Budget 2022 Big Bites: Snapshots of some key economic indicators

Business Today’s Budget Big Bites presents broad aggregates of the budget for easy understanding and shows snapshots of the economy and key elements of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fourth Budget. It gives an illustrative account of Budget 2022 through graphs and info-graphics.

• The National Highways network will be expanded by 25,000 km in 2022-23. Rs 20,000 crore will be mobilised through innovative ways of financing to complement the public resources.

• Rs 15,300 crore Air India debt taken by Tatas

• Budget 2022, which seeks to lay the foundation and give a blueprint to steer the economy over the Amrit Kaal of the next 25 years – from India at 75 to India at 100, continues to build on the vision drawn in the Budget of 2021- 22.

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) 2020-21 employment provided to 11.2 crore persons generating 389.2 crore person days.

• Prime Minister Narender Modi’s pet schemes

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

• AtmaNirbharta in Defence

• The revised Fiscal Deficit in the current year is estimated at 6.9 per cent of GDP as against 6.8 per cent projected in the Budget Estimates. The Fiscal Deficit in 2022-23 is estimated at 6.4 per cent of GDP, which is consistent with the broad path of fiscal consolidation announced by me last year to reach a fiscal deficit level below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.

In addition, here’s what the Business Today's editors think of the latest programmes and schemes of budgetary variables.

The pandemic is behind us; it is time to exit the heavy focus on relief and turn to infrastructure spending with an eye on medium term sustainable growth and job creation - that seems to be the view driving the shape of the budget this time. But the Finance Minister’s timid steps on divestment and asset monetisation rob her of the arsenal to achieve greater fiscal rectitude even as she pushes for growth, says Udayan Mukherjee.

In the age of noise, a budget that makes less Big Bang noise is perhaps a blessing in disguise: a focussed investment driven growth strategy is to be endorsed. But will it benefit those on the margins, will it revive MSMEs, help build desperately needed quality health and education infra? Will growth reduce inequality is a question that is still blowing in the wind, says Rajdeep Sardesai.

FM Sitharaman is preferring stability and conservatism over Big Bang announcements and overly optimistic projections. Instead of moderate increases in spends across multiple sectors, the BJP Govt is concentrating its expenditure gunpowder on few key sectors with the aim of delivering tangible results. PM Modi is hoping that visible improvement in fields like piped drinking water and government capital expenditure will deliver electoral dividends in the 2024 general elections, says Rahul Kanwal.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has sought to strike a balance between pump priming the economy to push growth while keeping an eye on fiscal consolidation. Budget 2022 seeks to create growth and job enablers by hiking capital expenditure sharply in the hope that spending in productive sectors will create a multiplier effect. This is a Budget in keeping with the Modi government’s objective of creating an ecosystem for growth rather than providing direct handouts. We will need to watch how she generates the resources for this expenditure push and how it plays out in the days to come, says Sourav Majumdar.

Fiscal prudence that provides room for mid- course corrections. Cautious optimism permeates the fineprint. Modinomics continues to stay away from ‘instant coffee’ measures, opts for long term, solid focus on capital asset creation, says Siddharth Zarabi.

A budget without much to take home for the individual. No announcements on direct taxes, and a heavy tax on cryptos! The silver lining - markets cheered the infra push and outlay for growth, says Aabha Bakaya.