Budget 2023: Narendra Modi government's first Budget in Amrit Kaal; scales newer heights

Amrit Kaal refers to a period of prosperity and abundance, and after a difficult two-year period headlined by COVID-19 followed by a year of steady economic recovery, Budget 2023 presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman represents a gateway to resurgence. This resurgence, importantly, is not just on the economic front, but also on the social front. As an economy, India is already being seen as a glimmer of hope amidst the global economic slowdown. The Budget provides an additional shot in the arm by focusing on seven priorities (Saptarishi) viz. inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing potential, green growth, youth power, and financial sector. Several of these would also result in a “social resurgence”, as we have highlighted below. Several agro initiatives announced To focus on inclusive development, the government has announced several agro initiatives such as the building of a digital public infrastructure for agriculture and setting up an Agriculture Accelerator Fund. Following a proposal by India, the United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Capitalising on this, the Budget has announced initiatives to make India a global hub for millet. On the social front, the government has announced plans to improve healthcare, education, and skilling (although Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 allocations have disappointingly remained the same). An action plan has also been unveiled for improving the living conditions of tribals. What stands out is the massive 66 percent increase in investment in the PM Awas Yojana, reinforcing the government’s commitment to providing affordable housing for all. The announcement of financial support for poor prisoners who are unable to afford penalty or bail amounts is also laudable, rounding off the list of schemes that promise to provide a platform for the aforementioned social resurgence. To drive growth and jobs, the government has announced an unprecedented 33 percent increase in capital investment outlay and the highest-ever capital outlay for railways. This aligns with its ongoing efforts to develop world-class rail infrastructure. This would be complemented by expedited completion of critical transportation projects to ensure first and last-mile connectivity for strategically important goods. Tech initiatives To unleash the potential of technology, a slew of initiatives for promoting the use of artificial intelligence, simplifying KYC / identity-related policies, improving digital accessibility in Courts, and 5G technology have been proposed. This would not only lead to a domestic capacity building but will place India well to ride the next wave of innovation. The Budget also outlines policies aimed at furthering India’s commitment to fighting climate change. The panchamrit targets, including the achievement of net zero emissions by 2070, released by India during the COP26 session at Glasgow last year, have received international praise and the Budget proposes several measures to that end. Setting up state-wise Unity Malls to promote indigenous items and launching the 4th edition of the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana to empower and skill the country’s youth are some of the other initiatives worth highlighting. Finally, the Mahila Samman Bachat Patra, a product with an inflation-beating interest rate is sure to be very popular among low to middle-income families. Tax revenues being met Coming to taxes, the government has been linking robust GST collections with economic recovery for some time now. While this may or may not represent the correct picture (especially due to the hardest-hit unorganised sector being left out of this statistic), the tax revenue targets are being consistently and satisfactorily met inter alia due to better enforcement driven by technology. Duty exemptions on capital goods for lithium-ion battery manufacturing and denatured ethyl alcohol were much appreciated, as was rationalisation of the new personal income tax regime. The government has thankfully stayed away from introducing the much-touted “inheritance tax” and making any changes to capital gains tax. Budget silent about GST Appellate Tribunals While a new authority (Joint Commissioner (Appeals)) is proposed to be introduced for tackling the backlog of pending income tax appeals, the Budget was surprisingly silent about the progress of GST Appellate Tribunals. There was also no indulgence on the government’s part to clear the air on taxation of the online gaming industry, presumably since the matter is sub judice before the Hon’ble Karnataka High Court. The finance minister stated that the fiscal deficit would be 5.9 percent of GDP during FY 2023-24 and would continue to glide down from the pandemic levels when it was widened to accommodate the firefighting measures to keep the economy afloat. The urban unemployment rate is at a four-year low and the growth forecast for FY 2023 is pegged at just below 7 percent, still the highest among all major economies. In conclusion, the Budget does well to steer the country clear of global headwinds and recessionary pressures on to a prosperous and inclusive future. However, the effectiveness of implementation remains a challenge and we would reserve our comments on this front. Despite this, the foundation stone for India@100 laid by budget 2023 looks promising. The writer is an Advocate and Founder of Rastogi Chambers. Naik is an Advocate. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.