Indian Budget 2023-2024

Quick Glance:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2023-2024.

The Budget is based on seven priorities called ‘Saptarishi’.

To achieve a knowledge-based and technology-driven economy, there is a need for Janbhagidari.

On February 1, the central government presented the Indian Budget 2023-2024 in Parliament. The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, presented the Indian Budget 2023-2024 and said the focus is on Amrit Kaal. She presented the Budget for the fifth time. The total expenditure of the Budget 2023 is ₹ 45 Lakh crore, which is higher than the previous year’s budget. She stated that in the Budget there are seven priorities called Saptarishi. These seven priorities are:

• Inclusive Development 
• Reaching the Last Mile
• Youth Power
• Financial Sector
• Green Growth
• Infrastructure and Investment 
• Unleashing the Potential 

She expected that the Indian economy would grow by 7% in 2023. She also said that Budget 2023 will build on the foundation laid in the budget for 2022.

What is the Budget?

The word ‘Budget’ has been taken from the French word ‘Bougette’ which means a leather Bag.The Budget is a complete plan for the expenditures and income for a particular period. It can be short-term or long-term.

 

What are types of Budget?

A Budget is of three types;

Balanced Budget:  In a balanced budget government receipts are equal to government expenditure. Modern Economists does not support the idea of Balanced budget as it will retard the growth of the economy.

Surplus Budget:  Surplus budget implies that receipts of the government are greater than the expenditure of the government.

Deficit Budget:  A deficit budget is a condition in which expenditure exceeds receipts. This type of budget increases the liability of the government. Deficit budget is important for economic development.

 

What is the History of ‘Budget’ in India?

In the Indian Constitution, Article 112 talks about the Budget. However, the word Budget has not been used in the constitution. In place of budget, the term annual Financial Statement has been used in the constitution.

Our Constitution gives the President power to present a Budget, but on behalf of the President, the Finance Minister laid the Budget in the House. After Independence, the first Budget was presented by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty in Parliament in 1951. The maximum time budget was presented by Morarji Desai, that is 10 times. Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the first woman to present the Indian budget.

The responsibility to prepare the budget resides with the Budget Division of the Department of Economic Affairs.

Before 2017, the Union Budget had two parts-

1) General Budget

2) Railway Budget

In 2017,  the Modi Government merged the Railway Budget with the Union Budget on the recommendation of ‘Niti Ayog’. The main objective of merging both the budgets was to save resources and time.

Achievements of Indian government in 2022:

1. More than 9 crore LPG connections have been given under the Ujjawala scheme.

    

2. 9 crore water connections have been given to rural households.

    

3. 220 crore COVID vaccinations for 102 crore people

    

4. 11.7 crore toilets have been constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission.

    

5. 47.8 crore PM Jan Dhan bank accounts have been opened.

    

6. The Indian economy became the fifth-largest economy in the world after the USA, China, Japan, and Germany.

 

What are the highlights of Indian Budget 2023-2024?

1) Income Tax:

      0 – 3 Lakh                                No tax

3 – 6 Lakh                              5%

  6 – 9 Lakh                                10%

  9 -12 Lakh                              15%

12 -15 Lakh                            20%

15 and above                           30%

2) Railways:

Budget 2023–2024 allotted 2.40 lakh crore to railways, which is the highest and also nine times higher than the allotment of budget 2013–2014.

3) Education:

• The center to recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students over the next three years.
• A national digital library will be set up by the government for children and adolescents.

4) Health:

• Sickle cell anemia will be eliminated by 2047.
• The government will open 157 new nursing colleges.

5) Agriculture:

• 10,000 bio-input resource centers will be set up.
• Over the next 3 years, over 1 crore farmers will be provided assistance to adopt natural farming.

6) Welfare Schemes:

• The Indian government has launched the Atamanirbhar Clean Plant Program with a total outlay of ₹ 2200 crore. The objective of this program is to provide disease-free horticultural crops.
  
  
• The PM Awas Yojna has been allocated a total outlay of ₹79000 crore, which is 66% more than the previous budget.
  
  
• Antyodaya households will get food grains for the next one year, and the government will spend 2 lakh crores on this.

 

7) Green growth:

Under budget 2023-2024, for the protection of the environment, the government has taken the following steps:

• The government will set up 500 waste-to-wealth plants under the GOBARdhan Yojna. GOBAR stands for Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources.
• To motivate states and UTs to use alternative fertilizer, the government launched the PM-PRANAM scheme. It stands for Program for Restoration, Awareness, Nurturement, and Amelioration of Mother Earth.
• MISHTI: The term MISHTI stands for Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Income. The objective of this scheme is to develop mangrove forests covering 540 square kilometers across 11 States and two Union Territories.
• Amrit Dharohar: The finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced the Amrit Darohar Scheme to protect the wetlands.

9. Skill India:
    In order to promote coding, AI, Robotics, Drones, and 3D printing, the government has launched Pradhan Matri Kaushal         Vikas Yojna 4.0. In addition to this, 30 skill India international centers will be set up in different states to provide skills to youth  so that they can compete at the international level.

 Estimates by Government in Budget 2023-2024:

• Total expenditure by the government in fiscal year 2023-2024 is estimated to be at Rs. 45 lakh crore.
• Fiscal deficit is 5.9% of GDP.