As the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman announced the budget for 2022-23 today in the Parliament, there was a certain focus on a few key sectors. Sectors like agriculture, technology, MSME, financial inclusion, start-ups, and infrastructure were the key focus sectors for this budget.
These are the key sectors that were in focus during Budget 2022-23:
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Infrastructure
- National Highway Network is expected to be increased by 25,000 kilometers in 2022-23.
- Contracts for four multi-modal national parks are expected to be awarded in 2022-23.
- PM Gati Shakti Expressway masterplan is expected to be created in 2022-23.
- Over 100 cargo terminals are expected to be announced in the next three years.
- Around 400 new Vande Bharat trains are expected to be manufactured in the next three years.
- 80 lakh houses are expected to be completed for beneficiaries of PM Awas Yojana in 2022-23.
- Around Rs. 60,000 crores has been earmarked for creating access to tap water for 3.8 crore households in India.
- PPP model is expected to be used in launching National Ropeways Development Program. This is expected to promote tourism and increase connectivity across the country.
- States are expected to receive Rs. 1 lakh crore under PM Gati Shakti Program. These are expected to be 50-year interest-free loans.
- Centre of Excellence is expected to be established with an investment of Rs. 250 crore for the development of the urban sector.
Agriculture
- India will promote chemical-free natural farming in a big way going forward.
- Kisan Drones are expected to be used extensively for crop assessment, land record digitization, and application of pesticides in the fields.
- The government has made direct MSP payments worth Rs. 2.37 lakh crore to wheat and paddy farmers.
- A fund will be launched through NABARD to finance start-ups in the area of agriculture and rural sector for farm produce value chain.
Digital India
- India will develop an ecosystem for skilling and earning livelihoods with digital technologies.
- The ecosystem will allow individuals to skill, reskill and upskill in digital technologies via online training. The platform would also have API-based skill credentials.
- E-passports are expected to be rolled out in 2022-23.
- All the 1.5 lakh post offices are expected to be part of the core banking system creating better efficiency and a connected network.
- 5G spectrum auction for the launch of 5G mobile services by private telecom players will be done in 2022-23.
- The government plans to award contracts for laying optical fibre in villages during 2022-23 under the BharatNet project.
- The government will launch a digital rupee using advanced technologies like blockchain.
- The government will create an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem.
- A national tele-mental health program will be launched by the Government of India.
MSME & Start-ups
- The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), launched to support businesses for COVID-19 crisis, has been extended till March 2023. It is expected to extend the guaranteed cover by another Rs. 50,000 crores. The total cover under the ECLGS scheme stands at over Rs. 5 lakh crore.
- The ECLGS scheme will have dedicated funds for the hospitality sector that is expected to support the struggling sector due to the COVID-19 crisis.
- MSME portals like e-shram, Udyam, NS & Aseem will be interlinked for better efficiency and widened scope.
- An online payment system will be launched by the government. The payment system is expected to be used by all central ministries. This system will use an end-to-end online billing system.
- To promote start-ups in the drone industry, the government will take action to develop drone-as-a-service in India.
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Green Economy
- A battery swapping policy is expected to be launched in 2022-23. The policy is expected to have interoperability standards that will boost the entire EV ecosystem in the country.
- EV vehicles are expected to receive a boost in public transport.
- India will launch sovereign green bonds to reduce the carbon footprint of the economy.
- Private players and start-ups are expected to be promoted to create innovative models in the battery and energy space.
It is evident that the government has laid a roadmap for India at 2047. As the country is celebrating 75 years of Independence, it is a budget that aims at setting a vision for our country as it achieves 100 years of independence.
