Budget 2023 highlights | ‘Anti-poor’, ‘not futuristic’: Mamata Banerjee

"IMF estimates India to be one of the top two fast-growing significant economies in 2022. Despite strong global headwinds and tighter domestic monetary policy, if India is still expected to grow between 6.5 and 7.0 per cent, and that too without the advantage of a base effect, it is a reflection of India’s underlying economic resilience; of its ability to recoup, renew and re-energise the growth drivers of the economy," says the Economic Survey.

The GST collection in January surged to over ₹1.55 lakh crore, the second highest-ever mop-up, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Read more

The ministry of finance prepares the budget in consultation with the Niti Aayog and concerned ministries.

Economic Survey points out, "Agencies worldwide continue to project India as the fastest-growing major economy at 6.5-7.0 per cent in FY23. These optimistic growth forecasts stem in part from the resilience of the Indian economy seen in the rebound of private consumption seamlessly replacing the export stimuli as the leading driver of growth. The uptick in private consumption has also given a boost to production activity resulting in an increase in capacity utilisation across sectors."

Economic survey noted, “RBI has projected headline inflation at 6.8 per cent in FY23, which is outside its target range. At the same time, it is not high enough to deter private consumption and also not so low as to weaken the inducement to invest. Moderately high inflation has further ensured the anchoring of inflationary expectations preventing prices from weakening demand and growth in India.”

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will Wednesday present the Union budget 2023, her fifth so far. This will be the Narendra Modi-led government's last full budget before the general election of 2024. Details here 

For the February 1st deadline, preparations begin in August-September with the Centre issuing circulars to all state governments, UTs and other autonomous bodies to prepare budget estimates. Then all ministries are also asked to furnish the estimates. All this is collated and then begins the round of consolations. Once all estimates are approved, they are sent to the Union Finance Ministry.

Part B of this process comes when the finance minister holds pre-Budget meets and takes the final call. 

1. India’s economic growth is projected to slow to 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year starting April but will remain the fastest growing major economy in the world, the Economic Survey said. 

2. The survey stated that India is the world’s third largest economy in PPP (purchasing power parity) terms and fifth largest in terms of exchange rate. 

3. It said RBI’s projection of retail inflation at 6.8 per cent in the current fiscal is neither too high to deter private consumption, nor so low as to weaken inducement to invest. 

Presenting its annual budget to parliament on Wednesday, India's government will seek to lower its fiscal deficit while offering incentives for investment and stepping up state spending to support an economy that is caught in the global slowdown. Read here

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Union Budget 2023-24. It can be watched live on Sansad TV as well as live on the Ministry of Finance’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet will take place in the morning to approve the Union Budget 2023-24. After getting the nod from the Cabinet, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget in Parliament.

The Gati Shakti National Master Plan was a key highlight of the union budget for the fiscal year 2022 and it is expected that it will continue to remain in focus for budget 2023, too, as per a Mint report. With India assuming the presidency of G20, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman may focus on green hydrogen and electric vehicles to enable the nation's adoption of green energy. Read our analysis here

Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the union Budget today at 11 am.

The union budget is more technically referred to as the Annual Financial Statement in Article 112 of the Constitution of India

Current budget refers to the total approved estimates of the current expenses of a fiscal year in the Annual Budget Statement.

For the manufacturing sector, the budget is highly anticipated as it is expected to focus on re-energising the manufacturing sector which is trying to recover from the Covid pandemic. The sector expects new policies, concessions and other schemes for growth.

The union budget can be classified into two: revenue budget and capital budget. The revenue budget is made up of revenue receipts - the amount of taxes and other levies the union government expects to collect and revenue expenditures. Revenue receipts. 

Capital expenditures and capital receipts make up the capital budget, which has long-term components. 

The Railway budget is included in the Union Budget which will be tabled today. The expectations of general public include controlling train ticket fares, focus on cleanliness in trains, increase in number of trains among others. The students have demanded that Railways run separate trains for them to appear for exams in other cities.

According to the differences in revenue and expenditure, the budget is categorised into three main types - balanced, surplus and deficit.

1. A balanced budget is when the estimated government expenditure is the same as the expected revenue in a certain financial year.

2. A budget is considered surplus when the government revenue surpasses the expected expenses in a financial year.

3. When the government’s expenses overshoot the revenue during a fiscal year, it is termed as a deficit budget.

The real estate sector has managed to bounce back following the dry spell due to Covid-19 pandemic. The housing sector is eyeing a robust demand in the upcoming financial year. The key expectations include relaxations in taxes, reduction in stamp duty, reduction in GST on raw materials like cement and steel. Arihant Infrastructures, CMD, Ashok Chhajer told ANI that the government should focus on reducing home loan rates. "

The government should reduce home loan rates. The affordable housing segment, which is capped at ₹45 lakh, should be changed to ₹60-75 lakh which is the average cost of a house in Metro cities and 2-tier cities," said Ashok Chhajer.

The union budget is an annual financial statement that lays out the government’s proposed expenditures and revenues for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on April 1 and ends on March 31 of the following year. A comprehensive document that outlines the government’s economic and fiscal policies, it is presented by the Finance Minister of India in the Parliament.

The salaried professionals are the taxpayers who have the most expectations from the Budget. The middle class has been hit the hardest by increasing prices of essentials and fuel price hike. The expectations are rife that the finance minister may tweak income-tax slabs to provide middle class a much needed relief. Recently, Nirmala Sitharaman said she identifies herself as a middle class and understands the pressure faced by the section.

The upcoming Union Budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the people and strive to be a ray of hope for the world amid global economic turmoil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday. 

“Amid the unstable global economic situation, India’s Budget will not only attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens, but the ray of hope being seen by the world will also glow brighter -- for this, I firmly believe that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations.”