Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021
India’s national accreditation system under the Quality Council of India (QCI) has been ranked 5th in the world in the recent Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021.
- India’s overall QI system ranking continues to be in the Top 10 at the 10th position, with
- the standardization system (under BIS) at 9th and
- The metrology system (under NPL-CSIR) at 21st position in the world.
About Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII):
- The GQII ranks the 184 economies in the world on the basis of quality infrastructure (QI).
- The GQII is a database and ranking that allows interested persons to compare the quality infrastructure of different countries worldwide.
- The GQII program is an initiative of the independent consulting firms Mesopartner and Analytics to research and disseminate data on Quality Infrastructure.
- Quality Infrastructure means the international system of metrology, standardization, accreditation and quality-related services (testing, calibration, inspection, verification, training and awareness building).
- GQII rankings are published and presented post-facto for each year based on the data collected till the end of that year.
About Quality Council of India:
- It was established as a National body for Accreditation on recommendations of Expert Mission of EU after consultations in Inter-ministerial Task Force, Committee of Secretaries and Group of Ministers through a Cabinet decision in 1996.
- QCI was set up through a PPP model as an independent autonomous organization with the support of Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations, (i) Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), (ii) Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and (iii) Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
- QCI is a non-profit organization registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860.
- The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry was designated as the nodal point for all matters connected with quality and QCI to structure and help implementation of the Cabinet decision.
- It is operated through the constituent Boards of QCI, primarily the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), which provides accreditation to the certification, inspection, and validation / verification bodies.
- The National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories (NABL), which provides accreditation to the testing, calibration and medical laboratories.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
2023 - 24 బడ్జెట్‌లో ప్రవేశపెట్టిన పథకాలు
ఫిబ్రవరి 1న కేంద్ర ఆర్థికమంత్రి నిర్మలా సీతారామన్ 2023-24కు సంబంధించి బడ్జెట్‌ను ప్రవేశపెట్టారు. అంతర్జాతీయ ఆర్థికమాంద్యం పరిస్థితుల నడుమ ప్రవేశపెట్టిన ఈ బడ్జెట్‌ను అమృతకాల బడ్జెట్‌గా మంత్రి పేర్కొన్నారు. ఇందులో విద్య, యువ నైపుణ్యాలు వంటి కొన్ని అంశాలకు పెద్దపీట వేయగా, వ్యవసాయం వంటివాటిని ఎప్పటిలాగే కొనసాగించారు. ఈ ఏడాది కొన్ని కొత్త పథకాలను మంత్రి ప్రవేశపెట్టారు.
iGOT కర్మయోగి (iGOT Karmayogi):
ప్రభుత్వ ఉద్యోగాల్లో ఉన్న లక్షలాది మంది తమలోని నైపుణ్యాలు పెంచుకోడానికి ప్రవేశపెట్టిందే ఈ పథకం. ఇందులో ఇంటిగ్రేటెడ్ ఆన్‌లైన్‌ లెర్నింగ్ విధానంలో ఉద్యోగులు స్కిల్స్‌ నేర్చుకోవచ్చు.
ఎంఎస్ఎంఈ (MSME):
చిన్న, మధ్య తరహ సంస్థలకు రుణాలు మంజూరు చేసే ఈ పథకానికి రూ.9,000 కోట్లు కేటాయించింది. రూ.రెండు లక్షల కోట్ల తనఖా లేని రుణాలకు ఇది ఉపయోగపడుతుంది. రుణ వ్యయం ఒక శాతం మేర తగ్గుతుంది.
మహిళా సమ్మాన్ బచత్ పాత్రా (Mahila Samman Bachat Patra):
ఆజాదీకా అమృత్ మహోత్సవ్‌ను పురస్కరించుకుని రూపొందించిన పథకం. ఇందులో మహిళ లేదా బాలిక పేరు మీద రూ.2 లక్షలు డిపాజిట్ చేయాలి. రెండు సంవత్సరాల తర్వాత అంటే 2025 మార్చి తర్వాత తీసుకోవచ్చు. దీనికి 7.5 వడ్డీ ఇస్తారు. మధ్యలో అవసరాన్ని బట్టి నగదు తీసుకునే అవకాశం కూడా ఉంది.
పీఎం ప్రణామ్ (PM PRANAM):
వ్యవసాయంలో ఎరువుల వాడకాన్ని తగ్గించి, నేలను కాపాడుకునేందుకు ప్రవేశపెట్టిందే ఇది. రసాయన ఎరువుల వాడకాన్ని తగ్గించి సేంద్రియ ఎరువులు వాడేలా ప్రోత్సహించడం. రైతులకు అవగాహన కల్పించడం.
అమృత్ దరోహర్ పథకం (Amrit Dharohar Scheme):
చిత్తడి నేలల వినియోగం పెంచేందుకు, జీవ వైవిధ్యాన్ని కాపాడుకునేందుకు, భూమిలో కార్బన్ నిల్వలు పెంచుకోవడం ద్వారా పర్యావరణ సమతుల్యతను కాపాడుకోవడం దీని లక్ష్యాలు. రాబోయే మూడేళ్లు ఈ పథకాన్ని అమలు చేయనున్నారు.
పీఎం మత్స్య సంపద యోజన:
మత్స్యకారులు, చేపల విక్రేతలు వంటి చిరు రంగాల వారు ఆర్థికాభివృద్ధి సాధించేందుకు, వారి వ్యాపారాన్ని మరింత విస్తరించుకునేందుకు ఈ పథకాన్ని ప్రవేశపెట్టారు. దీనికి గాను రూ.6,000 కోట్లు కేటాయించారు. వీటికి సంబంధించిన కొత్త పరిశ్రమలను ఏర్పాటు చేయడానికి పరిశీలించి నిధులు మంజూరు చేస్తారు.
గోబర్దన్ పథకం (GOBARdhan):
అంటే గాల్వనైజింగ్ ఆర్గానిక్ బయో అగ్రో రిసోర్సెస్) రూ.పదివేల కోట్ల పెట్టుబడితో 500 ప్లాంట్లు స్థాపిస్తారు. ఇందులో జీవ వ్యర్థాల నుంచి బయోగ్యాస్‌ తయారుచేస్తారు.
గ్రీన్ క్రెడిట్ ప్రొగ్రాం (Green Credit Programme):
పర్యావరణ రక్షణ కోసం, కాలుష్య కారకాలను తగ్గించి పర్యావరణ సమతుల్యత పాటించేలా ప్రణాళిక అమలు చేయడమే దీని ముఖ్య ఉద్దేశం. వనరులు పెంచేలా ప్రోత్సహించడం, ప్రత్యేక కార్యాచరణ అమలు చేయడం.నేషనల్ అప్రెంటిస్ షిప్ ప్రమోషన్ స్కీం: యువతల్లో నైపుణ్యాలు ప్రోత్సహించడానికి ఈ స్కీం ఉపయోగపడుతుంది. మూడు సంవత్సరాలలో 47 లక్షల మందికి స్టైఫండ్ ఇస్తారు.
ల్యాబ్ గ్రోన్ డైమండ్స్ (Lab Grown Diamonds):
స్వదేశీ విజ్ఞానాన్ని ప్రోత్సహించి, దిగుమతులు తగ్గించుకునేందుకు LGD స్కీం ఉపయోగపడుతుంది. స్వదేశీ విత్తనాలు, యంత్రాలు రూపొందించేలా చూడటం, వీటికి సంబంధించిన పరిశోధనలపై ఆర్థిక సహకారం అందించడం.
Monday, February 6, 2023
PRADHAN MANTRI KRISHI SINCHAYEE YOJANA
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched during the year 2015-16 to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc.
PMKSY is an umbrella scheme, consisting of two major components being implemented by the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, namely, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), and Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP). HKKP, in turn, consists of four sub-components: (i) Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM); (ii) Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI); (iii) Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies; and (iv) Ground Water (GW) Development. In 2016, with the launching of revised AIBP format, CAD&WM sub-component of HKKP was taken up for pari passu implementation with AIBP.
In addition, PMKSY consists of two other components implemented by other Ministries. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component is being implemented by Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, while Watershed Development component (WDC) of PMKSY is being implemented by Department of Land Resources.
Further, in December, 2021, implementation of PMKSY for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 has been approved by Government of India. However, approval of Ground Water component under PMKSY-HKKP has provisionally been accorded till 2021-22, which has been extended subsequently till completion of ongoing works. Also, Per Drop More Crop component, which was earlier a component of PMKSY, is now being implemented separately.
World Wetlands Day
The World Wetlands Day is observed on 2nd February every year all over the world to commemorate the signing of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in 1971. India is a party to the Convention since 1982 and has so far declared 75 wetlands as Ramsar sites covering 23 states and Union Territories.
The 2023 theme for World Wetlands Day is ‘Wetland Restoration’ which highlights the urgent need to prioritize wetland restoration. It is a call on an entire generation to take proactive action for wetlands, by investing financial, human and political capital to save the wetlands from disappearing and to revive and restore those that have been degraded.
India has the largest network of Ramsar Sites in Asia, making these sites a critical ecological network for conservation of global biological diversity and supporting human well-being. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched Mission Sahbhagita in 2022 with a mission of ‘a healthy and effectively managed network of 75 wetlands of national and international significance which support water and food security; buffer from floods, droughts, cyclones and other extreme events; employment generation; conservation of species of local, national and international significance; climate change mitigation and adaptation actions; and recognition, conservation and celebration of cultural heritage.’
First Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting held in Bengaluru
The first G20 Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) Meeting under India’s Presidency will begin in Bengaluru on 05 February 2023.
Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shri R.K. Singh will deliver keynote address of the three-day event. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Shri Pralhad Joshi will give special address.
The first G20 ETWG Meeting under India’s Presidency being held in Bengaluru will have over 150 participants including G20 member countries, nine special invitee guest countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, UAE and Spain. India’s G20 Presidency will share, collaborate, and build on the sense of trusteeship amongst the member countries to help build a sustainable future for all.
The priority areas of ETWG meeting include Energy Transition through Addressing Technology Gaps; Low-cost Financing for Energy Transition; Energy Security and Diversified Supply Chains; Energy Efficiency, Industrial Low Carbon Transitions and Responsible Consumption; Fuels for Future (3F) and Universal Access to Clean Energy and Just, Affordable, and Inclusive Energy Transition Pathways.
The Energy Transitions Working Group while retaining focus on achieving energy transition, will emphasize on addressing technology gaps and financing to ensure that it is delivered across countries in a time-bound and affordable manner without compromising the energy needs of the communities.
The expected outcomes of the deliberations would include agreement to advance cooperation initiatives under Research and Development-20 roadmap for channelizing adequate low-cost international finance towards deployment of critical technologies, declaration on collective efforts to ensure energy security and diversified supply chains of new energy sources, roadmap for doubling global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030, action plan for enhancing and promoting
bio-energy cooperation, and recommendations on global best practices for supporting Just, Affordable, and Inclusive energy transitions.
On the sidelines, a high-level international seminar on ‘Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)’ has been organized. The seminar will focus on highlighting the importance of carbon capture, utilization, and storage, considered vital for achieving net-zero targets.
As part of the first ETWG Meeting, delegates will also visit Infosys Green Building Campus and Pavagada Solar Park to see first-hand India’s push towards renewable sector and efforts to mitigate climate change.
Indian Semiconductor Mission
India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) has been setup as an Independent Business Division within Digital India Corporation having administrative and financial autonomy to formulate and drive India’s long-term strategies for developing semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design ecosystem. Envisioned to be led by global experts in the Semiconductor and Display industry, ISM is serving as the nodal agency for efficient, coherent and smooth implementation of the programme for development of semiconductor and manufacturing ecosystem in India.
Objectives of ISM are as under:
- Formulate a comprehensive long-term strategy for developing sustainable semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design eco-system in the country in consultation with the Government ministries / departments / agencies, industry, and academia.
- Facilitate the adoption of secure microelectronics and developing trusted semiconductor supply chain, including raw materials, specialty chemicals, gases, and manufacturing equipment.
- Enable a multi-fold growth of Indian semiconductor design industry by providing requisite support in the form of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, foundry services and other suitable mechanisms for early-stage start-ups.
- Promote and facilitate indigenous Intellectual Property (IP) generation.
- Encourage, enable and incentivize Transfer of Technologies (ToT).
- Establish suitable mechanisms to harness economies of scale in Indian semiconductor and display industry.
- Enable cutting-edge research in semiconductors and display industry including evolutionary and revolutionary technologies through grants, global collaborations and other mechanisms in academia / research institutions, industry, and through establishing Centres of Excellence (CoEs).
- Enable collaborations and partnership programs with national and international agencies, industries and institutions for catalysing collaborative research, commercialization and skill development.
ISM has been working as nodal agency for the Schemes approved under Semicon India Programme. The applications were received by ISM and are being appraised by ISM. ISM has also been engaging with various stakeholders of Semiconductors and Display ecosystem to attract the investments in India. So far INR 13 crore has been released to ISM.
Government is very focused on its important objective of building the overall semiconductor ecosystem and ensure that, it in-turn catalyses India’s rapidly expanding electronics manufacturing and innovation ecosystem. Government has approved the Semicon India programme with a total outlay of INR 76,000 crore for the development of semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The programme has further been modified in view of the aggressive incentives offered by countries already having an established semiconductor ecosystem and a limited number of companies owning advanced node technologies. The modified programme aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem. This will serve to pave the way for India’s growing presence in the global electronics value chains.
Following four schemes have been introduced under the aforesaid programme:
- ‘Modified Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India’ for attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country to strengthen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem and help establish a trusted value chain. The Scheme extends a fiscal support of 50% of the project cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Silicon CMOS based Semiconductor Fab in India.
- ‘Modified Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India’ for attracting large investments for manufacturing TFT LCD or AMOLED based display panels in the country to strengthen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem. Scheme extends fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Display Fabs in India.
- ‘Modified Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab / Discrete Semiconductors Fab and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in India’ shall extends a fiscal support of 50% of the Capital Expenditure on Pari-passu basis for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab/ Discrete Semiconductor Fab and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India.
- ‘Semicon India Future Design: Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme’offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design. The scheme provides “Product Design Linked Incentive” of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject to a ceiling of ₹15 Crore per application and “Deployment Linked Incentive” of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over 5 years subject to a ceiling of ₹30 Crore per application.
In addition to the above schemes, the Government has also approved modernisation of Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Mohali as a brownfield Fab.
The government has reached out foreign semiconductor companies and invited them to set up semiconductor and display manufacturing facilities in the country. As a result, India Semiconductor Mission, a Nodal Agency setup for implementation of the programme has received proposals under all schemes which are currently under consideration.
MoHUA signs MoU to develop Waste to Wealth plants in million plus cities
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2023-2024 listing the seven priorities or the ‘Saptarishi’ guiding us through the Amrit Kaal. In the ‘Green Growth’ segment, 500 new Waste to Wealth plants will be established under the GOBARdhan scheme for promoting circular economy. These will include 200 compressed biogas plants, 75 in urban areas, 300 community or cluster-based plants, at a total investment of Rs 10,000 Cr.
As part of furthering the ‘Green Growth’ agenda, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Engineers India Limited to develop Waste to Energy and bio-methanation projects in cities with a population of million plus. In the presence of Mr. Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA and Ms. Vartika Shukla, C&MD, EIL, the MoU was signed by Ms. Roopa Mishra, Joint Secretary, SBM-U & Mission Director, MoHUA and Mr. R.K. Rathi, Executive Director, EIL.
The thrust on sustainable solid waste management has been strengthened under the ambit of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, with the overall vision of creating garbage-free cities. Focusing on this objective, MoHUA has decided to set up large-scale solid waste processing facilities in million plus cities. There are 59 million plus cities in India like Lucknow, Kanpur, Bareilly, Nasik, Thane, Nagpur, Gwalior, Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore to name a few. For management of organic/wet fraction of municipal solid waste bio-methanation plants have been proposed in these million plus cities.
In February 2022, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, inaugurated Asia’s biggest municipal solid waste based GOBARdhan plant in Indore aiming to generate 19,000 kg bio-CNG gas. Under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, the bio-methanation plants linked to the GOBARdhan and SATAT schemes will produce Bio-CNG as a renewable energy.
Waste to Energy plants use dry waste fraction of municipal solid waste and produce renewable power with maximum reduction of waste volume utilizing least space in execution in compliance with SWM Rules 2016 and fulfill all the statutory norms of environment protection. Waste to Energy and bio-methanation projects will integrate the concept of circularity in waste management by producing green energy from dry and wet waste component of municipal solid waste. The by-product such as electricity and Bio-CNG will also help in achieving sustainability of waste management operations.
EIL will assist and handhold the million plus cities in developing such projects for larger quantum of waste integrating circularity in waste management. In the first phase, 25 million plus cities will be selected for developing large-scale process plants. The success of these projects will be pivotal as it will be conceptualized and executed as bench-marking for such projects. Thus, collaboration for providing support in preliminary technical assessment and Transaction Advisory services from EIL will have significant impact. EIL will also handhold ULBs in carrying out monitoring process of these PPP projects during the construction phase and will assist in obtaining statutory approvals. The initiative will result in additional processing capacity of 15,000 TPD for Bio-Methanation and 10,000 TPD for Waste to Energy respectively.
URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND TO BE ESTABLISHED
States and cities will be encouraged to undertake urban planning reforms and actions to transform cities into ‘sustainable cities of tomorrow’. This means efficient use of land resources, adequate resources for urban infrastructure, transit-oriented development, enhanced availability and affordability of urban land, and opportunities for all. This was stated by Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in the Parliament on 01-02-2013.
Urban Infrastructure Development Fund:
Smt. Sitharaman mentioned that an Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) will be established through use of priority sector lending shortfall. This will be managed by the National Housing Bank, and will be used by public agencies to create urban infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Making Cities Ready for Municipal Bonds
The Finance Minister said that the cities will be incentivized to improve their credit worthiness for municipal bonds. This will be done through property tax governance reforms and ring-fencing user charges on urban infrastructure.
Urban Sanitation
All cities and towns will be enabled for 100 per cent mechanical desludging of septic tanks and sewers to transition from manhole to machine-hole mode. Enhanced focus will be provided for scientific management of dry and wet waste.
SUMMARY OF THE UNION BUDGET 2023-24
In the 75th year of India’s Independence, the World has recognized the Indian Economy as a ‘bright star’ as the Economic Growth is estimated at 7 per cent, which is the highest among all major economies, in spite of the massive global slowdown caused by COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine War. This was stated by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament today. She emphasized that Indian economy is on the right track, and despite a time of challenges, heading towards a bright future.
PART-A
Smt. Sitharaman said that this Budget hopes to build on the foundation laid in the previous Budget, and the blueprint drawn for India@100, which envisions a prosperous and inclusive India, where the fruits of development reach all regions and citizens, especially our youth, women, farmers, OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Resilience amidst multiple crises
The Finance Minister said that India’s rising global profile is due to several accomplishments like unique World Class Digital Public Infrastructure namely, Aadhaar, Co-Win and UPI; COVID-19 vaccination drive in unparalleled scale and speed; proactive role in frontier areas such as achieving the climate related goals, mission LiFE, and National Hydrogen Mission.
She said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, Government ensured that no one goes to bed hungry, with a scheme to supply free food grains to over 80 Crore persons for 28 months. The Minister added that continuing with Centre’s commitment to ensure food and nutritional security, Government is implementing, from 1st January 2023, a scheme to supply free food grain to all Antyodaya and priority households for the next one year, under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). The entire expenditure of about Rs 2 lakh crore will be borne by the Central Government.
G20 Presidency: Steering the global agenda through challenges
The Finance Minister pointed out that in these times of global challenges; the G20 Presidency gives India a unique opportunity to strengthen its role in the world economic order. With the theme of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, India is steering an ambitious, people-centric agenda to address global challenges, and to facilitate sustainable economic development, she added.
Achievements since 2014: Leaving no one behind
Smt. Sitharaman said that the government’s efforts since 2014 have ensured for all citizens a better quality of living and a life of dignity and the per capita income has more than doubled to Rs 1.97 lakh. She said that in these nine 9 years, the Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world. Moreover, the economy has become a lot more formalized as reflected in the EPFO membership, more than doubling to 27 crore, and 7,400 crore digital payments of Rs 126 lakh crore through UPI in 2022.
The Finance Minister pointed out that the efficient implementation of many schemes, with universalisation of targeted benefits, has resulted in inclusive development and listed some of the schemes such as 11.7 crore household toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission, 9.6 crore LPG connections under Ujjawala, 220 crore Covid vaccinations of 102 crore persons, 47.8 crore PM Jan Dhan Bank Accounts, Insurance cover for 44.6 crore persons under PM Suraksha Bima and PM Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, and Cash transfer of Rs 2.2 lakh crore to over 11.4 crore farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.
Vision for Amrit Kaal – an empowered and inclusive economy
The Finance Minister said that our vision for the Amrit Kaal includes technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances, and a robust financial sector and to achieve this, Jan Bhagidari through Sabka Saath Sabka Prayas is essential. She added that the economic agenda for achieving this vision focuses on three things and those are facilitating ample opportunities for citizens, especially the youth, to fulfill their aspirations, secondly, providing strong impetus to growth and job creation and finally to strengthen macro-economic stability. She added that to service these focus areas in our journey to India@100, the following four opportunities can be transformative during Amrit Kaal-
- Economic Empowerment of Women: Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission has achieved remarkable success by mobilizing rural women into 81 lakh Self Help Groups and we will enable these groups to reach the next stage of economic empowerment through formation of large producer enterprises or collectives with each having several thousand members and managed professionally.
- PM VIshwakarma KAushal Samman (PM VIKAS): For centuries, traditional artisans and craftspeople, who work with their hands using tools, have brought renown for India and they are generally referred to as Vishwakarma. The art and handicraft created by them represents the true spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The Finance Minister informed that for the first time, a package of assistance for them has been conceptualized and the new scheme will enable them to improve the quality, scale and reach of their products, integrating them with the MSME value chain. The components of the scheme will include not only financial support but also access to advanced skill training, knowledge of modern digital techniques and efficient green technologies, brand promotion, linkage with local and global markets, digital payments, and social security. This will greatly benefit the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, women and people belonging to the weaker sections.
- Tourism: The Finance Minister said that the country offers immense attraction for domestic as well as foreign tourists, as there is a large potential to be tapped in tourism. She added that the sector holds huge opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship for youth in particular and emphasized that promotion of tourism will be taken up on mission mode, with active participation of states, convergence of government programmes and public-private partnerships.
- Green Growth: Dwelling on the subject of Green Growth, the FM said that India is implementing many programmes for green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, and green equipment, and policies for efficient use of energy across various economic sectors. These green growth efforts help in reducing carbon intensity of the economy and provides for largescale green job opportunities, she added.
Priorities of this Budget
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman listed seven priorities of the Union Budget and said that they complement each other and act as the ‘Saptarishi’ guiding us through the Amrit Kaal. They are as follows: 1) Inclusive Development 2) Reaching the Last Mile 3) Infrastructure and Investment 4) Unleashing the Potential 5) Green Growth 6) Youth Power 7) Financial Sector
Priority 1: Inclusive Development
The Government’s philosophy of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas has facilitated inclusive development covering in specific, farmers, women, youth, OBCs, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, divyangjan and economically weaker sections, and overall priority for the underprivileged (vanchiton ko variyata). There has also been a sustained focus on Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and the North-East. This Budget builds on those efforts.
Agriculture and Cooperation
Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture
The Finance Minister said that the Digital Public infrastructure for agriculture will be built as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good. She said, this will enable inclusive, farmer-centric solutions through relevant information services for crop planning and health, improved access to farm inputs, credit, and insurance, help for crop estimation, market intelligence, and support for growth of agri-tech industry and start-ups.
Agriculture Accelerator Fund
The FM announces that an Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set-up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas, which will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. It will also bring in modern technologies to transform agricultural practices, increase productivity and profitability.
Enhancing productivity of cotton crop
To enhance the productivity of extra-long staple cotton, Government will adopt a cluster-based and value chain approach through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). This will mean collaboration between farmers, state and industry for input supplies, extension services, and market linkages.
Atmanirbhar Horticulture Clean Plant Programme
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Government will launch an Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme to boost availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high value horticultural crops at an outlay of Rs 2,200 crore.
Global Hub for Millets: ‘Shree Anna’
Smt. Sitharaman quoted Prime Minister as saying, “India is at the forefront of popularizing Millets, whose consumption furthers nutrition, food security and welfare of farmers”. She said that India is the largest producer and second largest exporter of ‘Shree Anna’ in the world as it grows several types of 'Shree Anna' such as jowar, ragi, bajra, kuttu, ramdana, kangni, kutki, kodo, cheena, and sama.
She mentioned that these have a number of health benefits, and have been an integral part of our food for centuries and acknowledged with pride that the huge service done by small farmers in contributing to the health of fellow citizens by growing these ‘Shree Anna’. She added that to make India a global hub for 'Shree Anna', the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
Agriculture Credit
Dwelling on welfare measures for farmers, the Finance Minister announced that the agriculture credit target will be increased to Rs 20 lakh crore with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.
She informed that the Government will launch a new sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana with targeted investment of Rs 6,000 crore to further enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies, and expand the market.
Cooperation
For farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, and other marginalized sections, the government is promoting cooperative-based economic development model. A new Ministry of Cooperation was formed with a mandate to realize the vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’. To realise this vision, the government has already initiated computerization of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of Rs 2,516 crore.
In consultation with all stakeholders and states, model bye-laws for PACS were formulated enabling them to become multipurpose PACS. A national cooperative database is being prepared for country-wide mapping of cooperative societies.
Smt. Sitharaman said that Government will implement a plan to set up massive decentralized storage capacity, which will help farmers store their produce and realize remunerative prices through sale at appropriate times. The government will also facilitate setting up of a large number of multipurpose cooperative societies, primary fishery societies and dairy cooperative societies in uncovered panchayats and villages in the next 5 years.
Health, Education and Skilling
Medical & Nursing Colleges
The Finance Minister announced that one hundred and fifty-seven new nursing colleges will be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. She also informed that a Mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia by 2047 will be launched, which will entail awareness creation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and counseling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments. On Medical Research, she said that facilities in select ICMR Labs will be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty and private sector R&D teams for encouraging collaborative research and innovation.
Dwelling on the subject of Pharma Innovation, the Finance Minister informed that a new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through centers of excellence. She said that the Government will also encourage industry to invest in research and development in specific priority areas.
Teachers’ Training
Smt. Sitharaman said that Teachers’ training will be re-envisioned through innovative pedagogy, curriculum transaction, continuous professional development, dipstick surveys, and ICT implementation. She added that the District Institutes of Education and Training will be developed as vibrant institutes of excellence for this purpose.
She also informed that a National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents will be set-up for facilitating availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device agnostic accessibility. States will be encouraged to set up physical libraries for them at panchayat and ward levels and provide infrastructure for accessing the National Digital Library resources.
Additionally, to build a culture of reading, and to make up for pandemic-time learning loss, the National Book Trust, Children’s Book Trust and other sources will be encouraged to provide and replenish non-curricular titles in regional languages and English to these physical libraries.
Priority 2: Reaching the Last Mile
The Finance Minister said that Prime Minister Vajpayee’s government had formed the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Department of Development of North-Eastern Region to provide a sharper focus to the objective of ‘reaching the last mile’. She said that Modi Government has formed the ministries of AYUSH, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Skill Development, Jal Shakti and Cooperation.
Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme
Smt. Sitharaman informed that building on the success of the Aspirational Districts Programme, the Government has recently launched the Aspirational Blocks Programme covering 500 blocks for saturation of essential government services across multiple domains such as health, nutrition, education, agriculture, water resources, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure.
Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission
The Finance Minister said that to improve socio-economic conditions of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs), Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission will be launched. This will saturate PVTG families and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity, and sustainable livelihood opportunities. An amount of Rs 15,000 crore will be made available to implement the Mission in the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes. Smt. Sitharaman announced that in the next three years, centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students.
Water for Drought Prone Region
The Finance Minister said that in the drought prone central region of Karnataka, central assistance of Rs 5,300 crore will be given to Upper Bhadra Project to provide sustainable micro irrigation and filling up of surface tanks for drinking water.
PM Awas Yojana
In an important announcement, the Finance Minister said that the outlay for PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66 per cent to over Rs 79,000 crore.
‘Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions’ will be set up in a digital epigraphy museum, with digitization of one lakh ancient inscriptions in the first stage.
Priority 3: Infrastructure & Investment
Smt. Sitharaman said, investments in Infrastructure and productive capacity have a large multiplier impact on growth and employment and in view of this capital investment outlay is being increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP. She said that this will be almost three times the outlay in 2019-20. The ‘Effective Capital Expenditure’ of the Centre is budgeted at Rs 13.7 lakh crore, which will be 4.5 per cent of GDP.
Support to State Governments for Capital Investment
The Finance Minister informed that the Government has 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.
Railways
The Finance Minister announced that a capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which is the highest ever outlay and about 9 times the outlay made in 2013- 14.
She also informed that one hundred critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer, and food grains sectors have been identified and they will be taken up on priority with investment of Rs 75,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources.
Smt. Sitharaman said that fifty additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes and advance landing grounds will be revived for improving regional air connectivity.
The Finance Minister announced that an Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) will be established through use of priority sector lending shortfall, which will be managed by the National Housing Bank, and will be used by public agencies to create urban infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. She said that States will be encouraged to leverage resources from the grants of the 15th Finance Commission, as well as existing schemes, to adopt appropriate user charges while accessing the UIDF.
Smt. Sitharaman said that Government will make available Rs 10,000 crore per annum for this purpose.
Priority 4: Unleashing the Potential
The Finance Minister said that for enhancing ease of doing business, more than 39,000 compliances have been reduced and more than 3,400 legal provisions have been decriminalized. She added that for furthering the trustbased governance, Government has introduced the Jan Vishwas Bill to amend 42 Central Acts.
Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence
The Finance Minister said that for realizing the vision of “Make A-I in India and Make A-I work for India”, three centers of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set-up in top educational institutions. Leading industry players will partner in conducting interdisciplinary research, develop cutting-edge applications and scalable problem solutions in the areas of agriculture, health, and sustainable cities, which will galvanize an effective A-I ecosystem and nurture quality human resources in the field.
National Data Governance Policy.
The FM said that to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia, a National Data Governance Policy will be brought out, which will enable access to anonymized data.
She also announced that An Entity DigiLocker will be set up for use by MSMEs, large business and charitable trusts for storing and sharing documents online securely, whenever needed, with various authorities, regulators, banks and other business entities.
On 5G Services, she announced that one hundred labs for developing applications using 5G services will be set up in engineering institutions to realize a new range of opportunities, business models, and employment potential. The labs will cover, among others, applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems, and health care applications.
Priority 5: Green Growth
Smt. Sitharaman said that Prime Minister has given a vision for “LiFE”, or Lifestyle for Environment, to spur a movement of environmentally conscious lifestyle. India is moving forward firmly for the ‘panchamrit’ and net-zero carbon emission by 2070 to usher in green industrial and economic transition.
She said, this Budget builds on the focus on green growth. The recently launched National Green Hydrogen Mission, with an outlay of Rs 19,700 crores, will facilitate transition of the economy to low carbon intensity, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and make the country assume technology and market leadership in this sunrise sector. The target is to reach an annual production of 5 MMT by 2030.
The Budget also provides Rs35,000 crore for priority capital investments towards energy transition and net zero objectives, and energy security by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
The Finance Minister said that to steer the economy on the sustainable development path, Battery Energy Storage Systems with capacity of 4,000 MWH will be supported with Viability Gap Funding.
She also informed that the Inter-state transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of 13 GW renewable energy from Ladakh will be constructed with investment of Rs 20,700 crore including central support of Rs 8,300 crore.
GOBARdhan scheme
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced that 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme will be established for promoting circular economy. These will include 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants, including 75 plants in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based plants at total investment of Rs 10,000 crore.
She said, in due course, a 5 per cent CBG mandate will be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and bio gas and for collection of bio-mass and distribution of bio-manure, appropriate fiscal support will be provided.
Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres
The Finance Minister announced that over the next 3 years, the Centre will facilitate one crore farmers to adopt natural farming. For this, 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set-up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing network.
The Finance Minister said that in furtherance of the vehicle scrapping policy mentioned in Budget 2021-22, she has allocated adequate funds to scrap old vehicles of the Central Government and States will also be supported in replacing old vehicles and ambulances.
Priority 6: Youth Power
The Finance Minister said that to empower the youth and help the ‘Amrit Peedhi’ realize their dreams, Government has formulated the National Education Policy, focused on skilling, adopted economic policies that facilitate job creation at scale, and have supported business opportunities.
She also announced that Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will be launched to skill lakhs of youth within the next three years. On-job training, industry partnership, and alignment of courses with needs of industry will be emphasized. The scheme will also cover new age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.
She also announced that to skill youth for international opportunities, 30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across different States.
National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that to provide stipend support to 47 lakh youth in three years, Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme will be rolled out.
Unity Mall
The FM said that States will be encouraged to set up a Unity Mall in their state capital or most prominent tourism centre or the financial capital for promotion and sale of their own ODOPs (one district, one product), GI products and other handicraft products, and for providing space for such products of all other States.
Priority 7: Financial Sector
Credit Guarantee for MSMEs
The Finance Minster said that last year, she proposed revamping of the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs and announced happily that the revamped scheme will take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus. This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore. Further, the cost of the credit will be reduced by about 1 per cent.
Smt. Sitharaman said that a National Financial Information Registry will be set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information. This will facilitate efficient flow of credit, promote financial inclusion, and foster financial stability. A new legislative framework will govern this credit public infrastructure, and it will be designed in consultation with the RBI.
She also announced that a Central Processing Centre will be setup for faster response to companies through centralized handling of various forms filed with field offices under the Companies Act.
For commemorating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, will be made available for a two-year period up to March 2025. This will offer deposit facility upto Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for a tenor of 2 years at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.
Senior Citizens
The Finance Minister announced that the maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
Also, 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 joint account.
Fiscal Management
Fifty-year interest free loan to States
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the entire fifty-year loan to states has to be spent on capital expenditure within 2023-24. Most of this will be at the discretion of states, but a part will be conditional on states increasing their actual capital expenditure. She said, parts of the outlay will also be linked to, or allocated for, the following purposes: like Scrapping old government vehicles, Urban planning reforms and actions, Financing reforms in urban local bodies to make them, creditworthy for municipal bonds, Housing for police personnel above or as part of police stations, Constructing Unity Malls, Children and adolescents’ libraries and digital infrastructure and State share of capital expenditure of central schemes.
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 Revised Estimate of the total expenditure is Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs 7.3 lakh crore. Similarly, the Revised Estimate of the fiscal deficit is 6.4 per cent of GDP, adhering to the Budget Estimate.
Budget Estimates 2023-24
Concluding the Part-One of the General Budget, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman said that the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at Rs 27.2 lakh crore and Rs 45 lakh crore respectively. 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.
She said that in her Budget Speech for 2021-22, she had announced that Government plans 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. She said that the Government has adhered to this path, and reiterated to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
Smt. Sitharaman said, to finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs11.8 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.
Part B
Smt Nirmala Sitharaman provides major relief in the personal income tax. The indirect tax proposals contained in the budget aim to promote exports enhance domestic value addition, encourage green energy and mobility.
Personal Income Tax
There are five major announcements relating to the personal income tax. The rebate limit in the new tax regime has been increased to ₹ 7 lakh, meaning that peons in the new tax regime with income upto ₹ 7 lakh will not have to pay any tax. The tax structure in the new personal tax regime has been changed by reducing number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to ₹ 3 lakh. This will provide major relief to all tax payers in the new regime.
The benefit of standard deduction has been extended to the salaried class and the pensioners including family pensioner under the new tax regime. Salaried individual will get standard deduction of ₹ 50,000 and pensioner ₹ 15,000 as per the proposal. Each salaried person with an income of ₹ 15.5 lakh or more will thus gain ₹ 52,500, from the above proposals.
The highest surcharge rate in personal income tax has been reduced from 37% to 25% in the new tax regime for income above ₹2 crore. This would result in maximum tax rate of personal income tax come down to 39% which was earlier 42.74%.
The limit of tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees has been increased from ₹3 lakh to ₹25 lakh.
The new income tax regime has been made the default tax regime. However, the citizens will continue to have the option to avail the benefit of the old tax regime.
Indirect Tax Proposals
The indirect tax proposals announced in the budget by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized on simplification of tax structure with fewer tax rates so as to help in reducing compliance burden and improving tax administration. The number of basic customs duty rates on goods, other than textiles and agriculture, has been reduced from 21 to 13. There are minor changes in the basic customs duties, cesses and surcharges on items including toys, bicycles, automobiles and naphtha.
To avoid cascading of taxes on blended compressed natural gas, excise duty on GST-paid compressed bio-gas contained in it has been exempted from excise duty. Customs duty exemption has been extended to import of capital goods and machinery required for manufacture of lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles.
To further deepen domestic value addition in manufacture of mobile phones, the Finance Minister announced relief in customs duty on import of certain parts and inputs like camera lens. The concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries will continue for another year. Basic customs duty on parts of open cells of TV panels has been reduced to 2.5%. The Budget also proposes changes in the basic customs duty to rectify inversion of duty structure and encourage manufacturing of electrical kitchen chimneys.
Denatured ethyl alcohol has been exempted from basic customs duty. Basic customs duty has also been reduced on acid grade fluorspar and crude glycerin. Duty is being reduced on key inputs for domestic manufacture of shrimp feed. Basic customs duty on seeds used in the manufacture of Lab Grown Diamonds has also been reduced. The import duty on silver dore, bars and articles has been increased to align them with that on gold and platinum. The basic customs duty rate on compounded rubber has been increased. National Calamity Contingent Duty on specified cigarettes has been revised upwards by about 16%. The basic customs duty on crude glycerin for use in manufacture of epicholorhydrin is proposed to be reduced from 7.5% to 2.5%.
Common IT Return Form
The Union Budget also proposes to roll out a next-generation common IT return form for tax payer convenience. It also stipulates a plan to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism for direct taxes. The Finance Minister also announced deployment of about 100 Joint Commissioners for disposals of small appeals in direct tax matters. She also said that the department will be more selective in taking up cases for scrutiny of returns already received this year.
Better targeting of tax concessions
For better targeting of tax concessions and exemptions, deduction from capital gains on investment in residential house has been capped at ₹ 10 crore. Income tax exemption from proceeds of insurance policies with very high value will also have limit. There are a number of proposals relating to rationalization and simplification of direct taxes in the Union Budget.
Other major proposals in the Budget relate to Extension of period of tax benefits to funds relocating to IFSC, GIFT City till 31.03.2025; Decriminalisation under section 276A of the Income Tax Act; Allowing carry forward of losses on strategic disinvestment including that of IDBI Bank; and Providing EEE status to Agniveer Fund.
Proposals relating to MSMEs
Describing MSMEs as growth engines of our economy, the Budget proposes enhanced limits for micro enterprises and certain professionals for availing the benefit of presumptive taxation. To support MSMEs in timely receipt of payments, the Budget allows deduction for expenditure incurred on payments made to them only when payment is actually made.
Cooperation
The Budget has a slew of proposals for the cooperative sector. New cooperatives that commence manufacturing activities till 31st March next year shall get the benefit of a lower tax rate of 15%. The Budget provides an opportunity to sugar cooperatives to claim payments made to sugarcane farmers for the period prior to assessment year 2016-17 as expenditure. A higher limit of ₹ 2 lakh per member has been provided for cash deposits to and loans in cash by Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies and Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks. The Budget proposes a higher limit of ₹ 3 crore for TDS on cash withdrawal for cooperative societies.
Start-ups
The Budget proposes to extend the date of incorporation for income tax benefits to start-ups from 31.03.2023 to 31.03.2024. It also provides the benefit of carry forward of losses on change of shareholding of start-ups from 7 years of incorporation to 10 years.
Amendments in CGST Act
The Budget provides for amending the CGST Act so as to raise the minimum threshold of tax amount for launching prosecution under GST from ₹ 1 crore to ₹ 2 crore, except for the offence of issuance of invoices without supply of goods and services or both. The compounding amount will be reduced from the present range of 50 to 150% of tax amount to the range of 25 to 100%. It will also decriminalize certain clauses of the Act like obstruction and preventing of any officer from discharge of his duties, deliberate tempering of evidence or failure to supply the information.
Implications of tax changes
Announcing the changes in the direct and indirect taxes, the Finance Minister said that revenue of about ₹ 38,000 crore will be foregone as a result of these proposals, while revenue of about ₹3,000 crore will be additionally mobilised. She said thus the total revenue foregone is about ₹35,000 crore annually on account of these proposals.