Union Budget 2023-24 Live: Income Tax Rebate limit increased to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 5 lakh

The rupee pared initial gains and settled 2 paise lower at 81.90 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2023-24.

Forex traders said investors stayed on the sidelines, as they are waiting for the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting later in the evening.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.76 against the greenback and finally settled at 81.90, down 2 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee touched an intraday high of 81.68 and a low of 82.03 against the American currency.

Planning to go abroad or buy stocks from the overseas market? Then get ready to pay more as the Finance Bill has revised the conditions for levying Tax Collected at Source (TCS). The Finance Bill has proposed an amendment in Section 2066 of the Income Tax Act 1961. Accordingly, remittance for buying overseas tour packages will attract TCS at the rate of 20 per cent without any threshold limit during any financial year.

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended on a mixed note on Wednesday as the euphoria about the Budget fizzled out, with investors going for profit-taking ahead of the Fed interest rate decision.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 158.18 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 59,708.08 after it trimmed most of the intra-day gains. During the day, it had zoomed 1,223.54 points or 2 per cent to 60,773.44.

In contrast, the broader NSE Nifty declined 45.85 points or 0.26 per cent to end at 17,616.30.

Indian industry leaders have lauded the Budget 2023-24 as one with vision, structure and discipline that puts India on the path to become “the world champion”.

Technology adoption will get a further boost with the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a slew of initiatives in the Union Budget 2023-24 such as building a digital public infrastructure and creation of an agriculture accelerator fund on Wednesday.

“Digital public infrastructure for agriculture will be built as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good. This will enable six 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,” Sitharaman said.

The government will set up a National Data Governance Policy to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Budget 2023-24, on Wednesday. “This will enable access to anonymised data,” she said.

Meanwhile, for simplification of the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, she said it will be simplified by adopting a ‘risk-based’ instead of a ‘one size fits all’ approach. “The financial sector regulators will also be encouraged to have a KYC system fully amenable to meet the needs of Digital India,” the FM said.

The Centre’s move to halve the basic customs duty on specified parts of open cells of TV panels to 2.5 per cent will boost domestic manufacturing of televisions. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech stated that this is being done to promote value addition in the manufacturing of television

The 16 per cent increase in National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) on specified cigarettes proposed in Union Budget on Wednesday is likely to lead only to a single-digit price hike which can be absorbed by consumers. According to industry experts, the exact picture of the impact will emerge only after the fine print of the proposal is available

Continuing its focus on infrastructure development, The Union Budget for the next financial year, beginning April 2023, has proposed to raise capital expenditure—for the third consecutive year—by 33 per cent to ₹10 lakh crore, which is 3.3 per cent of the GDP.

The 30-share BSE barometer zoomed 1,223.54 points or 2 per cent to its intra-day high of 60,773.44. The broader NSE Nifty jumped 310.05 points or 1.75 per cent to 17,972.20.

​

India will make operational 50 new airports, helipads, and aerodromes to improve regional connectivity, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24.

​​

FM Nirmala Sitharaman has laid down the seven pillars or ‘ Saptarishi’ of Union Budget 2023

The Budget 2023-24 speech in PDF document

“The announcement of opening 3 AI centers in some of the top educational institutions is very timely. The gov needs to urgently supplement and support the work the private sector is doing in the AI space. China is leading us and most of the world in the AI race and we need to catch up fast.” - Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

The FM allocated Rs.19,700 crore for the National Hydrogen mission. The government also announced a target to reach the production capacity of 5 Million Metric Tonnes(MMTA) by 2030. This is in line with India’s achievement of net zero targets by 2070 also reducing India’s imports of fossil fuels. Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani group, L&T, BPCL, HPCL and NTPC would benefit from the green hydrogen mission -SAMCO Securities

“Budget announcements on market borrowing and fiscal deficit (current and future guide path) are quite positive for the markets. Fiscal deficit for FY 23 estimated at 6.4% and for FY 24 at 5.9% along with a firm commitment to bring it down below 4.5% by FY 26 – speaks a lot of fiscal prudence and sanguinity of robust tax collections. FY24 Gross borrowing at 1.54 Trillion and net market Borrowing at 1.18 Trillion is also a big positive from the market perspective. Considering the we are at the end of the tightening cycle and a possible risk of soft landing or mild recession, the smaller than feared deficit and market borrowing in a likely benign rate environment should be taken very well by the markets.” RK Gurumuthy, Head-Treasury, Dhanlaxmi Bank

Govt proposes to cap deductions from capital gains on investments in residential houses to Rs 10 cr: FM Sitharaman.

The Government Securities market rallied, with the yield of the widely traded 7.26 per cent Government Security maturing in 2032 declining about 5 basis points and its price rising about 32 paise, due to lower projection of the fiscal deficit target at 5.9 per cent in FY24 against 6.4 per cent in FY23.

“With additional 50 airports, aerodromes and helipads being planned, the total number of regional airports will increase to over 200. Put another way, that’s air connectivity for every third district in India. Commercial viability, however, will be a key monitorable” - CRISIL

“Customs duty exemption for capital goods used to manufacture lithium ion battery will further support PLI-linked investments. By 2027, India should see 15% of lithium batteries for transport vehicles supplied locally against 0% today” - CRISIL

“Offering states a 50-year loan worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore for capex with autonomy on spending should give a fillip to state capex next fiscal. State capex has been lagging this fiscal, growing just 6% on-year in Apr-Nov compared with a 63% on-year rise in central capex. The uptick in state govt capex should support the irrigation, urban development and power sectors” - CRISIL

Increase in capital outlay by 33% to 10 L cr is very encouraging. The cascading effect of infra spend is well recognised and should be very welcome. On the procedural part of Ease of doing business, the initiatives re KYC simplification and broadbasing of storage of documents on Digilocker will be very helpful.

Tax exemptions under the new tax regime will provide increased disposable income in the hand of salaried consumer which will help boost demand of small and large home appliances thus benefiting Havells, Bajaj Electricals, V-Guard

Tax exemptions under the new tax regime will provide increased disposable income in the hand of salaried consumer which will help boost demand of small and large home appliances thus benefitting Havells, Bajaj Electricals, V-Guard, etc.

“Increase in capital outlay by 33% to 10 lakh crore is very encouraging. The cascading effect of infra spend is well recognised and should be very welcome. On the procedural part of ease of doing business, the initiatives regarding KYC simplification and broadbasing of storage of documents on Digilocker will be very helpful. MSMEs and professionals entitled to presumptive tax will now have higher eligibility limits (Rs 3 crore vs Rs 2 crore, and Rs 75 lakhs vs Rs 50 lakhs, respectively). Also, payments to MSME will be deductible for businesses only on payment basis, rather than accrual basis; whilst a good move from an MSME standpoint, it will enhance compliance burden on businesses” Ketan Dalal, MD, Katalyst Advsiors

Govt to enhance grievance redressal mechanism for direct tax payers:

Increase in tax exemption limit with consequent more disposable income for Indian tax payers in Union Budget 2023-24 is a positive development for domestic automobile space and shall spur growth for domestic passenger vehicle industry. Positive for Maruti Suzuki, M&M and Tata Motors in our coverage universe. It is also positive for premium motorcycle segment with Eicher Motors as key beneficiary with popular Royal Enfield franchise.

Nirmala Sitharaman as she proposes to increases tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh

To benefit banking industry as it will enable better liabilities accretion.

“The first union budget of Amrit Kaal reflects a demand side and supply side focus on key technology such as AI, Robotics and Drones. This includes inclusion of key imperatives such as inclusion and unleashing potential, and creating capability, through centres of excellence in AI, and a skill India platform.

Data embassies under the IFSC framework promise to be an innovative and exciting new avenue of growth for the emerging data centre economy in India.” - Arun Prabhu, Partner & Head – TMT; Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

Carry forward of losses on divestment including IDBI Bank sale will further sweeten the deal for potential bidders. Move positive for ongoing sale

To remove the minimum threshold of Rs 10,000 on TDS.

New income tax regime as default tax regime.

Reduce highest surcharge rate on income tax to be reduced from 37% to 25%

The new tax slabs

Rs 0-3 lakh - nil;

Rs 3-6 lakh - 5%;

Rs 6-9 lakh - 10%;

Rs 9-12 lakhs- 15%;

Rs 12-15 lakh- 20% and

Above Rs 15 lakh- 30%

“Currently, India’s NPK ratio is 7.3:3:1 versus the widely accepted 4:2:1. The PM PRANAM scheme, which aims to reduce usage of chemical fertilisers, can help India move towards more balanced fertiliser applications. It can also help reduce imports, which stand at ~30% today. Continuing the current lower customs duty on lithium ion cells for next fiscal will help keep the cost of battery cells under check. Customs Duty exemption on capital equipment for manufacturing battery cells will encourage investments to manufacture battery cells” - CRISIL

In new tax salaried income will pay Rs 15.5 lakh or more will stand benefit by Rs 52,500

Individual annual income with Rs 9 lakh will pay income tax of about Rs 45000, 25 per cent reduction from rs 60,000

An individual with Annual income of Rs 9 lakh will pay Rs 45,000 only now

“The achievement of Rs 126 lakh crores of digital payments through UPI in 2022 from Rs 7400 crores is a big milestone for India. Initiatives including extension of Bharat Bill Payments System for NRIs, approval of Rs 2,600 crores incentive scheme for FY24 for RuPay debit card and UPI transactions, and growing digital payment acceptance with digital infrastructure have given a big boost to digital payments via UPI in India as well as global level. Additionally, the government is aiming to set up 100 labs for developing 5G apps. 5G technology in financial sector will ensure faster and efficient digital transactions.” Rajri Rengan, Head of Banking and Payments, India and Phillipines, FIS

In New tax regime individuals with income upto Rs 7 lakh will not pay tax

Rebate : Income Tax Rebate limit increased to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 5 lakh

Sugar companies to get relief of Rs 10,000 crore. Positive for sugar company stocks such as Shree Renuka Sugars, Dwarikesh Sugar, EID Parry, Balrampur Chini and Dhampur Sugar

Five major proposals

Govt proposes to reduce customs duty on import of certain inputs for mobile phone manufacturing

Extend the date of incorporation for ai come a tax by a year. Benefit of carry forward of losses in charge of ownership extended to 10

Years from sevention

Viability gap funding for battery storage capacity of 4000 mwh can engender capex of about Rs 15,000 crore. This should lead to lower tariffs for storage-linked project bids from around Rs 7-9 per unit now. - CRISIL

• Reduction on customs duty on open cells used in production of televisions to 2.5%. This is likely to drive the demand for televisions. This is likely to benefit contract manufacturers like Dixon Technologies

“Government has reduced custom duty on basic Acid Base Fluorspar from 5% to 2.5% . Beneficial for fluorine chemistry players like SRF, Navin as fluorspar is raw material for many fluorine products” - ICICI Direct

Digital public infrastructure for agriculture will be built as an open source, open standard on mission mode, and an interoperable public good, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced presenting the Budget for 2023-24. She said it will help in crop planning and facilitate easy access to inputs and credit for farmers apart from supporting agritech industry and start-ups in crop estimation and market intelligence activities.

Government has reduced custom duty on basic Acid Base Fluorspar from 5% to 2.5% . Beneficial for fluorine chemistry players like SRF, Navin as fluorspar is raw material for many fluorine products: ISec

To reduce customs duty on open cells of TV panels to 2.5%

“Cutting duty on latex. This can help reduce the prices of condoms”: Market experts

Sugar cooperative to claim payments to sugarcane farmers before AY 2017 as tax benefit, Benefits to be at Rs 10,000 crore

“The grant provided to IIT for lab-grown diamonds is a positive. The segment has seen a steep 54% growth in exports on-year, and accounted for 5% of total diamond exports YTD23” - CRISIL

50-year interest free loans for states for capex spend within 2023-24 to augur well for scrapping/replacement of buses- ICRA

Propose to increase import duty on silver bars to align it with gold, platinum

Relief in customs duty on mobile phone parts will help PLI scheme participants. Positive for Samsung and Lava

Micro enterprises of upto Rs 2 crore can avail benefits of taxation

“UDAAN scheme gets a fillip by the focus on development of 50 new airports and aerodromes. With this we can expect to have air connectivity for every 4 districts. Commercial viability assessment will be critical for its success” - Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director, CRISIL Limited

‘”Support to R&D in the pharma sector is a welcome decision. It will help India become a leader in pharma innovation on the global stage.” - Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

With government announcing launch of ‘ Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative to promote domestic tourism, hotel and tourism related stocks see good buying. EIH (up 5.9%), Mahindra Holidays (up 3.5%), Lemon Tree Hotels (up 3.3%), Royal Orchid Hotels (up 3.1%), Chalet Hotels (up 2%), ITDC (up 1.3%), Easy Trip (up 1.1%).

“Setting up of a Center of Excellence for Millets, which have high nutritional content, will help increase the share of gross sown area under millets, which today stands at a mere 3% of total gross cropped area” - CRISIL

The revamped Credit guarantee scheme for MSME, which will effective from April 1, 2023, will be positive for mid-sized banks and NBFCs focussed on MSME loans, according to ICICI Securities. The scheme will get an infusion of Rs 9000 crore. This will enable extension of additional collateral-free credit amounting about Rs 2 lakh crore

Concessional BCD on copper scrap to continue to benefit secondary copper manufacturers including MSMEs

“With allocation to the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana rising 66% to Rs 79,000 crore next fiscal, more than 55% of the estimated gap in funding for projects under the scheme is addressed. This should help timely construction of urban and rural houses” - CRISIL

Newly established Infrastructure Finance Secretariat will assist all stakeholders for more private investment in infrastructure, harmonized master list of infra to be reviewed by an expert committee for recommending classification & financing fwk.

Capex outlay increased by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore for FY24. At this level, public capex will be 3.3% of GDP. Equity indices are in the green so far. But bond markets are getting jittery as expenditure looks elevated so far. 10-year bond yield has climbed 2 basis points to 7.38% since the FM announced the hike in capex outlay. A lower fiscal deficit will cool bond markets. Satish Menon, Executive Director at Geojit Financial Services.

“50 additional airports, aerodromes, and water ports to improve regional air connectivity. Improvement in regional air connectivity will also supports tourism in tier-II and III cities. Improvement in regional air connectivity through the set up of 50 additional airports will boost domestic air travel” - ICRA

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty hit day’s high as the Finance Minister announced the Financial year 2023 growth estimate at 7%. Sensex rose 528 points or 0.89 percent to touch a high of 60,190. Nifty gained 160 points or 0.81 percent at 17,837. The FM said Indian economy has become more formalised as witnessed by significant enhancement in digital payments. Per capita income has increased to Rs 1.97 lakh. Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in last nine years.

BCD on electric kitchen chimneys duties increased to 15 per cent, BCD on heat coils reduced

Relief of custom duties on import of certain parts of inputs camera lense, continue concessional data on lithium ion batteries

State Governments to be provided funds for scrapping old vehicles. Positive for auto companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ashok Leyland

The 50-year interest-free loan to state governments to be continued for one more year, to spur investment in infra and to incentivize them for complimentary policy actions, with enhanced outlay of Rs. 1.3 lakh crore

“National data governance policy can potentially protect personal privacy and data security, promote data interoperability and accessibility. It will encourage data-driven innovation, improve data quality and reliability, and enhance transparency and accountability. It can establish standards and regulations for data collection, storage, and use, promoting data management practices and the responsible use of data”, Rajagopal Menon, WazirX

The Union Budget 2024 paves the way for yet another year of the government using infrastructure-capex to support the economy. This is enhanced by the govt’s focus on green capex transition support. Capex support from the budget rises to 4.5% of GDP for the next fiscal from sub-4% this fiscal and sub-3% in fiscal 2020 - CRISIL

Revised estimate of of Fiscal Deficit for FY24 estimated to be 5.9% in FY23 it was 6.4%

“Unity Malls in tourist destinations or capital cities is a novel approach to boost local craft and art. This will boost local employment” - Market experts

PAN will be used as common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies.

Contours of new small savings scheme for women announced. Called Mahila Samman Savings Patra. It will be 2 year period for up to March 2025. Deposit facility of Rs 2 lakh in woman/girl’s name. .7.5 pc interest offered. Partial withdrawal facility available. This scheme offers reasonable rates of returns and can encourage financial savings by women.

Fiscal deficit of states allowed at 3.5 per cent of GSDP, of which 0.5 per cent will be tied to power sector reforms

Entire 50 year loan to states have to be used for capital expenditure by 2024

“33% increase in capital investment outlay using gross budgetary support, which has already a strong growth this fiscal, and grants of Rs 3.7 lakh crore are crucial for the infrastructure buildout needed to crowd in private investments and push India towards its $5 trillion economy goal”- CRISIL

Titagarh Wagons, Gabriel, Texmaco Rail, IRCTC, IRFC would be the major beneficiaries from this step up in capital expenditure by the government.

“Increase of 33% in capital investment outlay to Rs. 10 lakh crore to augur well for CV sector. A significant increase in outlay towards infrastructure is credit positive for demand for Commercial Vehicle sector. Auto demand to propel with sustained focus on green mobility and push on infrastructure projects. Green Credit programme to aid in EV financing. Focus on encouraging organic farming to enable stronger supply chain for FMCG sector” - ICRA.

Max 200,000 deposit in the name of a woman, Deposit facility with interest rate of 7.5 per cent

The complete development of 50 destinations is a good approach as it will boost domestic tourism as well as reduce the over indulgence of tourists in existing tourist destinations. This approach on developing roads and infra, skilling tourist guides will be a boost for the tourism in those destinations. Thomas Cook shares were up on this announcement

Positive for mid-sized banks and NBFCs focussed on MSME loans.

Mahila Samman Bachat Patra (Savings Certificate) one time investment offer available till March 2025

Rs 9,000 crore infusion in credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs, to enable additional collateral free credit of Rs 2 lakh crore, reduce cost of credit by 1%. Positive for MSME and rural-focused lenders such as PSU Banks, Bandhan Bank, RBL Bank, M&M Finance and Bajaj Finance

To reclaim unpaid dividend an integrated IT portal to be established

Establishing a subsidiary fore EXIM Bank in India will bring the much needed relief in augmenting trade finance in India

Central processing centre will be set up for faster response to companies under Companies Act

“The outlay will bolster construction activities including demand for steel, aluminium and electronics products among others, provide employment opportunities and enhance logistics network strengthening last mile connectivity to ports giving impetus to schemes like Indian Maritime Vision 2030.” Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

To enhance biz activities in GIFT , will delegate power under SEZ act

“It is a great initiative as it makes the common man’s life easier. DigiLocker can simplify the KYC (Know Your Customer) process by providing a secure, digitized version of personal documents that can be easily shared with organizations. This eliminates the need for physically submitting and verifying documents, making the process faster and more convenient for both the customer and the organization. Additionally, the one-stop solution for identity and address updates provided by the DigiLocker application can streamline the process of updating personal information, reducing the time and effort required to make these updates across multiple organizations” Rajagopal Menon, Vice Presidenr, WazirX

Financial sector regulators to carry out review of existing regulations

The launch of Phase 3 of E-Courts with an outlay of ₹7,000 crore is a welcome initiative by the Central Government to enhance inclusiveness within the judicial process. Apart from increasing penetration of e-courts, the already existing e-courts ecosystem is in need of several infrastructure upgrades which this budget will hopefully address. This initiative also paves the way for women across the country to appear from their homes when on maternity leave which is also a big step forward for India.

Parinam Law & Associates

Cost of credit to be reduced by 1 per cent

Thrust on developing coastal shipping though PPP mode and viability gap funding would help drive Multi-Modal logistics further, thereby providing lower logistics costs option to end users

Payment guarantee for MSMEs. revamped scheme will take be enforced with infusion of Rs 9,000 crore

Government has allocated Rs 79000 crore for promoting affordable housing. This is positive for real estate, cement and steel companies such as Godrej Properties, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, ACC and Ambuja Cement

“The proposed outlay for 5G labs will further push the development of use cases and the setup of private networks in India. Healthcare, education are amongst the most important sectors in India and the research across Universities will push innovations and job opportunities.” Deloitte India

Companies that will benefit from increased railway capex include Bharat Wagon, BHEL, Siemens, Titagarh Wagon

Integration of theme based tourist circuits has been done, amenities to be upgraded in border villages

The Rs 2,200 crore Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme to improve the availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops will raise their cultivation area from a low 15%. Poor quality material , especially of fruit crops, have been a major deterrent.- CRISIL

Sector specific skilling and entrepreneurship development to be focussed as a part of Dekho Apna Desh

“Rs 2,200 crore Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme to improve the availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops will raise their cultivation area from a low 15%. Poor quality material , especially of fruit crops, have been a major deterrent” - CRISIL

50 destinations selected in challenge mode for tourism development

47 lakh youth in 3 years to have stipends

The Budget for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has increased by 66% to Rs 69000 crores. This is a major positive for low cost housing providers and financiers - Samco Securities

On job training, new courses for industry including robotics, mechatronics, will be included

30 Skill India Centres will be established

Air travel is coming back post the Covid-19 pandemic. The announcement on the development of 50 airports, aerodromes and heliports is much-needed and will be a boost for the sector.

PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana 2.0 will be launched in the next three years for skilling of youth

To empower youth and help realise their dreams, National Educational Policy has been formulated

100 labs for 5G applications will help develop usage for telecom networks beyond mobile phones. Postive for Airtel, Reliance Jio

“Railways allocated capex of Rs 2.4 lakh crore. This will benefit all EPC based companies, product companies in wagons, signalling, communication, bearings,” Market experts

The 33% higher capital outlay of Rs 10 lakh crore will fast-track implementation of high-multiplier government programmes such Bharatmala, Ghatishakthi, Parvatmala and Sagarmala - CRISIL

Coastal shipping to be promoted as low cost and energy efficient solution / alternative

The significantly higher capex allocation will support the commercial vehicles industry and will be positive for multi-axle vehicles and tippers

Mangrove mission to be launched

Railway-linked stocks shine. Capital outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore provided for Railways in Budget, which is highest-ever allocation since 2013-14. Buying in Rail Vikas Nigam (up 3.3%), IRCON (up 1.9%), IRFC (up 1.6%), IRCTC (up 1.5%) and Titagarh Wagons (up 1.3%). However, Texmaco Rail and Railtel shares down. Data as on 11:48 am.

Over the next three years, 1 crore farmers to adopt natural farming

“FM’s green growth’ Budget’s priorities highlights more broad-based growth in green energy. This will lead to an increase in green bond issues as private capex in green projects rises,” Market experts

Govardhan scheme for setting up 500 waste to wealth plants to be created: FM

5 per cent compressed bio gas (CBG) mandate to be introduced for all organisations

“FM retains 7 per cent advance estimate for FY23 growth, says India is a bright spot in the world economy. Focus on strengthening macroeconomic stability to assuage and boost bond, forex and equity markets” Market experts. BSE Sensex trades in the green; up 0.88% at 528 points.

₹35,000 crore for priority capital investment for energy transition, 4,000 MWh battery storage to be created, Green credit programme will be notified under environment protection act

Shantanu Rooj, CEO & Founder at Teamlease Edtech. Indian education system has always complained of non-availability of quality teachers. The current impetus on recruiting large number of teachers and creating a sustainable teachers training program equipping them with multilateral skills will go along way in improving the quality of education in Indian schools. The government must also create a performance management system where there is a hope of rising and a fear of falling for all teachers.

All cities and towns will be enabled for 100% mechanical de-sludging of septics tanks & sewers to transition from manhole to machine hole mode

“Higher farm credit limit will be beneficial for Agrochem and Seed companies. Union Budget has upped the agriculture credit target of ₹20 lakh crores for FY24, a 8.10 per cent year-on-year increase over FY23 target of ₹18.5 lakh crores. Focus of the agriculture credit will be on animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries.” - ICICI Securities

Finance minister’s focus on strengthening macroeconomic stability will soothe the nerves of the bond and forex markets. India’s external sector has emerged as an area of concern in 2022 and the going may be tough this year as well as the global economy slows. Experts, including those inside the government, have called for consolidating the fiscal deficit and ensuring that the current account deficit is brought back within the red line of 2.5-3 percent of GDP.

Green Hydrogen Mission to facilitate economy on low carbon emissions, target is to achieve annual production of 5MMT

Increased scope of Digilocker is positive for Protean eGov Technologies and CDSL

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas: “The new capital outlay was much needed to accelerate economic growth as the infrastructure sector is an engine having multiplier effect across the entire ecosystem including employment”

To promote LGD seeds a R&D funds for five years to be given to an IIT

Lab grown diamonds is an innovation and tech driven emerging sector with high employments ops, custom duty relief

100 labs for dev applications based on 5g services will be set up in educational institutions : FM

Scope of documents in DigiLocker to be expanded

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about the government’s commitment towards food and nutritional security during her Union Budget 2023-24 speech.

E-Courts phase 3 will be launched at outlay of Rs 7000 crore

Investment in infrastructure on growth and employment capital investment increased by 33% to Rs.10 lakh crore is positive for L&T, IRB, cement players like Ultratech, ACC, and steel players like JSW, Tata Steel.

Financing of select schemes will be changed from input based to result based : FM

Investment of 75,000 crore focusing on freight will help Indian Railways increase its modal share. This is in line with the National Rail Plan aim to raise the modal share to 50% from 25% now - CRISIL

“Good to hear emphasis on building & reviving of more airports. Regional connectivity is very important. Its also good to hear importance given to drive more investments in states & extension of interest free funds. All this will surely improve tourism,” said Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India

In cases of failure to execute contracts, 95 per cent of the forfeited amount related to bid or performance guarantee will be returned to them, will provide relief if MSMEs

It is a positive for companies such as Antony Waste Handling

PAN to be common identifier for all government agencies

National data governance policy will be brought out and will enable access to anonymised data, KYC process to be simplified

Three Centres Of Excellence for AI to be set up in top educational institutes

More than 39,000 compliances have been reduced and more than 3,400 provisions have been decriminalised for ease of doing business

Good news for the nearly 1,800 AgriTech startups in India. Agritech fund for startups in rural areas and digital and interoperable public infra for agriculture will be positive for players like BigHaat, Agrawave and Bombay Hemp

This is a positive development for domestic commercial vehicle space and more so for Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV) domain. Positive for Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland - I-Sec

Rs 10,000 crore per annum to be made available for this purpose

Entire expenditure of about Rs. 2 lakh crore under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana is being borne by the central government, for supplying free food grains for one year to all Antyodaya and priority households : FM. Watch

It wil benefit capital goods companies. Shares of L&T recovered on this announcement

Urban Infrastructure Development Fund to be set up, managed by National Housing Bank, will create public infra in Tier - 2 and 3 cities

50 airports, heliports, waterdromes to be revived for regional connectivity improvement

“During peak harvest season, crop prices tend to fall sharply. So having more storage facilities will help farmers bring the produce to mandis in a staggered manner, supporting their profitability”- CRISIL

100 critical transport critical projects for last mile connectivity projects in steel, coal, with investment of Rs 75,000 crore identified

Capital outlay for Railways Rs 2.40 lakh cr provided, about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14

Govt proposes capital investment outlay of Rs 10 lakh crore.

Infra investments to have multiplier effect on economy, Capital investment outlay to be increased steeply by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore

The government ensured that no one went hungry during the pandemic by providing free foodgrains to 80 crore poor people, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. In times of global challenges, G-20 presidency gives an opportunity to strengthen India’s role in the global order, she added.

The FM gave importance & mention to tourism as priority sector providing jobs. Also on importance of private partnership which is surely a step forward. TAAI has always voiced loudly on private partnerships. Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI)

During peak harvest season, crop prices tend to fall sharply. So having more storage facilities will help farmers bring the produce to mandis in a staggered manner, supporting their profitability

The government will launch the Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme to improve availability of disease-free quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops at an outlay of Rs 2,200 crore: Finance Minister

1. Inclusive development
2. Reaching last mile
3. Infrastructure and investment
4. Unleashing potential
5. Green growth
6. Youth Power
7. Financial Sector

On seven priorities of Budget

PM Awas Yojana outlay increased by 66 per cent to Rs 79,000 crore

PM Primitive Development of Tribal Goods to be launched, this will provide basic facilities, improved access to health and education and Rs 15000 crore to be made available for the next three years

The government’s Aspirational Block programme covering 500 blocks for services in health, agri, financial inclusion, skill development, basic infrastructure.

Measures to boost farm income in Union Budget 2023-24 is positive for farm mechanisation space with key beneficiaries being M&M and Escorts on the tractor front

National Digital Library initiative for children, states will be asked for setting up physical library ....To build culture of reading, National Book Trust and other agencies will provide non-curriculum books to these libraries

Positive for TCS, Infosys and PC brands like Dell, Lenovo: Rs 2516 crore computerisation plan of farmer cooperatives

Industry to be encouraged to invest in health-related research

This can open up opportunities for private sector investments in warehousing

Facilities in select ICMR labs will be made available for research : FM

Boost for tour operators and travel players as promotion of tourism on mission mode with active participation of states will help smaller players in the segment. Travel and tour sector was badly hit due to the Covid pandemic

157 new nursing colleges to be established in co-location with existing medical colleges

National co-operative database being mapped, massive decentralised storage capacity will be set up to help farmers to store products and get remunerative prices

This will result in food subsidy bill of Rs 2 lakh crore for next 1 year, says ICICI Securities

We will launch a new new sub scheme of PM Matsya Yojana at Rs 6000 crore

Hyderabad will be developed as centre for excellence for best agri practices : FM