Budget 2023 Highlights: Nirmala Sitharaman, dressed in a red sari to match the ‘bahi khata’, has reached the Finance Ministry ahead of the Budget 2023 presentation, which has the middle class hoping for Income Tax benefits
Budget 2023 Highlights: Lowering fiscal deficit, offering incentives for investment and stepping up state spending to support the economy as the world faces a slowdown will be on the agenda of the Narendra Modi government as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2023 today — the last full budget ahead of the 2024 General Elections as well as polls in key states such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. Sitharaman, dressed in a red sari to match the ‘bahi khata’, has reached Parliament ahead of the Budget 2023 presentation, which has the middle class hoping for Income Tax benefits apart from others sops. Earlier, she met President Droupadi Murmu as is customary.
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Since taking charge in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ramped up capital spending, including on roads and energy, while wooing investors through lower tax rates and labour reforms, and offering subsidies to poor households to clinch their political support. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is widely expected to continue that policy, and announce 10 per cent to 12 per cent increase in budget allocations for health, education and rural projects, helped by a pick-up in tax collections.
All eyes on the Union Budget, News18 brings you the latest highlights as the news breaks:
Read More: Union Budget 2023 today: What to expect from Nirmala Sitharaman | Top points
- Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, MoS Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget 2023-24.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is the sixth minister in independent India to present five consecutive budgets, joining a select league of legends such as Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley and P Chidambaram. Under Sitharaman, India has weathered the Covid-19 pandemic with an array of policy measures announced for the poor and continued its tag of the fastest-growing major economy and a ‘bright spot’ in world economy.
- The Finance Ministry’s annual Economic Survey, released on Tuesday, forecast the economy could grow 6-6.8 per cent year-on-year next fiscal year, down from 7 per cent projected for the current year, while warning about the impact of global slowdown on exports. “India’s growth outlook seems better than in the pre-pandemic years, and the Indian economy is prepared to grow at its potential in the medium term,” the report said.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast India’s economy would grow by 6.1 per cent in 2023-4, slowing from 6.8 per cent in this fiscal year. Like other economies, India too faces risk from the global slowdown. Inflation remains a concern as higher global prices for fuel and commodities threaten to dampen economic growth.
- The Reserve Bank of India bank has raised its benchmark policy rate by 225 basis points since May 2022 to tame retail inflation — which accelerated to over 7 per cent after a surge in food and energy prices following the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Worried over rising public debt, the federal government is likely to cut its fiscal deficit to between 5.8 per cent and 5.9 per cent of GDP in 2023-24 from the 6.4 per cent of 2022-23, officials have said.
- The BJP will start a 12-day nationwide campaign on Wednesday to make people aware of the “pro-people” measures announced in the Union Budget, party leaders said. The campaign that will begin the day the budget is presented in Parliament will be coordinated by senior BJP leader Sushil Modi and it will conclude on February 12.
