Summary :

Budget 2022 India Live, FM Nirmala Sitharaman Speech Live Updates: Speaking at a press conference after presenting the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a conscious decision was taken not to increase taxes because of the hardship that people have been facing due to the pandemic.

Budget 2022 Live Updates: Hailing the 2022 Union Budget as “people-friendly”  and “progressive”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said the Budget brings with it new energy and strength to India’s development trajectory, especially at a time when the country is fighting the pandemic. “This Budget brings more infrastructure, more investment, more growth and more jobs,” he said. The Prime Minister said that the youth of India see this Budget as one that will give wings to their ambitions, and added that the emphasis on futuristic technologies in all spheres is noteworthy and will benefit a cross section of our citizens. PM Modi, however, said that he will be speaking about the Budget in detail tomorrow.

budget 2022 highlights

Speaking at a press conference after presenting the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a conscious decision was taken not to increase taxes because of the hardship that people have been facing due to the pandemic.  Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget, said that the country is expected to grow at 9.27 per cent in the coming year. With a focus on four pillars of development — inclusive development, productivity enhancement, energy transition and climate action — the Budget gives a blueprint of economy from India at 75 to India at 100, Sitharaman said.

The Budget estimates the effective capital expenditure of the Central government at Rs 10.68 lakh crore in 2022-23, making up about 4.1 per cent of the GDP. The gross GST collections for the month of January 2022 are Rs 1,40,986 crore — the highest since the inception of the tax in 2017 — the Finance Minister said. In a major push for digital currency, Sitharaman stated that digital rupee will be issued using blockchain technology by the RBI starting 2022-23. This will give a big boost to the economy, the Finance Minister said. She added that income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset shall be taxed at the rate of 30 per cent.

A push for infrastructure and a 30 per cent tax on transfer or sale of digital assets were the highlights of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2022. Income tax rates have been kept unchanged.

INCOME TAX

There was no change the income tax slabs in the personal income tax category in the Budget 2022-23. Also, belying expectations, FM Sitharaman did not raise the standard deduction limit. The standard deduction currently stands at Rs 50,000 and raising the limit would have added some cash in the hands of taxpayers.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed a new provision permitting taxpayers to file an updated return on payment of additional tax. This updated return can be filed within two years from the end of the relevant assessment year.

CORPORATE TAX

In Budget 2022, the corporate tax rate too was kept at the same level. However, the concessional rate of 15 per cent has been extended by one year for newly incorporated manufacturing units.

GST COLLECTIONS

In her Budget speech, FM Sitharaman said there has been a remarkable progress made in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, but still a few challenges remain. “Gross GST collection in January at record Rs 1,40,986 crores; this has been possible due to rapid economic recovery,” she said in Lok Sabha.

JOBS

Presenting the Budget 2022, FM said the next target of the government is to create 60 lakh jobs in 5 years. The productivity linked incentive in 14 sectors for achieving the vision of “AtmaNirbhar Bharat” has received excellent response, with potential to create 60 lakh new jobs, and additional production of 30 lakh crore during the next 5 years, FM Sitharaman said.

PENSION

To provide equal treatment to both central and government employees, the tax deduction limit on employer’s contribution to the National Pension System (NPS) account of the state government employees will be increased from 10 per cent to 14 per cent.

AGRICULTURE

The Centre will promote Kisan Drones, chemical-free natural farming, public-private partnerships for the delivery of digital and high-tech services to farmers across the country during the financial year 2022-23, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting Union Budget 2022.

The government will also facilitate a fund with blended capital raised under the co-investment model through Nabard to finance agri start-ups and rural enterprises, she said.

On the procurement of agri-crops, the FM said the government’s procurement of wheat and paddy at the minimum support price (MSP) during 2021-22 will cover 1,208 lakh tonnes from 163 lakh farmers. “Rs 2.37 lakh crore will be the direct payment of MSP value to their accounts,” she said.

PM GATI SHAKTI

FM Sitharaman said the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development and is driven by seven engines — roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure.

All seven engines will pull forward the economy in unison, Sitharaman said while presenting the Budget for 2022-23.

TAXATION ON CRYPTOCURRENCIES, VIRTUAL ASSETS

Giving clarity on taxation of cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday proposed a 30 per cent tax on income from transactions in such assets.

Also, to bring such assets under the tax net, she proposed a 1 per cent TDS (tax deducted at source) on transactions in such asset classes above a certain threshold.

Gifts in crypto and digital assets will also be taxed, she said.

5G ROLL OUT

India is gearing up for the roll out of 5G technology.

FM Sitharaman said spectrum auction will be conducted to roll out 5G mobile services within the financial year 2022-23 by private firms. In her Union Budget 2022-23 speech, she also said voluntary exit for corporates will be cut down to 6 months from 2 years.

DIGITAL RUPEE

Meeting demands from large sections of industry, FM Sitharaman said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will launch a ‘Digital Rupee’ based on blockchain technology in 2022-23.

DIGITAL BANK

Scheduled commercial banks will set up 75 digital banks in 75 districts to encourage digital payments, FM Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

E-PASSPORTS

Presenting the Union Budget 2022-23, she also said e-passports with the embedded chip will be rolled out.

HOUSING

80 lakh houses will be completed under PM Awas Yojana with an outlay of Rs 48,000 crore. Rs 60,000 crore has been allocated for ‘Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal’ scheme under which 3.8 crore households will be covered.

RAIL BUDGET

Around 2,000 km of rail network will be brought under indigenous technology, KAWACH for safety and capacity augmentation, FM Sitharaman also said 400 new generation Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in the next three years.

EMERGENCY CREDIT BOOST

The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) that provided much needed additional credit to over 1.3 crore MSMEs will be extended till March 2023. Apart from this, its guarantee cover has been expanded by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, FM Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

BORROWING

The government will borrow about Rs 11.6 lakh crore from the market in 2022-23 to meet its expenditure requirement. This is nearly Rs 2 lakh crore higher than the current year’s Budget estimate of Rs 9.7 lakh crore.

GREEN ECONOMY

Stressing on the transition to carbon neutral economy, FM Sitharaman has announced an allocation of Rs 19,500 crore proposed for production linked incentives for manufacturing of high-efficiency modules.

In her budget speech, she has noted risks of climate change are the strongest negative externalities that affect India and other countries.

‘Sovereign Green Bonds’ will be issued for mobilizing resources for investment in green infrastructure.

DEFENCE

To boost self-reliance and reduce reliance on imports of defence equipment, 68 per cent of capital procurement budget for defence has been earmarked for domestic industry.

The Defence Research and Development was opened up for industry and startups.

HEALTH

For better access to quality mental health counselling and care services, a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ will be launched.

Apart from this, an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out.

It will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities.

Here are the 10 big announcements in this Budget: