The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday presented the Union Budget 2023, the BJP Government’s last full Budget before the 2024 general elections.
Key Highlights of Union Budget 2023:
🔴 Agriculture Accelerator Fund to encourage agri-startups.
🔴 Agricultural credit target to be increased to Rs 20 lakh crores with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.
🔴 157 new Nursing Colleges will be established.
🔴 Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Outlay to be enhanced by 66% to over Rs 79,000 Cr.
🔴 Pradhan Mantri PVTG (Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups) development mission to be launched with a budget of Rs 15,000 cr for 3 years.
🔴 A mission to be launched to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047.
🔴 National digital library for children and adolescents to be set up.
🔴 Centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for 740 Eklavaya Model Residential Schools in the next 3 years.
🔴 500 Blocks will be adopted as Aspirational Blocks on the line of Aspirational Districts.
🔴 Rs 2.4 lakh crore outlay for Railways – 9 times the outlay made in 2013-14.
🔴 50 additional airports, helipods, water aero drones, advanced landing grounds will be developed for domestic travel.
🔴 50-year interest free loan to State governments extended for one more year.
🔴 PM Vishwa Karma Kaushal Samman – package of assistance for traditional artisans and craftspeople.
🔴 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 to be launched.
🔴 Govt to bring National Data Governance policy; 3 Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set up.
🔴 Phase 3 of E-Courts project will be allotted Rs 7000 crores.
🔴 500 labs will be set up in engineering institutions to develop 5G services.
🔴 Over the next 3 years, 1 crore farmers will get assistance to adopt natural farming. 10,000 bio input resource centres will be set up.
🔴 In cases of failure by MSMEs, 95% of the forfeited amount will be returned to them by the Government.
🔴 States will be encouraged to set a ‘Unity Mall’ in State capital or the most popular tourist destination in the state.
🔴 Credit guarantee for MSMEs – Rs 9000 crores corpus infusion from 1st April, 2023, which will allow additional collateral-free credit of Rs 2 lakh crores.
🔴 Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan India national apprenticeship scheme to provide support to 47 lakh youths in 3 years.
🔴 Govt to select 50 destinations through ‘challenge mode’ to promote tourism.
🔴 30 Skill India international centres will be set up.
🔴 Income Tax Rebate extended on incomes up to to Rs 7 lakhs in the new Tax Regime.
🔴 Income Tax Exemption limit increased from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
🔴 New Tax Slabs: Rs 0-3 lakh–Nil; Rs 3-6 lakh-5%, Rs 6-9 lakh-10%, Rs 9-12 lakh-15%, Rs 12-15 lakh-20%.