BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Capital investment outlay increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore or 3.3 per cent of GDP
The 50-year interest-free loan to state governments will continue for one more year with an outlay of Rs 1.3 lakh crore. It will have to be spent on capital expenditure within 2023-24
States will be allowed a fiscal deficit of 3.5 per cent of GSDP, of which 0.5 per cent will be tied to power sector reforms
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
100 critical transport infrastructure projects with an investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources
50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advance landing grounds will be revived
BANKING AND FINANCE
The Banking Regulation Act, the Banking Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act to be amended to improve bank governance
SEBI will be empowered to develop, regulate, maintain, and enforce norms and standards for education in the National Institute of Securities Markets and to recognise award of degrees, diplomas, and certificates
AGRICULTURE
Digital public infrastructure to help farmers access relevant information; an Agriculture Accelerator Fund to encourage agri-startups
Steps to enhance the productivity of extra-long staple cotton
Rs 2,200 crore for Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme to boost availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops
To make India a global hub for or millets, the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad, will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research, and technologies at the international level
The agriculture credit target will be increased to Rs 20 lakh crore with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries
10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set up, creating a national-level distributed microfertiliser and pesticide manufacturing network
A sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana to be launched with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore to support fishermen, fish vendors, and micro and small enterprises
To enhance decentralised storage capacity, a large number of multipurpose cooperative societies, primary fishery societies and dairy cooperative societies will be set up in uncovered panchayats and villages in the next five years
‘PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth’ to incentivise states to promote alternative fertilisers and balanced use of chemical fertilisers
EDUCATION
The District Institutes of Education and Training will be developed for teachers’ training
A National Digital Library to make quality books available for children and adolescents
38,800 teachers and support staff to be recruited in the next three years for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 350,000 tribal students
Three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions
100 labs for developing
applications using 5G services in engineering institutions to realise new opportunities, business models, and employment potential
HEALTH
157 new nursing colleges will be established in colocation with the existing medical colleges established since 2014
A Mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia by 2047 will be launched
Facilities in select ICMR labs will be made available for research to public and private medical college faculty and private sector R&D teams to encourage collaborative research and innovation
A new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through centres of excellence
Dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies, high-end manufacturing, and research
GREEN ENERGY
Rs 35,000 crore for priority capital investments towards energy transition and net zero objectives, and energy security
Battery Energy Storage Systems with capacity of 4,000 MWh will be supported with Viability Gap Funding. A detailed framework for Pumped Storage Projects will also be formulated
The inter-state transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of 13 GW renewable energy from Ladakh will be constructed with investment of Rs 20,700 crore, including central support of Rs 8,300 crore
Coastal shipping will be promoted as an energyefficient and lower-cost mode of transport
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
The KYC process will be simplified adopting a ‘risk-based’ instead of ‘one size fits all’ approach
A one-stop solution for reconciliation and updating of identity and address of individuals maintained by various government agencies, regulators and regulated entities will be established using DigiLocker service and Aadhaar as foundational identity; the scope of documents available in DigiLocker for individuals will be expanded
An Entity DigiLocker will be set up for use by MSMEs, large business and charitable trusts. This will help store and share documents online securely, whenever needed, with various authorities, regulators, banks, and other business entities
A national financial information registry will be set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information
For business establishments, the PAN will be used as the common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies
A Central Processing Centre will be set up for faster response to companies through centralised handling of various forms filed with field offices under the Companies Act; for obviating the need for separate submission of same information to different government agencies, a system of ‘Unified Filing Process’ will be set up
To settle contractual disputes of government and government undertakings, wherein arbitral award is under challenge in a court, a voluntary settlement scheme with standardised terms will be introduced
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
An Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) to create infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities; Rs 10,000 crore per annum will be made available
All cities and towns will be enabled for 100 per cent mechanical desludging of septic tanks and sewers; enhanced focus will be provided for scientific management of dry and wet waste
MSME
Rs 9,000 crore for the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs; cost of credit to be reduced by 1 per cent
In cases of failure by MSMEs to execute contracts during the Covid period, 95 per cent of the forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security will be returned to them by government and government undertakings
TOURISM
50 tourist destinations to be developed
Sectorspecific skilling and entrepreneurship development to promote domestic tourism; tourism infrastructure and amenities to be created in border villages under the Vibrant Villages Programme
States will be encouraged to set up a Unity Mall for promotion and sale of their own ODOPs (one district, one product), GI products and other handicraft products
YOUTH
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 to skill the youth in next three years; the digital ecosystem for skilling will be further expanded
A pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme to provide stipend to 4.7 million youth in the next three years
TRIBAL
To improve socio-economic conditions of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs), Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission will be launched with Rs 15,000 crore allocated for the next three years
WOMEN
A one-time small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, will be made available for a twoyear period; Rs 2 lakh can be invested at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent
SENIOR CITIZENS
The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh
The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme will be enhanced from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single account and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for joint account
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
A National Data Governance Policy to support innovation and research by start-ups and academia
To encourage indigenous production of Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD) seeds and machines and to reduce import dependency, a research and development grant will be provided to one of the IITs for five years; custom duty reduced for LGD seeds
500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme will be established at an investment of Rs 10,000 crore