the country, Dabur India Ltd CEO Mohit Malhotra said in a statement.
Parle Products Senior Category Head Mayank Shah said increase in allocation of MSP is also going to have an impact on inflation. "It is also going to have an impact on inflation because if you increase the MSP, that eventually is going to increase the cost of agri products, primary inputs in food processing. So procurement is going to be increased. The current challenge ahead of most FMCG companies, which is managing inflation, probably would be aggravated,” he said.
However, ITC Chairman Sanjiv Puri said the budget has "path-breaking measures" and addresses key issues of livelihood generation, enhancing farmer incomes and building climate resilience.
PepsiCo India President Ahmed ElSheikh said the budget reflects the government objective to revive economic growth, increased consumption and fostering investment to fuel post-pandemic growth. Stating that the government is leading from the front by raising public sector spending to keep the economic recovery on track, he said, "digitisation combined with infrastructural creation will accelerate economic development, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, enhance living standards while keeping sustainability at its core." (PTI)
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said the Budget 2022-23 presented by the Modi government is "extremely negative" for the national capital and betrays the farmers of the country.
The central government not only reduced allocation for minimum support price (MSP) but also cut down the number of beneficiaries in the Budget. The government has also failed to double the income of farmers as was promised, he said.
Contrary to expectations that the government will raise the income tax limit, Sisodia said, the government did not provide any relief to the pandemic-hit middle class. He further criticised the Budget for having no measures to boost health infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PTI)
“It's a Budget of self-reliant India. It reflects PM Modi's mantra of 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas'. It provides a development package of Rs 15,00 crores for the Northeast. I thank PM Modi and congratulate FM Nirmala Sitharaman for this Budget,” says Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. (ANI)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new scheme in public-private partnership (PPP) mode for delivery of digital and hi-tech services to farmers and a new fund with blended capital to finance startups for agriculture and rural enterprise in the Union Budget 2022-23.
“For delivery of digital and hi-tech services to farmers with involvement of public sector research and extension institutions along with private agri-tech players and stakeholders of agri-value chain, a scheme in PPP mode will be launched,” Sitharaman said, during her Budget speech in Lok Sabha.
The use of ‘Kisan Drones’ will be promoted for crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides, and nutrients, she added.
The Budget documents show that several existing schemes of the Agriculture Ministry have seen a cut or marginal increase in their allocation. Read more
“To understand the Budget, you need intelligence. Rahul Gandhi anyway has a problem in understanding maths, he'll look at everything with a sum of zero. I believe that FM has shown a new way of developing the nation,” says Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
He adds, “Tax burden on the middle class has already been reduced quite a lot. Our efforts are to conserve resources and increase opportunities and income...Privately issued cryptocurrencies are not govt recognized legal tenders & will have a 30% tax.” (ANI)
“The Union Budget has a provision of Rs 1.37 lakh crores of the capital investment support for the Railways. It will help complete the stalled Railways projects,” says Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. (ANI)
Rajya Sabha likely to discuss Motion of Thanks on President's Address for 12 hours, Union Budget for over 11 hours. (ANI)
Debashis Chatterjee, CEO and MD of Mindtree, says, “Notwithstanding a challenging macro-environment, the finance minister has presented a forward-looking budget with a strong focus on physical as well as digital infrastructure. While the move to grant infrastructure status to data centres will be a game-changer for India, initiatives such as Digital Rupee and e-passports based on futuristic technologies are positive for the tech industry.”
He adds, “The digital push in various sectors is aimed at catalysing growth, efficiency, and inclusiveness in the new normal. This can be seen in the expanded scope of key labour and employment portals, the launch of a national digital health platform, the addition of all post offices to the country’s core banking system, and the support for digital payments, fintech innovations and affordable broadband.”
He further says, “It is heartening to see the growing accent on digital tools and technologies in the area of education and learning outcomes, as evident in the initiatives around e-content creation and distribution…One of the salient aspects of the budget is the continued emphasis on skilling and employability, which are critical to reinforcing India’s position as a global skills hub. The launch of a dedicated skilling e-portal and the realigning of skilling programmes, partnerships, and frameworks with rapidly evolving industry needs are timely steps in the right direction.”
Advisor to the West Bengal government and its former finance minister Amit Mitra on Tuesday claimed that when India is the only country in the world with stagflation, the proposals of the Union budget will affect rural employment as allocation for the MGNREGA was reduced.
There is nothing about livelihood of people for job losses due to Covid, nothing for farmers and salaried people in the budget, he alleged. The budget reduces the MGNREGA outlay to Rs 73000 crore from Rs 98000 crore at a time when unemployment is high, Mitra said. (PTI)
In her Budget presentation, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a sharp jump of 35.4 per cent in capital expenditure to fund various infrastructure projects in 2022-23. The government will invest Rs 7.50 lakh crore as capital expenditure next year, a sharp jump from Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the current year. But, why the enhanced allocation? Aashish Aryan explains
In five big infrastructure projects, the government has proposed expanding highways in the country by 25,000 kilometres, allocating Rs 60,000 crore to the Nal se Jal scheme, five river link projects across various states, an additional Rs 48,000 crore in the PM housing scheme, and boosting infrastructure development in the North East. Follow our Explained Live here to understand all major changes that have been announced in this year's Budget.
Experts and industry captains have welcomed the Union government’s budget focus on e-vehicles, especially, the introduction of the new battery swapping policy.
“The introduction of the new battery swapping policy and the decision to formulate interoperability standards by the Government will facilitate the faster rollout of battery swapping centres as well as the widespread implementation of batteries as a service. This will save time for electric vehicle owners, reduce initial costs and associate that cost to vehicle usage,” said Rajib Gangopadhyay, Founder & MD, EMotorad. Read more
At a press conference, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says, “After 2018, information is being shared on black money by foreign countries. On the basis of this info, we're working account by account for black money to be brought. NPAs in banks are coming down, banks getting the money back of those who've fled country.”
“Today's Budget speech was the most capitalist speech to be ever read by an FM. The word 'poor' occurs only twice in para 6 and we thank FM for remembering that there are poor people in this country; people will reject this capitalist Budget,” says former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram.
He adds, “I was astonished, shocked that the Finance Minister was outlining a plan for the next 25 years. Govt seems to believe that the present does not need any attention and the public can be asked to wait patiently until 'Amrit Kaal' dawns. This is mocking the people of India.” (ANI)
The Union Budget 2022-23 is a huge leap forward towards making India “atmanirbhar” (self-reliant) and “balshali” (strong), Maharashtra Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis said Tuesday.
He observed that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was holistic, accommodating the concerns of every core sector, while it also made provisions for challenges confronting the country. Read more
Building on the Modi government’s push for organic, zero-budget natural farming, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said in her budget speech that the agriculture universities in the country will be encouraged to include these areas in their syllabus.
The Union government has started pushing the concept of zero-budget natural farming as an initiative that will work towards making the vocation of farming more sustainable as well as improving the income of the farmers by reducing costs of inputs, in addition to other areas such as better market access and improved product returns to the farmers. Read more
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been allocated in excess of Rs 1.85 lakh crore in the Union budget for 2022-23, which is over 11% higher than the allocation of Rs 1.66 lakh crore in the last budget for the current fiscal. In 2019-20, the budget had allocated Rs 1.67 lakh crore to the MHA.
However, capital expenditure in the 2022-23 budget for the MHA has increased by only 5% from Rs 15,924 crore in the last budget to Rs 16,753 crore this budget. Read more
The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended nearly 1.5 per cent higher following a volatile session of trade on the Budget day as market participants reacted positively to the big infrastructure boost in the Budget 2022 delivered by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Presenting the Union Budget 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the formation of a digital university to provide access to world-class education to Indian students. The budget this year also focused on digital learning citing the prolonged closure of schools impacting students’ academic performance. The minister also announced that the digital university will impart lessons in all regional languages creating a network of ‘hub and spoke’. The university will work with the other central universities in the country to provide the required digital infrastructure and training. Read More
A large number of commonly used items, including headphones, earphones, loudspeakers, smart meters, imitation jewellery, solar cells and solar modules will become more expensive due to a hike in customs duties on imported parts, as proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget for 2022-23. However, imported cut and polished diamonds, frozen mussels, frozen squids, asafoetida, cocoa beans, methyl alcohol and acetic acid will become cheaper as a result of rationalisation in customs duties. Read More
Certain goods will become cheaper as the government has slashed the customs duty and they are:-
-Frozen mussels
-Frozen squids
-Asafoetida
-Cocoa beans
-Methyl alcohol
-Acetic acid
-Cut and polished diamonds
-Camera lens for cellular mobile phone
A large number of commonly used items, including headphones, earphones, loudspeakers, smart meters, imitation jewellery, solar cells and solar modules will become more expensive due to a hike in customs duties on imported parts, as proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget for 2022-23.
However, imported cut and polished diamonds, frozen mussels, frozen squids, asafoetida, cocoa beans, methyl alcohol and acetic acid will become cheaper as a result of rationalisation in customs duties.
Following is a list of imported items that will become costlier:
-Umbrella
-Imitation Jewellery
-Single or multiple loudspeakers
-Headphones and earphones
-Smart meters
-Solar cells
-Solar modules
-X-ray machines
-Parts of electronic toys
Speaking about the announcements made around the healthcare sector, Saurabh Kochhar, the founder and CEO of Meddo Health said: “The Government has allocated Rs 64,180 crore to improve healthcare services and infrastructure over the next six years. As the sector recovers from the impact of the pandemic, these funds will provide the much-needed relief and support the healthcare machinery of the country. The announcement around 'National Digital Health Ecosystem' is another welcome effort in the direction of bringing inclusivity, universal access, transparency and enhancing governance in the healthcare sector.”