Presenting her fourth Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday for 2022-23, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman steered clear of making any big bang announcements, stayed on the path of continuity and did not make any changes either in the income tax slabs or rates.
First, she presented a paperless budget for 2022-23 with the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announcing that the minister is presenting a digital budget. Her budget speech was also the shortest, lasting for 90 minutes and the part of the tax proposal lasted only for a few minutes.
With crucial assembly elections in five states – U.P., Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa – being set in motion, the BJP government preferred a futuristic and inclusive vision by focussing on India@100. The budget promises to create 60 lakh jobs in next five years. The minister said that in 2022 India recorded 9.2 per cent growth, highest growth among large world economies.
This year’s budget focussed more on infra, climate, 5G, promised to roll out digital rupee by the Reserve Bank of India and also introduce E-passports with embedded chip for ease of international travel. The Budget got a thumbs up from the share market as sensex registered an upward movement.
The message from the Modi government at the Centre was clear – continuing with the growth path, no tinkering or shake up in the budget to ensure stability in financial sectors and tax regimes as well as driving home a positive message in the year of assembly elections. The Finance Minister announced a 30 per cent tax on virtual assets.
Also, the Modi government laid emphasis on development of urban centres and cities as more than half of the country’s population will be living in urban areas in the next 25 years. In a bonanza aimed at farmers and irrigation facilities in backward areas of Madhya Pradesh and U.P., the Finance Minister allocated Rs. 44,000 crores for Ken-Betwa river link and announced five more river links on other rivers where initial project reports had been commissioned.
Predictably, the main opposition party Congress slammed it with party leader and MP Rahul Gandhi saying it was Zero Sum Budget and did not have anything for the middle class, salaried class, youth, and farmers. Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Budget has zero for common people who are getting crushed by unemployment and inflation. She said, in a tweet, the government is lost in big words signifying nothing.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the 68 per cent of defence capital procurement budget has been allocated towards local procurement and is line with the Vocal for Local push and it will certainly boost the domestic defence industries.
He also welcomed the move to increase the total outlay for effective capital expenditure by a massive 35.4 per cent to more than Rs. 10.6 lakh crores with the bulk of the money going into the development of social and physical infrastructure in the country. He described it as a growth oriented Budget with focus on harnessing the energies of New India.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath termed it as “progressive”, saying it benefits all sections – farmers, women, youth.