Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table Budget 2023 today; what to expect

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the last full budget before 2024 elections on February 1. The Economic Survey 2023 was tabled on January 31 after President Droupadi Murmu’s address at the Parliament. 

The Budget session of the Parliament also kicked off on Tuesday. 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.

The government is likely to seek to lower the fiscal deficit, while also offering incentives for investment and increasing state spending to support the economy amid a global slowdown. It must be mentioned that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday stated that the Indian economy is likely to grow at 6.1 per cent in 2023, making it the fastest growing economy in the world. The Economic Survey that was released later in the day also pegged the Indian growth in the range of 6-6.8 per cent, with growth in real terms being 6.5 per cent. 

The Union Budget 2023 might not offer any major relief to households due to fiscal restraints. It would focus on long-term growth instead. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to announce increase in budget allocations for  health, education and rural projects, helped by a pick up in tax collections. She might tweak tax rules including an alteration to the structure of capital gains tax, which would encourage investments. 

Production linked incentives are likely to be announced for more sectors. The minister is also likely to announce new investments to meet India’s net-zero carbon emissions goal by 2070. 

(With agency inputs)

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