THURSDAY 02 FEBRUARY 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘BUDGET PRESENTED KEEPING IN MIND LS POLLS’ LAW AND TRUMP P6 BEFORE A CROWD OF 1 MN, POPE URGES CONGOLESE TO FORGIVE P5 P10 INDIA THRASH NEW ZEALAND, CLINCH SERIES P12 Today's budget reflected how 'Nari Shakti' can build an empowered nation. This has been an inclusive budget, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman Budget 2023: Vision of prosperous, inclusive India Record capital investment of Rs 10 lakh crore proposed; income tax rebate raised to Rs 7 lakh in new tax regime for individuals With the plan of setting up the world's largest decentralized storage capacity, farmers associated with cooperative societies will be able to get a fair price for their produce by selling it at an appropriate time. This will play an important role in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to increase the income of the farmers The Union Budget 2023-24 is expected to bring about positive changes in the country that will lead us towards achieving our goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy and 'Top Three' economies within a few years The Union Budget presented today has a resolution for the prosperity of 'New India', a vision of Antyodaya, and the aim of serving 130 crore countrymen Progress, and a Budget of new speed (Nayi Gati)! Congratulations to FM @NSitharaman for presenting this #AmritKaal Budget, which is dedicated to every section of society, focussing on the upliftment of health, education, energy security, and giving relief to the common man. This is the Budget for building PM Modi's India of Amrit Kaal There is so much consistency in this budget. Elections budgets are those where 'rewris' are distributed. It is a budget which strengthens the country. This budget empowers 140 crore people. This budget is preparing India for a brighter future UNION 2023 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE ority areas in the budget, namely development, last mile connectivity, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector.  Government to spend a record Rs 10 lakh crore on longer term capital expenditure, a hike of 33 per cent, extending its strategy to revive post-Coronavirus growth. This will be 3.3 per cent of the GDP in 2023-2024.  Simplification of slabs in the new tax regime, where no tax will be levied on income up to Rs 7 lakh per annum. This would be facilitated under the new tax regime which would be made the new default regime.  The fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of GDP has been kept for 2023-24. The FM said the government is committed towards bringing it below the 5 per cent mark by 2025-26.  The agricultural credit target has been hiked to Rs 20 lakh crore, a move aimed at placating the farmers. An agriculture accelerator fund has been announced to encourage agri startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas.  For railways, the budget announced an outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore - the highest in almost a decade and four times than the last year's budget. DEEPAK RAZDAN NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY T he Union Budget, 2023-24 presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today, builds boldly on the momentum of postpandemic growth, proposing a capital investment outlay of Rs 10 lakh crore, rationalising indirect taxes and raising tax rebate to Rs 7 lakh in the new tax regime for individuals. The new tax regime for personal income was introduced in 2020 but only a small fraction of tax payers opted for it. To incentivise the new regime, the finance minister has proposed several concesssions and the new tax regime is the default tax regime now. The tax-payers will however continue to have the option to avail the benefit of the old tax regime. Currently, those with income up to Rs 5 lakh do not pay any income tax in both old and new tax regimes. The Budget has proposed to increase the rebate limit to Rs 7 lakh in the new tax regime. Also, tax slabs for the middle class individuals have been reduced to five from six, and MAINLY CLEAR SKY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 22 AND 09 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Min: 53% TEMPERATURE Max: 21.6°C (-1) SUN RISES 07:09 hrs MOON RISES 14:56 hrs KEY HIGHLIGHTS SAPTARSHI: The government outlined seven pri- WEATHER Max: 100% BUDGET Budget lays strong foundation for developed India, says Modi Min: 08.6°C (0) SUN SETS 18:01 hrs MOON SETS 05:36 hrs THUMBNAILS The Indian Field Hospital II Plus ahead of the UN Peacebuilding Commission's meeting on South Sudan, in South Sudan on Wednesday. ANI the tax exemption limit is raised to Rs 3 lakh. The Budget proposes a next-generation Common Income Tax Return Form for tax payer convenience and strengthening of the grievance redressal mechanism. For the benefit of salaried class and the pensioners including family pensioners the standard deduction is being extended to the new tax regime. In another major change in personal income tax, the Budget proposes to reduce the highest surcharge rate from 37 per cent to 25 per cent in the new tax regime. This would result in reduction of the maximum tax rate to 39 per cent. At present the highest tax rate in the country is 42.74 per cent. The Budget proposes muchawaited changes sought by senior citizens. The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is being enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme will be enhanced from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single account and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for a joint account. The Budget said the limit of Rs 3 lakh for tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees was last fixed in 2002, when the highest basic pay in the government was Rs 30,000 per month. "In line with the increase in government salaries, I am proposing to increase this limit to Rs 25 lakh," she said. The 2023-24 Budget estimates total receipts, other than borrowings, at Rs 27.2 lakh, and the NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced a capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore for the Railways, which is the highest-ever and about nine times the outlay made in 201314.In the General Budget presented in Parliament, Ms Sitharaman also announced that 100 critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and firstmile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer, and food grains sectors have been identified and they will be taken up on priority with an investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources. She said that 50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advanced landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity. “Investments in infrastructure and productive capacity have a Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the General Budget, saying it has established a strong base to fulfil the aspirations and resolutions of a developed India. The budget, he said, gives priority to the deprived and strives to fulfil the dreams of the aspirational society, the poor, villages and the middle class. The PM particularly highlighted the reduction in tax rates as well as the simplification, transparency and speeding up of the processes for the benefit of the middle class. “Our government that always stood with the middle class has given huge tax relief to them,” he said.He congratulated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team for a historic budget, saying the country has for the first time come up with many schemes as a tribute to the hard work and creation of traditional artisans like carpenters, lohar (ironsmiths) Sunar (goldsmiths), Kumhars (potters), sculptors and many others. From women living in the cities to villages, employed to homemakers, the PM said, the government has taken significant steps such as Jal Jeevan Mission, Ujjwala Yojna and PM Awas Yojana etc. that will further empower the women. This budget, the PM said, will make cooperatives a fulcrum of the development of the rural economy. The government, he continued, has made the world's largest food storage scheme in the cooperative sector. An ambitious scheme to form new primary co-operatives has also been announced in the budget. This will expand the area of milk and fish production along with farming, farmers, animal husbandry and fishermen will get better prices for their produce. Speech for 2021-22, I had announced that we plan to continue the path of fiscal consolidation, reaching a fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26 with a fairly steady decline over the period,” Mrs Sitharaman said. “We have adhered to this path, and I reiterate my intention to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26," the Finance Minister said. In the current financial year 2022-23 (FY), the Revised Estimate of the total receipts, other than borrowings is Rs 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are Rs 20.9 lakh crore. The total expenditure for FY23 is expected to be Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs 7.3 lakh crore. The current financial year is closing with a fis- total expenditure at Rs 45 lakh crore.The net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 23.3 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 5.9 per cent of GDP. To finance this fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities proposed are Rs 11.8 lakh crore. The balance financing is expected to come from small savings and other sources. The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore. “In my Budget PHOTO CREDIT: SUBRATA DUTTA cal deficit of 6.4 per cent of GDP, adhering to the Budget Estimate. In the coming financial year, the capital investment outlay of the Government is being increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which will be 3.3 per cent of GDP. This will be almost three times the outlay in 2019-20, the Finance Minister said.The direct capital investment by the Centre is complemented by the provision made for creation of capital assets through Grants-inAid to States. The ‘Effective Capital Expenditure’ of the Centre is budgeted at Rs 13.7 lakh crore, which will be 4.5 per cent of GDP.To help State Governments with capital expenditure, the Finance Minister said. “I have decided to continue the 50-year interest free loan to state governments for one more year to spur investment in infrastructure and to incentivize them for complementary policy actions, with a significantly enhanced outlay of Rs 1.3 lakh crore,” she said. The entire 50-year loan to states has to be spent on capital expenditure within 202324. Most of this will be at the discretion of states, but a part will be conditional on states increasing their actual capital expenditure. A capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways. This highest ever outlay is about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14. She said: “Our current Budget provides major relief to middle class in personal income tax STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY With the objective of benefitting the middle class, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today made five major announcements with respect to personal income tax while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24. These announcements pertaining to rebates, a change in tax structure, an extension of the benefit of the standard deduction to the new tax regime, a reduction of the highest surcharge rate, and an extension of the limit of tax exemption on leave encashment on the retirement of nongovernment salaried employees will provide substantial benefits to the working middle class. In her first announcement regarding rebate, she proposed to increase the rebate limit to Rs. 7 lakh in the new tax regime, which would mean that the persons in the new tax regime, with income up to Rs. 7 lakh will not have to pay any tax. Currently, those with income up to Rs. 5 lakh do not pay any income tax in both old and new tax regimes. Providing relief to middle-class individuals, she proposed a change in the tax structure in the new personal income tax regime by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs. 3 lakh. This will provide major relief to all taxpayers in the new regime. An individual with an annual income of Rs. 9 lakh will be required to pay only Rs. 45,000. This is only 5 per cent of his or her income. It is a reduction of 25 per cent on what he or she is required to pay now, i.e. Rs. 60,000. Similarly, an individual with an income of Rs. 15 lakh would THE NEW TAX SLABS Total income (Rs.) Rate Up to 0-3 lakh large multiplier impact on growth and employment. After the subdued period of the pandemic, private investments are growing again,” Ms Sitaraman noted. The finance minister announced that an Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) will be established through the use of priority sector lending shortfall, which will be managed by the National Housing Bank, and will be used by Nil Up to 3-6 lakh 5 Up to 6-9 lakh 10 Up to 9-12 lakh 15 Up to 12-15 lakh 20 Above 15 lakh 30 be required to pay only Rs. 1.5 lakh or 10 per cent of his or her Highest-ever capital outlay of `2.40L cr for Railways STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY income, a reduction of 20 per cent from the existing liability of Rs. 1,87,500. The third proposal of the budget provides major relief to the salaried class and the pensioners including family pensioners as the finance minister proposed to extend the benefit of the standard deduction to the new tax regime. Each salaried person with an income of Rs. 15.5 lakh or more will thus stand to benefit by Rs. 52,500. At present, a standard deduction of Rs. 50,000 to salaried individuals and deduction from family pension up to Rs. 15,000 is allowed only under the old regime. As part of her fourth announcement with respect to personal income tax, Sitaraman proposed to reduce the highest surcharge rate from 37 per cent to 25 per cent in the new Defence outlay increased by 13 pc STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 FEBRUARY public agencies to create urban infrastruc- ture in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. tax regime for income above Rs. 2 crore. This would result in a reduction of the maximum tax rate to 39 per cent from the present 42.74 per cent, which is among the highest in the world. However, no change in surcharge is proposed for those who opt to be under the old regime in this income group. As part of the fifth announcement, the budget proposed an extension of the limit of tax exemption on leave encashment to Rs. 25 lakh on the retirement of non-government salaried employees in line with the government salaried class. At present, the maximum amount which can be exempted is Rs. 3 lakh.The budget proposed to make the new income tax regime as the default tax regime. However, citizens will continue to have the option to avail the benefit of the old tax regime. Aiming to acquire major weapon systems in view of the growing threat on the borders, the government today hiked the outlay for Defence by about 13 per cent in the General Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Defence Budget has been increased from Rs 5.25 lakh crore last year to Rs 5.94 crore. A total of Rs 1.62 lakh crore has been set aside for capital expenditure that includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware. It was Rs 1.52 lakh crore last fiscal. A significant portion of the modernisation budget would be for the acquisition of weapon systems and equipment from Indian firms under PM Narendra Modi's Make in India initiative. All three services are seeking to acquire new weapons. While the IAF desires to acquire new fighter aircraft, the Indian Navy is focusing on acquiring submarines under Project 75. The Army also wants to acquire light tanks and artillery guns for its operational requirements on the Ladakh front where the military stand-off with China has not been fully resolved.The pension budget of the forces has been increased from Rs 1.19 lakh crore last year to Rs 1.38 lakh crore this fiscal.Defence minister Rajnath Singh said the budget was focused on growth and welfare, with a priority to provide support to farmers, women, marginalised sections and the middle class. year’s economic growth is estimated to be at 7 per cent. It is notable that this is the highest among all the major economies. This is in spite of the massive slowdown globally caused by Covid-19 and a war.”She said in the 75th year of our Independence, the world has recognised the Indian economy as a ‘bright star’ To improve bank governance and enhance investors’ protection, certain amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, the Banking Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India Act are proposed. Commemorating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a one-time new small savings scheme, the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, will be made available for a two-year period up to March 2025.This will offer a deposit facility up to Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for a term of two years at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option. Presenting the Budget, she said: “We envision a prosperous and inclusive India, in which the fruits of development reach all regions and citizens, especially our youth, women, farmers, OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.” She said the indirect tax proposals aim to promote exports, boost domestic manufacturing, enhance domestic value addition, encourage green energy and mobility. A simplified tax structure with fewer tax rates helps in reducing compliance burden and improving tax administration. “I propose to reduce the number of basic customs duty rates on goods, other than textiles and agriculture, from 21 to 13,” she said. Mobile production has increased several times in the country. “To further deepen domestic value addition in manufacture of mobile phones, I propose to provide relief in customs duty on import of certain parts and inputs like camera lens and continue the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries for another year,” she said. The outlay for PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66 per cent to over Rs 79,000 crore. So, in a way this budget has nothing to offer for the unemployed youth of the country. Rather on the contrary a drastic cut in budgetary allocation for 100day jobs has been proposed in the budget proposals. As it is, the Union govt is not paying the dues to the state govt under the MGNREGA scheme. Now above that this cut in the budgetary allocation will make the lives of rural poor even more miserable There is no relief from inflation in this budget. In fact, it will only rise because of the budget. There is no concrete scheme to address joblessness. The reduction of education budget from 2.64 per cent to 2.5 per cent is unfortunate. Delhiites have been meted out step-motherly treatment yet again ‘Mitr Kaal‘ Budget has: NO vision to create Jobs NO plan to tackle Mehngai NO intent to stem Inequality 1% richest own 40% wealth , 50% poorest pay 64% of GST, 42% youth are unemployed- yet, PM doesn’t Care! This Budget proves Govt has NO roadmap to build India’s future.