Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced some impactful decisions in the Indian Budget 2023 session. These decisions will positively impact the lives of common people. They can clearly see how the decisions taken in the Budget will improve their standard of living. The 2023 Budget is a landmark in this regard.
Budget Highlights 2023: Beyond the Technical Jargon
Every Budget talks about allocating money to nation-building activities. While this is important, common men can’t relate to these technical talks. However, this year’s Budget gave the common men some visible bonanza they could see and experience.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman, on February 1, gave the nation a big gift by lifting the ceiling of taxable income to Rs. 7 lakhs from the erstwhile 5 lakhs. Under the new tax regime, anyone earning up to 7 lakhs does not need to pay a single paisa. This is a moral boost to the hard-working middle-class citizens of the nation who are the driving force of the Indian economy. In a time when the prices of products used in daily life have been increasing exponentially, this modification in the tax bracket is a huge relief to the people of the nation.
What About the Controversy Regarding the Lack of Deduction Options in the New Tax Regime
Some people will try to find faults in the good measures taken by the government. The same happened with the announcement of the increase in the tax ceiling. Despite the fact that middle-class citizens don’t need to pay tax if their income is below 7.5 lakhs (taking the standard deduction of Rs.50000 into account), critics of the government termed the new tax regime bad as there are very few options to benefit from tax deductions.
India is not made up of software engineers or doctors! Millions of people in India earn a meager 10/20 thousand per month. Very few middle-class citizens earn Rs.50,000 per month. For them, concepts like Capital Gains are alien. These people need a straightforward taxation system, and Nirmala Sitharaman has given just that. This is something that people who earn more than 10 lakhs a year will never understand.
Tax Ceiling For 44 ADA Has Also Been Raised
India has more than 15 million freelancers engaged in various kinds of gig work – from writing to editing, from taking photographs to teaching. In Indian Budget 2023, the Finance Minister has raised the ceiling for 44ADA from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 75 lakhs. Freelancers with a total gross receipt of less than or equal to 75 lakhs can take advantage of section 44ADA to present their net profit as 50% of their actual net profit.
Defence Allocation Is Significantly Increased
By now, most of you already know that this year’s Budget significantly increased the money allocated to the defence sector of India. Out of an overall budget allocation of 45.03 trillion Rupees, FM Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated 5.93 trillion Rupees for the defence sector.
With the emerging tensions between India and China, it is commendable that the government has decided to allocate 13% of the total Budget to the defence sector. It is important to note that a whopping 1.62 trillion Rupees will be spent this financial year on procuring new weapons. India is all set to protect its territory against China, Pakistan, and other enemies aggressively.
Nirmala Sitharaman Hasn’t Forgotten About Retired Soldiers Who Served the Country Valiantly
It is the retired soldiers who kept the country safe from our evil neighbours. It is the duty of the government to take care of them during their old age. And the BJP government has been performing this quite well. In 2022, the government allocated 1.19 lakh crore for defence pension disbursement. This year, the allocation has increased to Rs. 1.38 lakh crores. This is an extremely tangible way of helping retired members of the armed forces who protected the country all through their youth.
30% Increase in the Indian Budget 2023 for Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure Development is directly connected with the generation of new jobs. For example, to build a highway, the government needs to employ thousands of daily labourers.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a whopping 30% increase in the Budget allocated to Infrastructure development work. Over the year, the government will spend 10 lakh crore on infrastructure development. A whopping 2.7 lakh crore has been earmarked for developing highways and roads.
Indian Railways is the lifeline of middle-class Indians. Every day, the railway network transports 22 million people – that too at a very low price. The Indian government has earmarked 2.40 lakh crore for developing and modernising Indian railways. To cater to the tastes of aspirational youth, 400 new Vande Bharat trains will be rolled out in the next three years.
Budget Highlights: Support for Green Initiatives
The BJP government has started taking proactive steps to arrest the increase in air pollution. In the Budget 2023, FM Sitharaman has announced that 35 hydrogen-powered trains will be rolled out in the coming months, which will help policymakers decide the feasibility of the technology.
The government will be spending 35000 crore Rupees on increasing the pace of adopting sustainable energy. This aligns with India’s resolution of achieving net-zero emissions by 2027.
Affordable Houses for Common Men of India
Having a sweet house is the dream of every Indian. Yet, there are thousands of Indian men for whom owning a house remains a distant dream. Back in 2015, PM Narendra Modi launched the PM Awas Yojna program that empowered ordinary Indians to make their dream of owning a house a reality. This year, the budget for this scheme has been increased by 66% compared to the allocation in FY 22-23. This spending of Rs. 79000 crores will result in tangible improvement in the standard of living for thousands of ordinary Indians.
Helping the Common Man Live a Respectable Life
FM Sitharaman has tried to positively impact almost every aspect of the lives of the common man in this Budget.
- Eklavya Model Residential Schools will get 38,800 teachers in the next three years.
- The budget for Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan Abhiyan 2.0 for children and pregnant women has NOT been decreased. It has been increased to Rs. 20,554 crores.
- Rice and Wheat will now be available at ZERO cost under the NFS scheme.
- The government will be spending 1.13 trillion Rupees on 23-24, compared to 999 billion Rupees in the previous year.
- Rs. 889.5 billion has been allocated for healthcare.
The impending recession is likely to impact the lives of ordinary people. In this situation, the plans announced in the Indian Budget 2023 will immensely help ordinary men and women fight the recession. The three basic things to sustain life – Roti (food), Kapda (clothes – or in other words, employment), and Makaan (house) – have been taken care of in this Budget.
