On February 1, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2022. According to PM Narendra Modi, this budget is focused on providing basic amenities to the poor and middle classes. The Budget is expected to acclamation macro-economic level growth with a focus on a micro-economic level. The FM said that the government has taken an awakening decision of not increasing the tax as people are in a pandemic and facing financial instability.
Key Highlights Of The Union Budget 2022
Economy
- Indian economic growth is expected to rise at the rate of 9.27%, which would be the highest among all emerging economies in the world.
- The government is focused on Four Pillar Development — inclusive of development, productivity enhancement, energy transition and climate action.
- The Budget estimated the capital expenditure of the Central government to be Rs 10.68 lakh crore, i.e. 4.1% of the GDP, for the financial year 2022-23. This clearly shows that the government will expand in the infrastructure sector on a large scale with a long-term motive.
- No tax slabs have been amended.
Crypto And Digital Coin
- The government is going to levy a tax of 30% on earning profits from crypto-currency and 1% TDS on holding the same.
- In a major push for digital currency, the FM stated that the digital rupee will be issued using blockchain technology by the RBI starting 2022-23.
Taxes
- The corporate surcharge will be reduced from 12% to 7%.
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will be reduced to 15% for co-operative societies.
- The parent/guardian of the differently-abled can get a tax deduction on payment of the annuity or lump sum during the lifetime of the parent or guardian once the parent or guardian has attained 60 years.
- To bring parity between Central and state government employees, the Ministry increased the entire employer’s contribution to the National Pension Scheme (NPS) Tier-I account from 10% to 14%.
Exemption Or Rebate
- Import duty is compromised on phone chargers, transformers, etc. to enable domestic manufacturing.
- Customs duty on replica jewellery is enhanced to discourage the import so as to improve or boost the Indian market and economy.
- Import duty will be reduced on methanol.
- An additional excise tax at Rs 2 per litre will be levied on unblended fuel to encourage fuel blending in India.
Allocation Of Budget
- States will receive Rs 1 lakh crore for over a 50-year interest-free loan to fuel PM Gati Shakti and development.
- The fiscal deficit is expected to be 6.9% of the GDP.
Education And Nutrition
- The government will upgrade approximately two lakh Aanganwadis to enrich the health and nutrition of children.
- ”One class, one TV channel’ programme of PM eVIDYA on which 12-200 TV channels will be increased. This will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for Classes 1 to 12.
Agriculture
- The government will reduce taxes on agricultural machinery and related products.
- MSP for farmers will be transferred directly into bank accounts.
- Chemical-free (Jaivik khaad) natural farming is to be promoted in India.
- Delivery of hi-tech services for farmers will be launched soon.
E-Vehicle And Energy
- The government has announced Rs 19,500 crore on PLI for solar modules.
- A battery-swapping policy is to be brought out to boost the EV ecosystem.
Internet Connectivity
- 5G (spectrum) will be launched in 2022-23
Defence
- As always, the defence budget is much greater than the previous one.
- Almost 68% of the capital procurement budget will be given to Indian defence manufacturing companies to promote Make In India and make our defence stronger than ever.
- The Union Budget 2022-23 has predicted a total outlay of Rs 39.45 lakh crore.
Housing And Basic Amenities
- Govt has planned to make 80 lakh new homes under (Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana).
- Almost Rs 60k crores have been assigned to enrich the country with tap water.
- The Ken-Betwa link will be taken up at Rs 44,605 crore to provide irrigation to 9.05 lakh hectares and 65 lakh people.
I hope you enjoyed reading some highlights of this year’s Budget. Stay tuned with me on YKA for more knowledge.