Highlights of Budget 2023-24

Following are the highlights of the Budget 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Wednesday:

• Per capita income has more than doubled to Rs 1.97 lakh in around nine years.

• Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world in the past nine years.

• Seven priorities of the Budget, 'Saptarishi', are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector.

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• Outlay for PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66 per cent to over Rs 79,000 crore.

• Capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which is the highest ever and about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14.

• 30 Skill India International Centres to be set up across different states to skill youth for international opportunities.

• Revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus. This scheme would enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore and also reduce the cost of the credit by about 1 per cent.

• The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme to be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

• Fiscal Deficit targeted to be below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.

• Rs 10 lakh crore capital investment, a steep increase of 33 per cent for third year in a row, to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd-in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds.

• Rs 15,000 crore for implementation of Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission over the next three years under the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes.

• Investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources, for 100 critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer, and
  food grains sectors.

• New Infrastructure Finance Secretariat established to enhance opportunities for private investment in infrastructure.

• National Data Governance Policy to be brought out to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia.

• PAN will be used as the common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies to bring in Ease of Doing Business.

• Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes', MISHTI, to be taken up for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands, through convergence between MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund and other sources.

• To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, to be launched. It will offer deposit facility of up to Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for tenure of 2 years (up to March 2025) at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.

• Fiscal Deficit of 3.5 per cent of GSDP allowed for states of which 0.5 per cent is tied to power sector reforms.

• The fiscal deficit is 6.4 per cent of GDP for the current fiscal, adhering to the Budget Estimate.

• The gross market borrowings for 2023-24 are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

• To further improve tax payer services, proposal to roll out a next-generation Common IT Return Form for tax payer convenience, along with plans to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism.

• Rebate limit of Personal Income Tax to be increased to Rs 7 lakh from the current Rs 5 lakh in the new tax regime. Thus, persons in the new tax regime with income up to Rs 7 lakh not to pay any tax.

• Tax structure in new personal income tax regime, introduced in 2020 with six income slabs, to change by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh.

• Highest surcharge rate reduced from 37 per cent to 25 per cent in the new tax regime. This to further result in reduction of the maximum personal income tax rate to 39 per cent.

• The limit for tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees to increase to Rs 25 lakh.

• Number of basic customs duty rates on goods, other than textiles and agriculture, reduced to 13 from 21.

• Union Budget 2023