At a time when several countries are experiencing sluggish growth and reeling under the fear of recession, India is expected to be among the fastest-growing major economies. The World Bank has projected the nation’s economy to grow at a robust 6.6 per cent in 2023-24.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2023 budget speech has also underlined this fact and mentioned that the country is on the “right track and heading towards a bright future.”
Here’s a look at how the 2023 budget fuels this growth and the sectors that the government has laid special emphasis on to effectively shape a powerful story of development.
10 Focus Areas and Key Announcements from the 2023-24 Budget
1. Ease of business
The 2023 budget has announced a reduction of over 39,000 compliances and decriminalisation of 3,400 legal provisions, which will further enhance the ease of doing business.
Permanent Account Number will be a common business identifier for all digital systems in specified government departments.
An integrated system of unified filing processes will be set to avoid repeated submissions and accelerate the processing of requests.
The government also plans to simplify the KYC process while anonymising individual data.
| Additional Announcements |
| The Budget proposes an extension of tax benefits to funds relocating to IFSC, GIFT City in Gujarat till March 31, 2025. |
| The revamped credit guarantee scheme is expected to reduce cost of credit by 1 percent and provide MSMEs with Rs 2 trillion in collateral-free loan guarantees |
| The period of incorporation of startups will be extended by a year for tax incentivisation and to encourage budding entrepreneurs. |
| The government plans to establish a subsidiary of EXIM Bank at GIFT City in Gujarat |
| Ensuring faster response to companies, a central processing centre will be set up to handle forms filed with field offices under the Companies Law |
2. Logistics and infrastructure
Rs 27,482 crore has been allotted to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCC) which is 75 percent higher than the previous year.
The finance minister has also allocated Rs 2.4 lakh crore towards Indian Railways capital expenditure.
The government will raise the allocation towards the roads ministry by 36 per cent to Rs 2.7 lakh crore for 2023-24.
50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advanced landing groundings will be revived with the objective of improving regional air connectivity.
Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) of Rs 10,000 crore per year will be set up for creating infrastructure in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
| Capital investment outlay is being steeply increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore that will amount to 3.3 percent of GDP. |
3. Education
District Institutes of Education and Training will be developed as institutes of excellence for Teachers’ Training.
Three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence are planned to be set up in top educational institutions for industry players to partner in conducting research and development of cutting-edge applications and scalable solutions
100 laboratories in engineering institutes will be set up for developing applications using 5G services. The labs will cover applications like smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems and healthcare applications.
Teachers’ training will be re-envisioned through innovative pedagogy, curriculum transaction, continuous professional development, etc.
4. Green growth and mobility
The budget provides Rs 35,000 crore for priority capital investments to achieve net zero objectives and energy transition.
The Green Hydrogen Mission will target 5 MMT of green hydrogen production a year by 2030, with an outlay of ₹19,700 crores.
The finance minister has also announced creation of an interstate transmission system with an investment of ₹20,700 crore for evacuation and grid integration of 13 GW renewable energy from Ladakh.
| Additional Announcements |
| Green Credit Programme will incentivise environmentally sustainable and responsive actions and help mobilise additional resources |
| Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM PRANAM) will incentivise states and union territories to promote alternative fertilisers and balanced use of chemical fertilisers |
| 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants will be launched under Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) |
| Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) will focus on plantations on salt pans and along the coastline |
| Amrit Dharohar will encourage optimal use of wetlands to enhance biodiversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism and income generation for local communities. |
| Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with a capacity of 4,000 MWh will be supported with viability gap funding with a focus on sustainable development |
5. Skill development
The budget has proposed direct benefit transfer under a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme that will offer stipend support to over 47 lakh youth in three years.
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will be launched to skill lakhs of youth in the next three years and focus on on-job training and industry partnerships. The scheme will cover courses such as coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.
The digital ecosystem for skilling will be expanded with a Skill India Digital platform for enabling demand-based skilling, linking with employers to facilitate access to entrepreneurship schemes.
| 30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across different states to skill youths for international opportunities. |
6. Digital initiatives
Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence (AI) under the National Data Governance Policy.
DigiLocker, the cloud-based platform for storage and verification of identity and other records will now be able to store more documents and will help fintech companies leverage the platform better.
The budget has proposed a single-window IT system for registration and approval from various government agencies such as RBI, Sebi, and SEZ authorities.
A National Digital Library for children and adolescents will be set up to facilitate accessibility of books across various subjects, genres as well as levels.
For nations keen on digital continuity solutions, the government will facilitate setting up their data embassies in the IFSC GIFT.
Interesting Read: Budget 2023-24: What’s in it for Businesses
7. Food security
The government is planning to set up massive decentralised storage capacity to help farmers store produce and get remunerative prices at appropriate times.
Rs. 2,516 crore will be invested in computerising 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.
Digital public infrastructure for agriculture will be built as an open source, open standard and interoperable public good to support agri-tech industry and start-ups.
Millets have been given a prominent position in the budget to spread its use along with enabling the millets research institute in Hyderabad become a centre of excellence.
An Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be established to encourage agri-startups in rural areas.
“Govt. will facilitate the setting up of a larger number of coop societies, primary fishery societies and dairy coop societies in uncovered villages in the next 5 years.”
8. Gender empowerment
Finance minister Sitharaman has announced a one-time saving scheme for women called Mahila Samman Saving Certificate which will be available for 2 years and offer a fixed rate of interest at 7 per cent.
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission will continue to empower 8.1 million self-help groups of rural women.
9. Health security
The new PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) aims to provide free food grains to Antyodaya and priority households (8 million beneficiaries).
The finance minister has announced 157 nursing colleges to be set up for promoting inclusive development, medical education and research.
The government is also on a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047, through screening, awareness and counselling.
Select ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) laboratories will be accessible for research by public and private medical faculties as well as private sector research and development teams.
Sitharaman has stated that programmes will be taken up to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals through various centres of excellence.
Interesting read: Budget 2023-24: Govt. Cuts UPI Transaction Subsidy to Rs. 1500 Cr Only
10. Tourism
The Finance Minister has said that 50 destinations will be developed as a complete package with integrated and innovative approaches.
“In addition to aspects such as physical connectivity, virtual connectivity, tourist guides, high standards for food streets, and tourist security, all the relevant aspects would be made available on an app to enhance the tourist experience.”
