The fifth budget under Modi 2.0 was unveiled on Wednesday by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Indian economy is on the right track. It is poised for a bright future, according to Nirmala Sitharaman, who made this statement in the final comprehensive budget before the general elections next year. Sitharaman highlighted significant modifications to the tax slabs under the new tax regime as well as a significant increase in funding for railways and capital expenditures, which will greatly benefit taxpayers and the economy.

The following is a full reading of the numerous initiatives Finance Minister Sitharaman unveiled in the Budget 2023, broken down by sector:

Income Paying taxes:

The previous tax system has not changed.

The new tax system will take precedence over all others. An old tax system is still an option for citizens, though.

In the new tax law, there is no tax on income up to Rs 7.5 lakh per year (with the inclusion of standard deduction)

In the new tax system, the government wants to lower the maximum surcharge rate from 37% to 25%.

New Tax Regimes and New Income Tax Slabs:

0–3 lakh rupees: Nil

5% of Rs. 3-6 lakhs

6–9 lakh rupees: 10%

9–12 lakhs rupees 15%

12–15 lakhs rupees 20%

Over 15 lakhs rupees: 30%

• Taxes for an individual making Rs 9 lakh a year will only be Rs 45,000: Sitharaman, FM
• Tax on income of Rs 15 lakh is reduced to Rs 1.5 lakh from Rs 1.87 lakh.
• A basic deduction of Rs 50,000 has been made available to taxpayers under the new system.
• Tax exemption eliminated from insurance plans with premiums over Rs. 5 Lahks for payments received from Agniveer Corpus Fund by Agniveers
• The government wants to make sure that net wins from online games are taxed at the moment of withdrawal or at the end of the fiscal year by instituting TDS.
• Tax-free leave encashment for non-government salaried workers has increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
• The TDS on cash withdrawal would have a greater cap of Rs 3 crore for cooperative organizations.
• A new version of the Common IT Return Form will be released for the benefit of taxpayers.
• Mechanisms for resolving complaints should be strengthened.
• In non-PAN circumstances, the TDS rate on the taxable component of EPF withdrawal would be lowered from 30% to 20%

Things that got cheaper

• Mobile phones
• TV
• Lab-grown diamonds
• Shrimp feed
• Machinery for lithium-ion batteries
• Raw materials for the EV industry

Things that got costlier

• Cigarettes
• Silver
• Compounded rubber
• Imitation Jewellery
• Articles made from gold bars
• Imported bicycles and toys
• Imported kitchen electric chimney
• Imported luxury cars and EVs

Indirect taxes

• 16% tax increase on some cigarettes due to indirect taxes
• Up to March 2024, new cooperatives that start production would pay 15% less in taxes.
• Glycerine and crude oil now only carry a 2.5% general customs charge.
• Silver bar import taxes increased to match those of gold and platinum
• Customs tax reductions on imports of mobile phone parts should be extended by a year.
• Customs duty on open TV panel cells has been cut to 2.5% in order to encourage TV production.
• Providing relief for customs Import taxes on certain components and inputs, such as camera lenses
• Extension of the year-long concessional duty on lithium-ion batteries
• Reduced from 21 to 13 the number of basic custom duty rates on goods other than textiles and agricultural products.

Announcements about savings schemes

• The Senior Citizen Savings Scheme’s maximum deposit amount would increase from Rs. 15 lakhs to Rs. 30 lakhs.
• Increased to Rs. 9 lakhs and Rs. 15 lakhs for joint accounts, the Monthly Income Scheme cap
• Mahila Samman Saving Certificate, a one-time new saving program for women, will be made available for 2 years, through March 2025.
• It would provide a deposit facility of up to Rs 2 lakh for a 2-year term with a fixed interest rate of 7.5% and the option of a partial withdrawal in the name of women or girls.

Railways receive a major boost

• In FY24, a budget of Rs 2.4 lakh crore was allocated for the railroads.
• It is about nine times higher than the allocations for FY14 and is the highest allocation for Railways ever.
• This year, a total of Rs 17,296.84 crore has been allotted for track renewal, up from Rs 15,388.05 crore in RE 2022-23.
• By August 2023, the Railways would probably have introduced 75 Vande Bharat trains.

The budget for defence grew by 13%

• From Rs 5.25 lakh crore last year, the defence budget jumped to Rs. 5.94 lakh crore this year.
• For capital expenses, including the procurement of new weapons, aircraft, warships, and other military equipment, Rs 1.62 lakh crore has been set aside.
• The budgetary allotment for capital outlay for 2022–2023 was Rs. 1.52 lakh crore.
• The Border Roads Organization’s capital budget increased to Rs 5,000 crore. The Indian Air Force’s capital expenditure was the largest, coming in at Rs 57,137.09 crore.
• The Indian Navy received a capital outlay budget of Rs 52,804 crore.
• The Army’s capital expenditure is estimated to reach Rs 37,241 crore.
• The amount allotted to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is estimated at Rs 23,264 crore.

Employment: 

• The government will begin Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0
• 30 Skill India International Centers will be built throughout various States to prepare young people for opportunities abroad.
• Under a pan-Indian program, direct benefit transfers A national apprenticeship promotion program would be implemented to offer stipend support to 47 lakh young people over the course of three years

Health

• In the Union Budget, the health sector has been given Rs 89,155 crore.

• Eliminating sickle cell anemia by 2047

• The sector will be encouraged to invest in research and a new program for pharmaceutical research will be developed.

• Out of the total budget of Rs 89,155 crore, Rs 86,175 crore and Rs 2,980 crore have been given to the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Health Research, respectively.

• The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana has a Rs 3,365 crore budgetary allocation for 2023–2024.

• Among these federal sector programs, the National Health Mission’s funding has grown from Rs 28,974.29 crore.

• The amount of money budgeted for the ministry of AYUSH has grown from Rs 2,845.75 crore.

• The National Digital Health Mission’s budget has gone from Rs 140 crore to Rs 341.02 crore.

• Budgetary support for the National Tele Mental Health Programme has increased from Rs 121 crore to Rs 133.73 crore.

• Budgetary support for autonomous entities increases from Rs. 10,348.17 billion in 2022–23 to Rs. 17,322.55 billion in 2023–24.

• Increased from Rs 2,116.73 crore to Rs 2,359.58 crore, the ICMR’s budget.

Education 

Three centers of excellence for artificial intelligence will be established in leading universities.

157 new nursing colleges will open in conjunction with the 157 medical colleges that have already been operational since 2014.

Residential schools modeled after Eklavaya will be built during the following three years. For 740 schools that serve 3.5 lakh, tribal pupils, the Center will hire 38,800 teachers and other personnel.

To encourage innovation and research by startups and universities, the National Data Governance Policy will be released.

There has been an increase in funding of Rs 459 crores for the University Grants Commission (UGC) (9.37 pc).

The support for Central Universities has increased by 17.66%, Deemed Universities by 27%, IITs by 14%, and NITs by 10.5% as compared to BE 2022–23.