Budget 2023: Benefits Provided for Various Sectors in Budget 2023-24

Every year, the Budget provides various benefits for different sectors to boost them. Below are the benefits provided under the Budget 2023-24 as per the sectors.

Agriculture

• A digital public infrastructure will be built for agriculture to access relevant information and support the growth of agri-tech startups and industries.
• An Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set up to boost Agri startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas.
• An Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program will be launched to boost the availability of quality and disease-free planting material for high-value horticultural crops with an outlay of Rs.2,200 crore.
• The agriculture credit target is increased to Rs.20 lakh crore.
• The Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad, will be the Centre of Excellence for making India a global hub for ‘Shree Anna’.

Health

• The government will establish 157 new nursing colleges.
• The government will launch a Sickle Cell Anaemia mission to eliminate it by 2047.
• The facilities in select ICMR Labs will be available for research by private and public medical college faculty and R&D teams to encourage collaborative research and innovation.
• A new programme will be launched to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals, which will be taken up through the centres of excellence.

Education

• The District Institutes of Education and Training will be developed to provide teacher training.
• A National Digital Library for adolescents and children will be set up to facilitate the accessibility of quality books.
• The government will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools.
• The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will be launched to skill youth within three years.
• The digital ecosystem for skilling will be expanded by launching a unified Skill India Digital platform.

Infrastructure

• An Aspirational Blocks Programme will be introduced, covering 500 blocks to provide necessary government services across multiple domains.
• The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission will be launched to saturate PVTG habitations and families with basic facilities.
• Central assistance of Rs.5,300 crore will be given to the Upper Bhadra Project.
• There is an increase in capex outlay by 33.4% to Rs.10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3% of GDP.
• The Centre’s ‘Effective Capital Expenditure’ is budgeted at Rs.13.7 lakh crore, which will be 4.5% of GDP.
• A 50-year interest-free loan is provided to the state governments for one more year to boost investment, with an outlay of Rs.1.3 lakh crore.
• A capital outlay of Rs.2.4 lakh crore is provided for railways.
• One hundred transport infra projects for end-to-end connectivity for coal, ports, steel, food grains sectors and fertiliser industries will be taken up on priority with an investment of Rs.75,000 crore.
• An investment outlay of Rs.10,000 crore is provided for the Urban Infra Development Fund to create urban infrastructure in Tier 3 and Tier 2 cities.
• The outlay of the PM Awas Yojana has been increased by 66% to Rs.79,000 crore.
• Fifty water aerodromes, heliports, airports and advanced landing grounds will be revived to enhance regional air connectivity.

Energy

• Under the Environment Protection Act, a Green Credit Guarantee Programme will be launched to incentivise sustainable actions.
• The PM-PRANAM programme will be launched to enable states to promote the usage of alternative fertilisers.
• 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set up to facilitate natural farming.
• The MISHTI programme will be taken up for mangrove plantations along the salt pan lands and coastlines.
• Rs.35,000 crores are allocated for priority capital investments towards energy security and energy transition by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Financial

• There will be a revamp of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs through an infusion of Rs.9,000 crore in the corpus.
• The government will return 95% of the forfeited amount relating to performance or bid security to the MSMEs where there is a failure by MSMEs to execute contracts during the Covid period.
• A National Financial Information Registry will be set up, serving as the central repository of financial information.
• Several measures are introduced to enhance business activities in GIFT IFSC.
• Certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act, the Banking Companies Act and the Banking Regulation Act are proposed to enhance investors’ protection and bank governance.
• A Central Processing Centre will be established for faster response to companies.
• An integrated IT portal will be launched for investors to reclaim unclaimed dividends and shares from the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority.
• The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme will be launched for two years to facilitate a small savings scheme for women and girls.
• The maximum deposit limit for the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme has been enhanced to Rs.30 lakh from Rs.15 lakh.
• The maximum deposit limit for the Monthly Income Account Scheme has been enhanced to Rs.9 lakh from Rs.4.5 lakh for a single account and Rs.15 lakh from Rs.9 lakh for a joint account.

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at mayashree.acharya@clear.in