Union Budget 2023-24 Highlights: What's in bag for middle-class?

On 1-02-2023, the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Union Budget 2023. The budget is particularly focused upon inclusive development, especially covering the youth, women, farmers, OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Major highlights of India Union Budget 2023, including the vision, change in tax slabs, sector specific focus, allocation of budget, are provided below.

Vision of Union Budget 2023-24 – Saptarishi (7) Priorities

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

New Tax Slab 2023-24

Particulars/ S. No.	Total Income (In Rs)	Tax
1	0-3 lakhs	Nil
2	3-6 lakhs	5%
3	6-9 lakhs	10%
4	9-12 lakhs	15%
5	12-15 lakhs	20%
6	Above 15 lakhs	30%

Items Getting Costly under Budget 2023-24

Commodity	Specific Items
Gems and Jewellery Sector	Gold
	Silver
	Platinum
	Imitation Jewellery
Automobiles	Vehicle (including electric vehicles) in Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) form
	Vehicle in Completely Built Unit (CBU) form (other than with CIF more than USD 40,000 or with engine capacity more than 3000 cc for petrol-run vehicle and more than 2500 cc for diesel-run vehicles, or with both)
	Electrically operated Vehicle in Completely Built Unit (CBU) form (other than with CIF value more than USD 40,000)
Others	Bicycles
	Toys and parts of toys (other than parts of electronic toys)
	Compounded Rubber
	Electric Kitchen Chimney
	Cigarettes

Union Budget 2023-24 Highlights

Name of Sector	Proposals in Budget 2023
Health Sector	157 New Nursing Colleges to be established
	Government to launch Sickle Cell Anemia elimination mission
	Dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices
Agriculture and Cooperatives	Building Digital Public Infrastructure as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good
	Agriculture Accelerator Fund aiming at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers
	Targeted Funding of Rs 20 lakh Crore targeted at Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries
	Sree Anna Making India Global hub for Millets with the support of Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR)
	Propose launch of Horticulture Clean Plant Program to boost production of high value horticultural crops
Education and Skilling	Revamping Teacher’s training via District Institutes of Education and Training
	Setup of National Digital Library for children and adolescents
	Encourage States to set up physical libraries at Panchayat and Ward levels
Infrastructure and Investment	Increased capital investment outlay by 33.4% to Rs 10 lakh crore
	Highest ever capital outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for Railways
	100 transport infrastructure projects identified for end-to-end connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer sectors
Information Technology	Make AI in India by setting up 3 specialized centres in educational institutes
	Government to introduce National Data Governance Policy for enabling access to anonymized data for research by start-ups and academia
	Phase 3 of E-Courts to be launched for effective administration of Justice
	Set-up of Entity Digi-Locker for facilitating secure online storing and sharing of documents with business ecosystem
	Setting up 100 labs for 5G services
	R&D grant for Lab-Grown diamonds to reduce import dependency by encouraging domestic production
MSMEs	‘Vivad se Vishwas’ I – Less stringent contract execution to relieve MSMEs affected during COVID-19 pandemic II – Easier and standardized settlement scheme for faster settlement of contractual disputes of government and government undertakings
Green Growth	Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (‘MISHTI’)
	GOBARdhan Scheme for establishment of 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under
	Renewable Energy Evacuation with an investment of Rs 20,700 crore including central support of Rs. 8,300 crores
	Green Credit Programme to incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive actions and mobilize additional resources
	National Green Hydrogen Mission targetting annual production of 5 MMT by 2030
	PM PRANAM: Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth
Tourism	Estimated budget of Rs 1412 Cr for Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around specific themes (Swadesh Darshan)
Tourism	Selection of at least 50 tourist destinations to be developed as a complete package for boosting tourism sector
Financial Sector	Set-up of National Financial Information Registry to enable efficient lending, promote financial inclusion and enhance financial stability
	Mahila Samman Bachat Patra – savings scheme for 2 years for women at fixed interest rate of 7.5%
	Enhanced maximum deposit limit for senior citizens savings scheme from Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 30 lakhs
	Setting up of Central Data Processing Centre for faster handling of administrative work under the Companies Act, 2013.
Fiscal Management	50-year Interest Free Loans to States
	Fiscal Deficit of 3.5% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) allowed for States (0.5% tied to Power sector reforms)
	Fiscal Consolidation targeting Fiscal Deficit to be below 4.5% by 2025-26
Changes to Custom Duty on	Import of capital goods for Li-ion battery manufacturing
	Import of mobile camera lens
	Denatured ethyl alcohol
	Seeds for lab-grown diamond manufacture
	Concessional duty on copper scrap to be continued
	Compounded rubber
Personal Income Tax	Limit for income tax rebate of income tax increased from Rs 5 lakhs to 7 lakhs
	Changes in income tax slabs
	Highest surcharge rate on income above Rs 5 Crore reduced from 37% to 25%
	Benefits of standard deduction extended to new tax regime for salaried class and pensioners
	Tax exemption limit extended to Rs 25 lakh on leave encashment on retirement for non-government salaried employees
Tax Benefits for MSMEs	Limits for micro-enterprises and professionals enhanced; 95% receipts to be non-cash
Tax Benefits for MSMEs	Deduction on payments made to MSMEs will be allowed on actual payment
Tax Benefits for Cooperatives	15% corporate tax benefits extended to new co-operatives, commencing manufacturing till 31-03-2024
	Higher limit of Rs 2 lakhs per member for deposits and loans in cash by Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) and Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs)
	Higher limit of Rs 3 crore for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on cash withdrawal
Tax Benefits for Startups	Date of incorporation can be extended by one year for income tax benefits
Tax Benefits for Startups	Benefit of carry-forward of losses on change of shareholding of start-ups from 7 to 10 years of incorporation
Rationalization – Period of tax benefits extended to funds relocating to International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Gujarat International Finance Tech-city (GIFT) till 31-03-2025.
Reaching the Last Mile	Government to launch Pradhan Mantri Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTVG)
	Financial assistance to drought prone regions of Karnataka for sustainable micro-irrigation
	Increased teacher recruitment for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools
	Setup of Bharat SHRI project for digitalization on ancient transcriptions

Online Gaming	Minimum threshold of Rs 10,000 for TDS removed.
	TDS and taxability on net winnings at the time of withdrawal or at the end of the financial year.
	TDS would be without the threshold of Rs 10,000.
	For lottery, crossword puzzles games, etc. threshold limit Rs 10,000 for TDS shall continue but shall apply to aggregate winnings during a financial year.

Allocation to Specific Ministries

Ministry	Allocation
Ministry of Defense	Rs 5.94 crore
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways	Rs 2.70 crore
Ministry of Railways	Rs 2.41 crore
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution	Rs 2.06 crore
Ministry of Home Affairs	Rs 1.96 crore
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers	Rs 1.78 crore
Ministry of Rural Development	Rs 1.60 crore
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare	Rs 1.25 crore
Ministry of Communications	Rs 1.23 crore

Scheme Wise Allocation in Budget 2023-24

Name of the Scheme	Budget Estimates 2022-23	Budget Estimates 2023-24
Development of Pharmaceutical Industry	Rs 100 crores	Rs 1,250 crores
Jal Jeevan Mission	Rs 60,000 crores	Rs 70,000 crores
Eklavya Model Residential Schools	Rs 2,000 crores	RS 5,943 crores
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana	Rs 48,000 crores	Rs 79,590 crores
Scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electronic Vehicles (FAME)	Rs 2,908 crores	Rs 5,172 crores
Nort East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme	Rs 1,419 crores	Rs 2,491 crores

Legal Sector

SNO.	LEGAL	DETAIL
1.	Support for poor prisoners	financial support to be provided who are unable to afford the penalty or the bail amount.
2.	Mission Karmayogi / Ease of Doing Business	Centre, States and Union Territories are making and implementing capacity-building plans for civil servants. iGOT Karamyogi initiated for providing a learning opportunity to lakhs of government employees to upgrade their skills. for ease of doing business- more than 39,000 compliances reduced more than 3,400 legal provisions decriminalized. introduced Jan Vishwas Bill (‘JVB’) to amend 42 Central Acts. JVB to reduce compliance burden on individuals and businesses and ensure ease of doing business. It decriminalises certain offences, revises fines and penalties and appoint adjudicating officers. Acts that are amended by the Bill include: The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 The Indian Post Office Act, 1898 The Boilers Act,1923 The Indian Forest Act, 1927 The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 The Public Debt Act, 1944 The Rubber Act, 1947 The Pharmacy Act, 1948 The Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 The Cinematograph Act, 1952 The Tea Act, 1953 The Copyright Act, 1957 The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 The Warehousing Corporations Act, 1962 The Food Corporations Act, 1964 The Patents Act, 1970 The Marine Products Export Development Authority Act, 1972 The High Denomination Bank Notes (Demonetisation) Act, 1978 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981 The Spices Board Act, 1986 the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 The National Housing Bank Act, 1987 The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 The Railways Act, 1989 The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 The Trademarks Act, 1999 The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 The Information Technology Act, 2000 The Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 The Government Securities Act, 2006 The Cantonments Act, 2006 The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 The Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 The Legal Metrology Act, 2009 The Factoring Regulation Act, 2011 The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
3.	E-Courts	Phase-3 of the E-Courts project to be launched with an outlay of 7,000 crore.
4.	Vivad se Vishwas I – Relief for MSMEs	Failure to execute contracts during the Covid period by MSMEs- 95% of the forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security, to be returned.
5.	Vivad se Vishwas II – Settling Contractual Disputes	Settle contractual disputes of government, wherein arbitral award is under challenge-voluntary settlement scheme with standardized terms to be introduced.
6.	Green Credit Programme	Under the Environment (Protection) Act,1986 Encourage behavioral change. Incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, individuals and local bodies. Help mobilize additional resources for such activities.
7.	GIFT IFSC Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centres Authority	Delegating powers under the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (‘SEZ Act’) to International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 (‘IFSCA Act’) to avoid dual regulation. Amend IFSCA Act for statutory provisions for arbitration, ancillary services, and avoiding dual regulation under SEZ Act
8.	Improving Governance and Investor Protection in Banking Sector	proposed amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, Banking Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act;
9.	Central Data Processing Centre	to be setup for faster response to companies through centralized handling of various forms filed with field offices under the Companies Act, 2013
10.	Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘1961 Act’)	Decriminalisation under section 276A
11.	Tax Appeals	more selective in taking up cases for scrutiny of returns already received this year. rectification of orders by Interim Board of Settlement- proposed to provide that where the time-limit for amending an order or for making an application expires on or after 01.02.2021 but before 01.02.2022, such time-limit shall stand extended to 30.09.2023. proposed to introduce a new authority in the rank of Joint Commissioner/ Additional Commissioner for appeals. proposed to provide for appeal against penalty orders passed by Commissioner (Appeals) under certain sections of the Act before the Appellate Tribunal. proposed to provide rectification of an order under section 263 of the 1961 Act passed by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner shall also be appealable before the Appellate Tribunal. proposed to enable filing of memorandum of cross-objections in all classes of cases against which appeal can be made to the Appellate Tribunal.
12.	Penalty for cash loan/transactions against primary co-operatives	proposed to amend section 269SS of 1961 Act, where a deposit is accepted by: a primary agricultural credit society OR primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank from its member OR loan is taken from a primary agricultural credit society OR primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank by its member in cash, no penal consequence would arise, if the amount of such loan or deposit in cash is less than 2 lakh. section 269T of 1961 Act proposed to be amended to provide that where a deposit is repaid by: primary agricultural credit society OR primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank to its member OR such loan is repaid to a primary agricultural credit society OR primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank by its member in cash, no penal consequence shall arise, if the amount of such loan or deposit in cash is less than 2 lakh.
13.	Extending the scope for deduction of tax at source at lower or nil rate	Allow taxpayer to obtain certificate of deduction of tax at source to lower or nil rate on sums on which tax is required to be deducted under section 194LBA of 1961 Act by Business Trusts.
14.	Improving compliance and tax administration	reduce minimum time-period required by transfer pricing officer to assessee for production of documents and information from 30 days to 10 days. proposed to amend section 132 of the 1961 Act, dealing with search and seizure- allow authorised officer to take assistance of specific domain experts like: digital forensic professionals locksmiths carpenters etc. during the course of search aid in accurate estimation of undisclosed income held in the form of property by the assessee. Section 170A of 1961 Act, inserted vide Finance Act, 2022 proposed to be substituted to clarify that a modified return shall be furnished by an entity to whom the order of the business re-organisation applies. introduce provisions for assessment or reassessment in cases where such modified return is furnished. where search under section 132 of 1961 Act or requisition under section 132A of 1961 Act has been made, period of limitation of pending assessments to be extended by 12 months. proposed to make amendments to empower Central Government to make modifications in the already notified schemes regarding: e-Verification Dispute Resolution Advance Rulings Appeal Penalty proposed where search related information is available after 15th March of any financial year, an additional period of 15 days to be allowed for issuance of notice, for assessment/reassessments etc under section 148 of 1961 Act. proposed to clarify specified authority for granting approval shall be Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or Chief Commissioner or Director General. proposed to provide a penalty of 5,000 if there is any inaccuracy in the statement of financial transactions submitted by a prescribed reporting financial institution due to false or inaccurate information submitted by the account holder. proposed to amend section 271C and section 276B of 1961 Act to provide for penalty and prosecution where default in TDS relates to transaction in kind. proposed to amend the time-period for filing of appeal against order of Adjudicating Authority under Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 2017 within a period of 45 days by the Initiating Officer or the aggrieved person. definition of ‘High Court’ proposed to be modified to allow determination of jurisdiction for filing appeal in the case of non-residents.
15.	Rationalisation	proposed to allow benefit of tax treaty at the time of TDS on such income under section 196A of 1961 Act. proposed to clarify amount of advance tax paid is reduced only once for computing interest payable under section 234B of 1961 act in case of an updated return. proposed to clarify taxability- whether benefit could also be in cash under section 28 of 1961 Act as well for tax deduction at source under section 194R of 1961 Act. proposed to omit certain name-based funds from section 80G of 1961 Act, which provides for deduction of donation to such funds from the income of the donor. proposed to omit section 88 of 1961 Act and some of the clauses of section 10 of 1961 Act which are no longer in force proposed to decriminalize certain acts of omission of liquidators under section 276A of 1961 Act with effect from 1st April, 2023.
16.	Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (‘2006 Act’)	promote timely payments to micro and small enterprises- proposed to include payments made under section 43B of the 2006 Act. deduction for such payments would be allowed only when actually paid. allowed on accrual basis only if the payment is within the time mandated under the 2006 Act
17.	Amendments in the Customs Act, 1962 (‘1962 Act’)	section 25 (4A) of 1962 Act is being amended to exclude certain categories of conditional customs duty exemptions from the validity period of two years like: notifications issued in relation to multilateral or bilateral trade agreements obligations under international agreements, treaties, conventions including UN agencies, diplomats, international organizations. privileges of constitutional authorities schemes under Foreign Trade Policy Central Government schemes having a validity of more than two years. re-imports, temporary imports, goods imported as gifts or personal baggage. any other duties of Customs under any other law in force including IGST levied under section 3(7) of Customs Tariff Act, 1975, other than duty of customs levied under section 12 of 1962 Act. Section 127C of 1962 Act is being amended to specify a time limit of 9 months from date of filing application for passing final order by Settlement Commission
18.	Amendments in the provisions relating to Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD), Countervailing Duty (CVD), and Safeguard Measures	Sections 9, 9A, 9C of the Customs Tariff Act,1975 are being amended to clarify the intent and scope of these provisions. also being validated retrospectively with effect from 1st January 1995.
19.	Amendments in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975	to increase rates on certain tariff items with effect from 02.02.2023 modify rates on certain other tariff items as part of rate rationalisation with effect from date of assent amended in accordance with Harmonised System Nomenclature 2022 amendments. new tariff lines proposed to be created- better identification of: millet-based products mozzarella cheese medicinal plants and their parts certain pesticides telecom products synthetic diamonds cotton fertilizer grade urea etc help in trade facilitation by better identification of the above items, getting clarity on availing concessional import duty through various notifications and thus reducing dwell time. come into effect from 01.05.2023.
20.	Amendment in the Second Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975	to align the entries under heading 1202 with that of the First Schedule (Import Tariff).
21.	Decriminalization in GST Laws	Section 132 and section 138 of CGST Act are being amended: raise minimum threshold of tax amount for launching prosecution under GST from 1 crore to 2 crore, except for the offence of issuance of invoices without supply of goods or services or both. reduce the compounding amount from present range of 50% to 150% of tax amount to the range of 25% to 100% decriminalize certain offences specified under clause (g), (j) and (k) of sub-section (1) of section 132 of CGST Act, 2017, viz.- obstruction or preventing any officer in discharge of his duties. deliberate tempering of material evidence. failure to supply the information.
22.	Facilitate e-commerce for micro enterprises.	Amendments in section 10 and section 122 of the CGST Act to enable unregistered suppliers and composition taxpayers to make intra-state supply of goods through E- Commerce Operators (ECOs), subject to certain conditions.
23.	Amendment to Schedule III of CGST Act, 2017	Paras 7, 8 (a) and 8 (b) were inserted in Schedule III of CGST Act, 2017 with effect from 01.02.2019 to keep certain transactions/ activities, such as supplies of goods from a place outside the taxable territory to another place outside the taxable territory, high sea sales and supply of warehoused goods before their home clearance, outside the purview of GST. In order to remove the doubts and ambiguities regarding taxability of such transactions/ activities during the period 01.07.2017 to 31.01.2019, provisions are being incorporated to make the said paras effective from 01.07.2017. However, no refund of tax paid shall be available in cases where any tax has already been paid in respect of such transactions/ activities during the period 01.07.2017 to 31.01.2019.
24.	Return filing under GST	Sections 37, 39, 44 and 52 of CGST Act, 2017 amended to restrict filing of returns/ statements to a maximum period of 3 years from the due date of filing of the relevant return / statement.
25.	Input Tax Credit for expenditure related to CSR	Section 17(5) of CGST Act amended to provide that input tax credit shall not be available in respect of goods or services or both received by a taxable person, which are used or intended to be used for activities relating to his obligations under corporate social responsibility referred to in section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.
26.	Sharing of information	new section 158A in CGST Act inserted to: enable sharing of the information furnished by the registered person in his return. application of registration statement of outward supplies details uploaded by him for generation of electronic invoice. E-way bill any other details on the common portal, with other systems in a manner to be prescribed
27.	Amendments in section 2 clause (16) of IGST Act, 2017	Clause (16) of section 2 of IGST Act amended to revise the definition of “non-taxable online recipient” by removing the condition of receipt of online information and database access or retrieval services for purposes other than commerce, industry or any other business or profession so as to provide for taxability of Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval service provided by any person located in non-taxable territory to an unregistered person receiving the said services and located in the taxable territory clarify persons registered solely in terms of clause (vi) of Section 24 of CGST Act shall be treated as unregistered person
28.	Online information and database access or retrieval services	Clause (17) of section 2 of IGST Act amended to revise the definition of “online information and database access or retrieval services” to remove the condition of rendering of the said supply being essentially automated and involving minimal human intervention.
29.	Place of supply in certain cases	Proviso to sub-section (8) of section 12 of the IGST Act omitted to specify place of supply, irrespective of destination of goods, in cases where supplier of services and recipient of services are located in India.
30.	National Financial Information Registry	set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information. facilitate efficient flow of credit. promote financial inclusion. foster financial stability. new legislative framework will govern this credit public infrastructure. designed in consultation with the RBI.

Mathivanan N., Principal Partner (Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan) on CESTAT:

“The Authority for Advance Rulings constituted under the Income Tax Act, which was handling CST matters, was abolished long time back and no bench for the CST Appellate Tribunal matters was sitting for a very long time. Now, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) will be handling all the pending and fresh cases from the date on which the Finance Bill, 2023 receives the President’s assent. It is a big relief for the taxpayers having pending cases before the CST Appellate Tribunal.”

V. Lakshmikumaran, Managing Partner (Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan) on Goods and Services Tax (GST):

“The Budget 2023 introduced a few but significant changes to the GST front. The Finance Bill, 2023 proposes some clarificatory amendments aimed at aligning the text of law with the GST portal operations. A major overhaul relates to the denial of input tax credit on procurements made for fulfilling CSR obligations. While certain offences are proposed to be decriminalized, new penal consequences loom on e-commerce operators. A 3-year outer limit to file GSTR 1, 3B and 9 is proposed to be introduced in cases where a person does not file these returns. However, more clarity is required on the scope and applicability of these provisions. It is hoped that the next council meeting throws some light on the much-awaited constitution of the GST Tribunal and a possible amnesty scheme.”

S. Vasudevan, Executive Partner (Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan) on Income Tax:

“The new tax regime under Budget 2023 will benefit the growing middle class and encourage them to opt out of traditional deduction/ exemption-based regime to a simpler regime with moderate tax rates. Major changes have been proposed in taxation of winnings from online gaming, likely to increase the compliance burden for the sector. The Government has also paid attention to the taxpayers’ grievance regarding huge pendency of appeals before first appellate authority and has proposed amendments for quicker disposal of low value appeals.”

L. Badri Narayanan (Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan) on Online Gaming:

“The Finance Bill 2023 completely overhauled the existing provisions related to winnings from online games and introduced specific provisions for taxation of winnings from online games and withholding tax obligations on gaming operators. Earlier, where there was no clarity on computation of winnings either from user perspective or from operator perspective. It is also relevant to note that earlier, there was a limit of winnings up to Rs. 10,000 per game, which has now been made per financial year.”

Investments & Infrastructure

S. No.	Investments & Infrastructure	Details
1.	Fisheries	A new sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana with targeted investment of Rs. 6,000 crores will be launched. It will enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies, and expand the market.
2.	Cooperative based economic development model	Earlier, a new Ministry of Cooperation was formed with a mandate to realize the vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’. To realize this vision, the government has already initiated computerization of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of Rs. 2,516 crores. After consulting the stakeholders and states, model byelaws for PACS were also formulated enabling them to become multipurpose PACS. A national cooperative database is also being prepared for country-wide mapping of cooperative societies. New co-operatives that have commenced manufacturing activities till 31-3-2024 will get the benefit of a lower tax rate of 15% Proposed to provide an opportunity to sugar co-operatives to claim payments made to sugarcane farmers for the period prior to assessment year 2016-2017 as expenditure. This is expected to provide them with a relief of almost 10,000 crores. A higher limit of 2 lakh per member for cash deposits to and loans in cash by Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies (PACS) and Primary Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs) is provided. A higher limit of 3 crores for TDS on cash withdrawal will be provided to co-operative societies.
3.	Pharma Innovation	A new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through centers of excellence. Industries will also be encouraged to invest in research and development in specific priority areas.
4.	Capital Investment as driver of growth and jobs	Outlay is being increased by 33% to 10 lakh crore (3.3 % of GDP) which will be almost three times the outlay in 2019-2020. The substantial increase is central to the government’s efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd-in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds.
5.	Effective Capital Expenditure	It is budgeted at 13.7 lakh crores (4.5 % of GDP)
6.	Support to State Governments for Capital Investment	The 50-year interest free loan, which was already given to state governments, will be continued for one more year. Aim is to spur investment and to incentivize them for complementary policy actions Enhanced outlay of 1.3 lakh crore
7.	Enhancing opportunities for private investment in Infrastructure	The newly established Infrastructure Finance Secretariat will assist all stakeholders for more private investment in infrastructure, including railways, roads, urban infrastructure and power, which are predominantly dependent on public resources.
8.	Logistics	Budget- 75,000 crores including 15,000 crores from private sources is being made. 100 critical transport infrastructure projects, for connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer, and food grains sectors have been identified.
9.	Energy Transition	Budget- Rs.35,000 crores towards energy transition and net zero objectives and energy security by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
10.	Renewable Energy Evacuation	Budget- 20,700 crores including central support of 8,300 crores. The Inter-state transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of 13 GW renewable energy from Ladakh will be constructed
11.	GOBARdhan Scheme (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan)	Budget- 10,000 crores 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants will be established for promoting circular economy. These will include 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants, including 75 plants in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based plants 5% CBG mandate will be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and biogas.
12.	Harmonized master List of Infrastructure	An expert committee will review it for recommending the classification and financing framework suitable for Amrit Kaal.
13.	Railways	Capital outlay of Rs. 2.40 lakh crores Highest ever outlay
14.	Regional Connectivity	50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advance landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity
15.	Sustainable Cities of Tomorrow	Meaning- efficient use of land resources, adequate resources for urban infrastructure, transit-oriented development, enhanced availability and affordability of urban land, and opportunities for all
16.	Making Cities ready for Municipal Bonds	Through property tax governance reforms and ring-fencing user charges on urban infrastructure, cities will be incentivized to improve their credit worthiness for municipal bonds
17.	Urban Infrastructure Development Fund	Will be established through use of priority sector lending shortfall It will be managed by the National Housing Bank and will be used by public agencies to create urban infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Budget- 10,000 crores per annum
18.	Urban Sanitization	All cities and towns will be enabled for 100 per cent mechanical desludging of septic tanks and sewers to transition from manhole to machine-hole mode. Enhanced focus will be provided for scientific management of dry and wet waste.
19.	Fifty- year interest free loan to States	Entire 50-year loan to states has to be spent on capital expenditure within 2023-24. Most of this will be at the discretion of states, but a part will be conditional on states increasing their actual capital expenditure. Parts of outlay will be linked to the following purposes also: Scrapping old government vehicles, Urban planning reforms and actions, Financing reforms in urban local bodies to make them creditworthy for municipal bonds, Housing for police personnel above or as part of police stations, Constructing Unity Malls, Children and adolescents’ libraries and digital infrastructure, and State share of capital expenditure of central schemes.

Banking Sector

S. No.	Banking	Details
1.	Improving Governance & Investor Protection in Banking Sector	Amendments in the Banking Regulation Act, the Banking Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act proposed Purpose- To improve bank governance and enhance investors’ protection
2.	Capacity Building in Securities Market	SEBI will be empowered to develop, regulate, maintain and enforce norms and standards for education in the National Institute of Securities Markets and to recognize award of degrees, diplomas and certificates Purpose- to build capacity of functionaries and professionals in the securities market

Financial Sector

S. No.	Financial Sector	Details
1.	Credit Guarantee for MSMEs	In 2021, revamping of the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs was introduced. The revamped scheme will take effect from 1-4-2023 Infusion of Rs. 9000 crores in the corpus It will enable additional collateral free guaranteed credit of Rs. 2 lakh crores reducing the cost of credit by nearly 1%.
2.	National Financial Information Registry	A national financial information registry will be set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information. This will facilitate efficient flow of credit, promote financial inclusion, and foster financial stability. A new legislative framework will govern this credit public infrastructure, and it will be designed in consultation with the RBI.
3	Financial Sector Regulations	To meet the needs of Amrit Kaal and to facilitate optimum regulation in the financial sector, public consultation will be brought to the process of regulation-making and issuing subsidiary directions To simplify, ease and reduce cost of compliance, financial sector regulators will be requested to carry out a comprehensive review of existing regulations.
4	Gift IFSC	To enhance business activities: Powers will be delegated under SEZ Act to IFSCA to avoid dual regulation Single window IT system for registration and approval from IFSCA, SEZ authorities, GSTN, RBI, SEBI & IRDAI will be set up Acquisition financing by IFSC Banking Units of foreign banks will be permitted A subsidiary of EXIM Bank for trade re-financing will be established IFSCA will be amended for statutory provisions for arbitration, ancillary services, and avoiding dual regulation under SEZ Act, and Offshore derivative instruments as valid contracts will be recognized
5	Improving Governance & Investor Protection in Banking Sector	Amendments in the Banking Regulation Act, the Banking Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act proposed Purpose- To improve bank governance and enhance investors’ protection
6	Capacity Building in Securities Market	SEBI will be empowered to develop, regulate, maintain and enforce norms and standards for education in the National Institute of Securities Markets and to recognize award of degrees, diplomas and certificates Purpose- to build capacity of functionaries and professionals in the securities market
7	Central Data Processing Centre	This Center will be set up for faster response to companies through centralized handling of various forms filed with field offices under the Companies Act.
8	Reclaiming of shares and dividends	An integrated IT portal will be established for investors to reclaim unclaimed shares and unpaid dividends from the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority with ease.
9	Digital Payments	In 2022, they show an increase of 76% in transactions and 91% in value Fiscal support for this digital public infrastructure will continue in 2023-24.
10	Data Embassy	Countries that are looking for continuity solutions, their Data Embassies in GIFT IFSC will be set up
11	Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Mahila Samman Bachat Patra	A one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, will be made available for a 2 years period up to March 2025. Offering deposit facility up to 2 lakhs in the name of women or girls for a tenor of 2 years at fixed interest rate of 7.5% with partial withdrawal options.
12	Senior Citizens	The maximum limit has been increased from 15 lakhs to 30 lakhs. The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme will also be increased from 4.5 lakhs to 9 lakhs for a single account and 9 lakhs to 15 lakhs for a joint account.
13	Fiscal Deficit of States	States will be allowed a deficit of 3.5% of GSDP of which 0.5% will be tied to power sector reforms
14	Revised Estimates 2022-2023	The Revised estimate for fiscal deficit is 6.4% of GDP The total receipts other than borrowings is 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are 20.9 lakh crore. The Revised Estimate of the total expenditure is 41.9 lakh crore of which the capital expenditure is about 7.3 lakh crore
15	Budget Estimates 2023-2024	Net tax receipt is estimated at 23.3 lakh crore The total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure have been estimated at 27.2 lakh crore and 45 lakh crores respectively Fiscal deficit- 5.9% of GDP To finance the fiscal deficit, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at 11.8 lakh crore The Gross market borrowings are estimated at 15.4 lakh crore.

Information Technology Sector

S. No.	Information Technology	Details
1	Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture	It will be built as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good. Enabling farmers centric solutions through relevant information services for crop planning and health, improved access to farm inputs, credit, and insurance, help for crop estimation, and support for growth of Agri-Tech industry and start- ups.
2	National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents	It will be set up for facilitating availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device agnostic accessibility. States will be encouraged to set up physical libraries at panchayat and ward levels and provide infrastructure for accessing the National Digital Library resources.
3	Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions	It will be set up in a digital epigraphy museum, with digitization of 1 lakh ancient inscriptions in the first stage.
4	Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence	3 centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions. Leading industry players will partner in conducting interdisciplinary research, develop cutting-edge applications and scalable problem solutions in the areas of agriculture, health, and sustainable cities. This will galvanize an effective AI ecosystem and nurture quality human resources in the field.
5	National Data Governance Policy	This policy will be brought to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia. This will enable access to anonymized data.
6	Simplification of Know Your Customer (KYC) process	This process will be simplified adopting a “risk- based” instead of “one size fits all” approach. The financial sector regulators will also be encouraged to have a KYC system fully amenable to meet the needs of Digital India.
7	One stop solution for identity and address updating	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.
8	Common Business Identifier	Business establishments are required to have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) PAN will be used as the common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies. Bringing ease of doing business
9	Unified Filing Process	Usage- separate submission of same information to different government agencies Such filing of information or return in simplified forms on a common portal, will be shared with other agencies as per filer’s choice
10	E- Courts	Phase –3 of E-Courts project will be launched with oulay of 7,000 crores
11	Fintech Services	It is facilitated by digital public infrastructure including Aadhaar, PM Jan, Dhan Yojana, Video KYC, Indi Stack and UPI. To enable more Fintech innovative services, the scope of documents in DigiLocker for individuals will be expanded.
12	Entity DigiLocker	It will be set up for use by MSMEs, large business and charitable trusts This will be towards storing and sharing documents online securely, whenever needed, with various authorities, regulators, banks and other business entities.
13	5G Services	100 labs for developing applications using 5G services will be set up The labs will cover applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems and health care applications
14	Lab Grown Diamonds	It is a technology and innovation driven sector with high employment potential. The diamonds produced here will be environment friendly having optically and chemically same properties as natural diamonds A research and development grant will be provided to one of the IITs for 5 years in order to encourage indigenous production of LGD seeds and machinery. India contributes about 3/4th of the global turnover by value. With depletion in deposits of natural diamonds, industry is moving towards LGD The basic customs duty on seeds will be reduced
15	Skill India Digital Platform	Digital ecosystem for skilling will be expanded with its launch It will enable demand- based formal skilling Linking with employees including MSMEs Facilitating access to entrepreneurship schemes
16	Digital Payments	In 2022, they show an increase of 76% in transactions and 91% in value Fiscal support for this digital public infrastructure will continue in 2023-24.

Hemant Krishna (Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan) on Fin-Tech:

“Creation of digital public infrastructure is a revolutionary approach to boost the fintech ecosystem in the long run. The fact that the Budget also spoke of measures to improve bank governance and enhance investor protection shows that the Government is committed to walking an ever-thinning line between facilitating innovation and enabling harm.”

Agriculture and Cooperation

Sno.	Agriculture and Cooperation	Details
1.	Digital public infrastructure	Built as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good. Enable inclusive, farmer-centric solutions through relevant information services for Crop planning and health Improved access to farm inputs Credit Insurance Help for crop estimation. Market intelligence Support for growth of agri-tech industry and start-ups.
2.	Agriculture Accelerator Fund	Encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas. Aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. Modern technologies to transform agricultural practices, increase productivity and profitability.
3.	Enhancing productivity of cotton crop	Enhance the productivity of extra-long staple cotton. Adopt a cluster-based and value chain approach through Public Private Partnerships Collaboration between farmers, state and industry for input supplies, extension services, and market linkages.
4.	Atmanirbhar Horticulture Clean Plant Program	Boost availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high value horticultural crops at an outlay of 2,200 crore.
5.	Global Hub for Millets: ‘Shree Anna’	Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad to be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
6.	Agriculture Credit	Increased to 20 lakh crores with focus on animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries.
7.	Fisheries	Launch a new sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana Targeted investment of 6,000 crore Enable activities of fishermen fish vendors micro & small enterprises improve value chain efficiencies. expand the market
8.	Marine products	Enhance the export competitiveness of marine products, particularly shrimps by reducing duty on key inputs for domestic manufacture of shrimp feed.
9.	Cooperation	Promote cooperative-based economic development model. Computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of 2,516 crore Model byelaws for PACS National cooperative database for country-wide mapping of cooperative societies Set up decentralised storage capacity. Help farmers store their produce and realize remunerative prices. Setting up multipurpose cooperative societies, primary fishery societies and dairy cooperative societies in uncovered panchayats and villages in the next 5 years.
10.	Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres	Facilitate 1 crore farmers to adopt natural farming. 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres to be set-up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing network.

Gaurav Dayal (Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan) on Agri-Tech

“The data in the Economic Survey 2022-23 showcases AgriTech sector to be a sunrise sector in India for the last 5 years. The emphasis of the government on the AgriTech sector and allied areas in the budget, including building of digital public infrastructure and setting up an agriculture accelerator fund, is a welcome move which is expected to provide a greater fillip to the AgriTech sector, which may see emergence of unicorns sooner than later. The Government’s primary goal to use creative and AI based technologies in agriculture and allied industries, as reflected in this budget, is expected to work to overall benefit of all relevant stakeholders.

Health, Education and Skilling

Sno.	Health, Education and Skilling	Details
1.	Medical & Nursing Colleges	157 new nursing colleges to be established
2.	Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission	Eliminate by 2047. create awareness. Universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas. Counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.
3.	Medical Research	Facilities in select Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty. Encourage private sector R&D teams for collaborative research and innovation.
4.	Pharma Innovation	Promote research and innovation. Encourage industry to invest in research and development in specific priority areas.
5.	Multidisciplinary courses for medical devices	Support in existing institutions to ensure availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies high-end manufacturing research.
6.	Teachers’ Training	Innovative pedagogy Curriculum transaction Continuous professional development Dipstick surveys ICT implementation District Institutes of Education and Training to be developed as vibrant institutes of excellence.
7.	National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents	Quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device agnostic accessibility. States encouraged to set up physical libraries at panchayat and ward levels. State to provide infrastructure for accessing the National Digital Library resources. National Book Trust, Children’s Book Trust etc encouraged to provide and replenish non-curricular titles in regional languages and English to these physical libraries. Collaboration with NGOs Financial sector regulators and organizations encouraged to provide age-appropriate reading material to these libraries.
8.	Eklavya Model Residential Schools	Recruitment of 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students.

Women Empowerment and Senior Citizens

Sno.	Women Empowerment and Senior Citizens	Detail
1.	Enable groups like Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission	Mobilizing rural women into 81 lakh Self Help Groups Enable to formalise large producer enterprises or collectives. Supply of raw materials and better design, quality, branding and marketing Scale up their operations to serve large consumer markets like ‘Unicorns’.
2.	Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Mahila Samman Bachat Patra	One-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, made available for a two-year period up to March 2025. Deposit facility upto 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for a tenor of 2 years at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.
3.	Senior Citizens	Maximum deposit limit enhanced from 15 lakh to 30 lakh. Maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme to be enhanced from 4.5 lakh to 9 lakh for single account and from 9 lakh to 15 lakh for joint account.

New Schemes and Enhancement in Existing Schemes

Sno.	New Schemes and enhancement in existing schemes	Detail
1.	PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana	Commitment to ensure food and nutritional security. Supply free food grain to all Antyodaya and priority households for the next one year. 2 lakh crores to be borne by the Central Government
2.	PM VIKAS- PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman	Benefit the SC, ST, OBCs, women and people belonging to the weaker sections. Improve the quality, scale and reach of products, integrating with the MSME value chain. Access to advanced skill training knowledge of modern digital techniques and efficient green technologies brand promotion linkage with local and global markets digital payments social security
3.	PM Matsya Sampada Yojana	Enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises Improve value chain efficiencies. Expand the market. Allocated 6,000 crores.
4.	PVTGs Pradhan Mantri particularly vulnerable tribal groups	Safe housing Clean drinking water and sanitation Improved access to education, health and nutrition Road and telecom connectivity Sustainable livelihood opportunities in the next three years under the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes Allocated 15,000 crores.
5.	Water for Drought Prone Region of Karnataka	Central assistance be given to Upper Bhadra Project to provide sustainable micro irrigation and filling up of surface tanks for drinking water. Allocated 5,300 crores.
6.	PM Awas Yojana	Enhanced by 66 per cent to over 79,000 crores.
7.	PM-PRANAM PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth	Incentivize States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.
8.	GOBARdhan scheme Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan	500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants to be established for promoting circular economy. Include 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants, (including 75 plants in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based plants. ) 5% CBG mandate to be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and biogas. Appropriate fiscal support to be provided for collection of biomass and distribution of bio-manure. Allocated 10,000 crores.
9.	MISHTI Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes	Mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands
10.	Amrit Dharohar	Encourage optimal use of wetlands. Enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities Income generation for local communities in the next three years
11.	Youth Power	To make ‘Amrit Peedhi’ realize their dreams. Formulated the National Education Policy Focused on skilling. Adopted economic policies that facilitate job creation at scale. Support business opportunities.
12.	Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0	On-job training, industry partnership etc. Cover new age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills. 30 Skill India International Centers to be set up across different States.
13.	Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs	Enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of 2 lakh crore. Cost of the credit to be reduced by about 1 per cent.

*Kriti Kumar, Ridhi Khurana and Simran Singh, Editorial Assistant(s) has worked on the report.

SCC Times

Union Budget 2023-24 Highlights: What’s in bag for middle-class?