Union Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2023 at 11 am in the Parliament today. India’s budget is expected to be keenly followed globally as it is touted to be the fastest growing economy. IMF on Monday pegged India’s growth at 6.1 per cent making it the fastest growing economy as the global economy witnesses a recession. The Economic Survey 2023, released on Tuesday, also pegged India’s growth in the range of 6-6.8 per cent, with growth in real terms being 6.5 per cent. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Amid the unstable global economic situation, India's budget will attempt to meet the hopes and aspirations of the common citizens. I firmly believe that Nirmala Sitharaman will make all efforts to meet those aspirations. She will present one more budget before the country tomorrow. In today's global circumstances, not only India but the entire world is looking at India's Budget.”
Also read: Union Budget 2023 LIVE updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table budget today
Also see: Budget Expectations 2023: What to expect from Union Budget 2023, all you need to know
Follow the updates on the Union Budget 2023 announcements live here:
12:31 pm: BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Income tax rebate slab increased
FM Sitharaman said that the limit of those who do not pay income tax in the old and new regime has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.
12:21 pm: Cigarettes to get expensive
FM Sitharaman has announced 16 per cent increase in NCCD (National Calamity Contingent Duty) of some cigarettes.
12:16 pm: Lower tax for new cooperatives
FM Sitharaman said that new cooperatives that commenced manufacturing activities till March 31, 2024 shall get the benefit of a lower tax rate of 15 per cent.
12:12 pm: Custom duty rates reduced
Basic custom duty rates to be reduced from 21 per cent to 13 per cent except for textile, said FM Sitharaman. Basic custom duties to be reduced on parts used for TV manufacturing, she said. The basic customs duty on electric kitchen chimneys have been raised from 7.5 per cent to 15 per cent.
12:08 pm: Fiscal deficit
Finance Minister said that the government has adhered to the fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent in the revised estimates for FY23. She kept the fiscal deficit target for FY24 at 5.9 per cent.
12:05 pm: Deposit limit for senior citizen
The maximum deposit limit for senior citizen savings scheme will be enhanced from Rs 15 to 30 lakh, she said. FM futher added that for investors, to reclaim unclaimed shares and dividends, an integrated IT portal will be established.
11:59 am: FM Sitharaman announces Unity Mall
FM announced the setting up of Unity Mall to promote and sell products developed under ODOP (One District-One Product) scheme.
11:56 am: PM Kaushal Vikas Yojna 4.0
FM Sitharaman announced the launch of PM Kaushal Vikas Yojna 4.0 that will skill lakhs of youth within the next three years.
11:54 am: Scrapping of old vehicles
"Replacing old polluting vehicles is an important part of the greening of the economy. I am allocating adequate funds to scrap old vehicles of the central government," said FM Sitharaman.
11:53 am: Priority capital for energy transition
FM Sitharaman said that the government will set Rs 35k crore priority capital for energy transition. Battery storage to get viability gap funding, she said. "The recently launched National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,700 crore will facilitate the transition of the economy to low carbon intensity and reduce dependents on fossil fuel imports," she said.
11:49 am: Three AI centres to be set up
FM Sitharaman said that in order to realise the vision of 'Make AI in India' and 'Make AI Work for India', the government will set up three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence in top educational institutions.
11:45 am: KYC simplification
PAN card to be used for common ID across all government digital systems with a legal mandate, in order to simplify KYC process. "For business establishments required to have PAN, it will be used as a common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies," she said.
11:43 am: Additional airports
FM Sitharaman said that 50 additional airports, helipods, water aero drones advanced landing grounds will be revived as part of UDAN.
11:41 am: 100% mechanical desludging of septic tanks
FM Sitharaman said that all cities and towns will undergo 100 per cent mechanical desludging of septic tanks, in order to transition from man-hold to machine-hold mode.
11:39 am: Highest Railways outlay ever
"A capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways. This is about 9 times the outlay has made in 2013-14," said FM Sitharaman.
11:32 am: Capital investment outlay to be increased 33%
FM Sitharaman announced that the capital investment outlay will be increased 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore. This will be 3.3 per cent of GDP.
11:31 am: PM Awas Yojana
PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66 per cent to over Rs 79,000 crore, said FM Sitharaman.
11:24 am: National digital library to be set up
The government is setting up a national digital library for children and youngsters to make up for loss time during the pandemic. Non-curricular titles in regional language will be available, said the FM. "To build a culture of reading and to make up for the pandemic-time learning loss, National Book Trust, the Children's Book Trust, and other sources will be encouraged to provide non-curricular titles in regional languages," she said.
11:20 am: Exporter and producer of Shri Anna
The Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad (Indian Institute of Shri Anna), will be supported as the centre of excellence for sharing best practices, research, and technology at an international level. We are the largest producer and second-largest exporter of Shri Anna (millets) in the world: FM Sitharaman
11:18 am: Agriculture Accelerator Fund
Agriculture Accelerator Fund to be set up to bring modern technology and increase productivity.
11:14 am: 7 priorities of Budget 2023
The Budget 2023 has 7 priorities, said FM Sitharaman. These are:
11:13 am: First Budget of 'Amrit Kaal'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called this Budget the first one in 'Amrit Kaal'. This budget hopes to build on the foundation laid in the previous budget and the blueprint drawn for India at 100.
11:11 am: 'Made significant progress in many sustainable development goals'
"We have made significant progress in many sustainable development goals. Economy has become formalised. We are implementing a scheme to supply free food grain, with an expenditure of Rs 2.lk crore," said FM Sitharaman.
11:08 am: Made sure nobody goes to bed hungry: FM
"We made sure that nobody goes to bed hungry during the COVID pandemic with a scheme to supply free foodgrains to over 80 crore persons for 28 months," said the finance minister.
11:06 am: Indian economy on right track: FM
FM Sitharaman said that the Indian economy is in the right track, and said that the GDP growth rate for India is highest among all economies.
11:03: FM Sitharaman begins her speech
FM Sitharaman has begun her speech. She said that the world has recognised the Indian economy as a bright star.
10:52 am: "Pro-people" Budget: Karnataka CM
"India's economy is expected to grow at 6.8 per cent. It will be a pro-people Budget that will support the growth of the economy," said Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai.
10:47 am: Cabinet approves Budget
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by PM Modi ended within 15 minutes. The Budget was approved by the Cabinet and will now be presented by FM Sitharaman.
10:39 am: Sensex up ahead of Budget 2023
Sensex up 516.97 points to 60,066.87 in early trade, while Nifty is also up 153.15 points to 17,815.30.
10:30 am: Copies of the Budget 2023 brought to Parliament
Truckload of copies of the Budget 2023 that will be tabled by Finance Minister has been brought to the Parliament ahead of the presentation. Check out the visuals:
10:25 am: PM Modi in Parliament ahead of Cabinet meeting
10:19 am: PM Modi reaches Parliament
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached the Parliament. Union Cabinet is being chaired by PM Modi. Once the Cabinet approves the Budget, it will be tabled by FM Sitharaman. Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrive at the Parliament too.
10:12 am: What to expect from Union Budget 2023?
"A big dose of capex allocation, some income tax relief to provide more money for consumption at the lower end of the income brackets, continuation of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, PLIs for new sectors to enthuse private capex, and possible plateauing of the allocation to MGNREGA," said Ranen Banerjee, Partner and Leader - Economic Advisory Services, PwC India.
10:03 am: Budget 2023: EV industry expectations
"The EV industry is expecting a GST cut from 18% to 5% on lithium-ion battery packs and cells. The Indian electric vehicle (EV) sector, which mainly relies on batteries, would benefit if this transformation were to occur. Furthermore, to boost the manufacturing and adoption of EVs the sector is counting on the government to promote carbon credits by enacting regulations that encourage businesses to cut their carbon emissions. FAME II subsidy programme is expected to be extended beyond March 2024. Also, it is expected that the government will implement a PLI scheme for battery pack manufacturers as a means of supporting the EV market and making electric vehicles more affordable and accessible to customers," said Pratik Kamdar, co-founder of Neuron Energy.
9:58 am: FM Sitharaman reaches Parliament
FM Nirmala Sitharaman has reached the Parliament ahead of the presentation of the Budget 2023, scheduled to start at 11 am.
9:40 am: Budget 2023: Auto and EV sector expectations
"We expect the Union Budget to focus and to bring the highly anticipated push to the EV industry of the country, ease of FDI norms to attract more investment, and lastly, various incentives that strengthen the industry with new demand for both passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle segments," said Banwari Lal Sharma, CEO Consumer Business, CarTrade Tech.
9:31 am: Budget 2023 drama is unnecessary: Karti Chidambaram
"I look forward to a time when the #UnionBudget is a non event. Just an annual administrative exercise. A mature economy needs policy stability, not constant tinkering. This hype & drama is so unnecessary! Just put it out on the website & do away with the reading," said Karti Chidambaram.
9:27 am: President Murmu meets FM Sitharaman
President Droupadi Murmu met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, MoS Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2023-24.
9:23 am: Budget 2023 presentation: Journey from briefcase to tablet
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her first Budget in 2019, replaced the traditional briefcase with the 'bahi khata' in an attempt to dump the colonial practice of carrying a briefcase. She used the 'bahi khata' in 2020 also. Last year, however, the 'bahi khata' gave way to the tablet, signifying India's move towards digitisation. In 2021, the government also launched the 'Union Budget Mobile App' to enable lawmakers and members of the general public to access Budget documents easily.
9:13 am: FM and her team
Finance Minister and her team pose for photographs ahead of the Budget presentation. Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Budget today at 11 am.
9:07 am: FM Sitharaman reaches Rashtrapati Bhawan
9:04 am: Congress on what to expect from Budget 2023
"Where have they overperformed is the question. They have overperformed in making Adani the third richest person on the planet. We are ready for discussion. Rahul Gandhi has been saying this throughout Yatra. Why was Yatra organised ? Coz they weren’t letting us speak inside the Parliament, they weren’t allowing us, Rahul Gandhi to raise the matter in Parliament. We want to raise the issues that effect the country. We will raise the LIC- RBI - Adani issue," Congress leader Manickam Tagore.
8:54 am: Nirmala Sitharaman arrives at the ministry
8:50 am: Economic Survey 2023 on Indian economy:
8:40 am: Economic Survey 2023 highlights:
8:32 am: Team behind the Budget 2023
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was assisted by a team of advisers and secretaries in preparing the Union Budget 2023. The team consists of:
8:27 am: History of Finance Ministers and Budgets
This will be Nirmala Sitharaman's fifth consecutive budget. Independent India has seen 23 finance ministers (excluding three prime ministers) who presented at least one Budget during their terms, but only eight presented at least four consecutive Budgets. FM Sitharaman would become the ninth finance minister to achieve this feat.
Also read: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table Budget 2023 today; what to expect
8:19 am: What to expect from Budget 2023
MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that the Modi government has always worked in the favour of the common man and the Union Budget 2023 will meet the expectations of every citizen.
8:18 am: Budget Session kicked off on Tuesday
The Budget session kicked off on Tuesday after President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both houses of the Parliament. The Budget session will have 27 sittings. The first part of the session will conclude on February 14. Parliament will reconvene on March 12 for the second part of the session and continue till April 6.