YOJANA MARCH 2023

1.Laying the Focus on the Amritkal

 Introduction:

• The Union Budget is a key policy document that outlines the priorities of the Government, for the immediate and the long term, in tandem with domestic and global economic realities. 
• India celebrated its 75th anniversary and its elevation as the world’s 5th largest economy.
• With a rising profile on the global stage and India assuming the G20 Presidency, the country is set to embark on its journey into the ‘Amrit Kaal’ – the 25 years of achieving our developmental potential.

Focus of the Budget:

• The Budget for 2023-24 focuses on capital expenditure, inclusive growth, green economy, ease of living, and ease of doing business, especially for small enterprises. 
• Notwithstanding the pandemic shock, the uncertainties triggered by a geo-political conflict, and the evolving context of global economic stress, Budget 2023-24 has displayed deft fiscal management and reiterated its commitment to fiscal prudence and responsibility while not losing sight of medium-term growth. This has been the signature approach of the Finance Minister throughout her Budgets since 2019, incorporating the following elements:

• Commitment to fiscal prudence
• Conservative assumption
• Transparency
• Commitment to capital expenditure
• Incremental and steady reforms with an eye on the medium-term growth
• Guided by these principles, Budget 2023-24 adopted the ‘Saptarishi’ priorities to create world-class infrastructure, strengthen a trust-based governance framework and provide an impetus to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). 

2.Towards Cooperative federalism

Introduction:

• Fiscal federalism refers to fiscal relations between Union Government and the State Governments. Both tiers of government need to possess adequate financial resources to discharge their respective responsibilities enshrined in the Constitution effectively. The announcements in the Union Budget 2023-24 and several initiatives taken in recent years depict the Union Government’s quest to promote this cooperative fiscal federalism in India.
• In the Union Budget 2023-24, a mammoth sum of Rs.1.3 crore was allocated for providing financial assistance to states for capital expenditure.
• Article 246, Article 246A and the seventh schedule of the constitution delineate taxation powers between the centre and states. But the distribution of fiscal power has a centripetal bias with more buoyant tax areas assigned to the Union. The State governments, on the other hand, have more expenditure responsibilities for providing core public services.

Finance Commission:

The President of India establishes a Finance Commission after every five years under Article 280 of the Constitution. The commission makes recommendations on distribution of net proceeds of central taxes between the centre and the states. The Commission also suggests the principles on which grant-in-aid of revenues, out of the Consolidated Fund of India, should be given to the state.

Unfolding the new era of Cooperative fiscal federalism:

The new India is ushering in a radical shift towards cooperative fiscal federalism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, after assuming office in 2014, repeatedly emphasised on the pivotal role of the state governments calling them as drivers of transforming India. Under his leadership, the government of India has taken a slew of measures to promote cooperative fiscal federalism.

Marked Shift in Fiscal Decentralisation:

• The annual transfers from the Union to the states have increased from 4.7 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the financial year 2013-14 to 6.7 per cent of GDP as per revise estimates for 2021-22. Annual total transfers have increased from Rs. 5.24 lakh crore to Rs. 15.74 lakh crore during this period.
• It has been facilitated by the recommendation of the 14^th and 15^th Finance Commission. The 14^th Finance Commission had recommended an enhanced share of states in the central divisible pool of taxes and duties from 32 percent to 42 percent.
• The 15^th Finance Commission, in its report for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26, maintained the higher devolution proportion.
• After adjusting one percent to provide for the newly formed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh from the resources of the centre, the Commission has recommended the devolution of 41% of the central taxes to the states.
• This has established a decentralised fiscal architecture and drastically altered the composition of the Union transfers to states.
• A bulk of tax devolution is now formula based rather than grants. The higher united resources thus made available to the states offer them greater flexibility and autonomy in incurring expenditure based on their priorities.
• Changed fiscal architecture has also been accompanied by major changes in the mode of planning and design of fiscal transfers.

NITI Aayog, a harbinger of cooperative fiscal federalism

In a bold move, the Government of India, in January 2015, abolished the Planning Commission and Constituted NITI Aayog. The Aayog has become a proponent of cooperative federalism. The erstwhile Planning commission, an extra-constitutional body was established in 1950.

Rationalisation of Centrally sponsored Schemes

Based on the recommendations made by a sub-group of Chief Ministers constituted by the NITI Aayog, the Union government in 2016-17 effected a major rationalisation of the centrally sponsored schemes (CSS). The rationalisation was a long pending demand of the states.

Introduction of GST

Introduction of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is one of the most important structural reforms in the indirect taxation system and has fundamentally redefined federal fiscal relations. Implemented on July 1, 2017 GST has fostered cooperative fiscal federalism. States governments taken together have been assigned weightage of two-third of total votes in the GST Council.

Strong federal fiscal shield during Pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic period, Union Government responded in the true spirit of cooperative fiscal federalism. In addition to the scheme for financial assistance to states for capital investment, it took a series of measures to make sufficient resources available to states to fight the contagion effectively, boost economic activity and maintain the standard of public service delivery.

3.Inclusive and Empowered Bharat

Introduction:

• The thrust of the Union Budget 2023-24 is on broad-based growth and development, taking the benefits to all sections and sectors of the economy. Inclusive growth and last-mile delivery were top among the 7 priorities, termed as ‘Saptarishi’, announced by the Finance Minister as the guiding principles while India moves into the ‘Amrit Kaal’. The Saptarishi work in harmony with each other and provide a blue print for an inclusive and empowered Bharat.
• The Union budget 2023 is designed to offer something for every stratum of society which is a testament to the government’s consistent efforts toward citizen-centric policy making and governance. It reinforces the overreaching theme of India’s development model.
• Navigation through the economic and geopolitical risks, the Indian economy is on a sustained projected growth path of 7% in FY23 and 5-5.8% in FY24. This positive growth forecast is driven by strong domestic drivers which include a strong rebound in consumption, strengthening balance sheets of corporates, and a huge influx of capital expenditure.
• This budget reaffirms the government’s clear and unwavering dedication to maintaining macroeconomics stability and fiscal prudence. The fiscal deficit target has been set at 5.9% for 2023-24, which is lower than the 6.4% that was initially projected for 2022-23.

Capital Expenditure:

• One of the most notable announcements made in this budget is the 33% increase in capital expenditure, which has been raised to Rs 10 lakh crores.
• Continuing the rationale of the previous two budgets, the government is wisely pursing India’s growth through capital creation. Studies indicate that every rupee spent by the government on building capital assets has a 2.95 multiplier effect, a much higher rate of return than spending on consumption.
• The government’s sizable investments in infrastructure are expected to create more job opportunities besides crowding in private investment and triggering a positive cycle of growth. Centre’s continuous push on infra capex strengthens India’s productive capacity and reinforces the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat during the Amrit Kaal.

Agriculture:

• Promoting inclusive development, this budget has prioritized growth in agriculture with a slew of policy measures such as the establishment of digital infrastructure, an agriculture accelerator fund, targeted credit for animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, and plants to make India a global leader in millets.
• The budget has effectively threaded the needle between spurring inclusive growth and fighting climate change.
• Through the GOBARdhan scheme, the government is setting up 500 new waste to wealth plants and augmenting farmers income while generating green energy.

Improving the Ease of Living:

• The Budget leaves no stone unturned and emphasizes key areas such as food and nutrition, public health and education, skilling, social entrepreneurship, and rural housing, to enhance social impact through every rupee invested.
• Flagship schemes have focused on creating an India that is self-sufficient in all aspects and where all sections of the society have access to basic amenities.
• These efforts have included providing toilets to eliminate open defecation, access to tap water, electricity, LPG Cylinders, healthcare, and bank accounts.
• Ensuring all fundamental requirements for a decent standard of living are accessible to all citizens, there has been a significant shift in public service delivery of government programs since 2014.
• Through the significant expansion of its welfare programs, India is now aspiring to achieve 100% saturation.
• The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the flagship rural housing scheme, aims to provide ‘Housing for All’ with a massive outlay of over 54,000 crores, the highest ever since its inception, it is likely to benefit almost 45 lakh rural families in 2023-24.

 Empowering Women and Youth

• Economically empowering women and youth goes hand in hand with the transformation of India into an economic superpower.
• The budget reiterated this philosophy and announced multiple initiatives to strengthen these key pillars of growth.
• The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission announced in the FY24 budget aims to continue empowering 81 lakh self-help groups of rural women by assisting them in creating large producer enterprises and supporting them in branding and marketing.
• Mahila Samman Bachat Patra is a small savings scheme for the financial empowerment of women in Amrit Kaal.
• Recognizing the importance of harnessing the potential of young people and their contemporary skills development, two programmes launched.
• PM Kaushal Vikas Nana 4.0 and the Amrit Peedhi Program aim to equip the youth with abilities such as coding, AI, and robotics among others, while also offering financial assistance through the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.

4. Social Sector Allocations

Introduction:

• The mantra of facilitating access and ensuring inclusion in the social sector allocations has continued in this Union Budget. Strengthening and expanding the social sector in the country has always been the priority of the government and this reflects in this year’s budget as well. In the nutrition sector, the proposed Development Action Plan for the STs would provide access to nutritious food to tribal groups.
• With rising per capita income and the size of the national economy moving towards the national goal of $5 trillion by 2026-27, the focus is on the development of the social sector. To ensure a better quality of life, a life of dignity and expansion of the economy, the per capita income has more than doubled to Rs. 1.97 lakh.
• Expenditure for the sector has witnessed a significant increase from Rs. 3.53 lakh crore in 2015-16 to Rs. 7.9 lakh crore in 2022-23. Considering the latest budget, the annual average growth rate for the social sector spending would be around 14.1 percent from 2015-16 to 2023-24.
• At the same time, PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana is another step in promoting nutrition. Another important initiative, PM Poshan Shakti Nirman has also received a significant budgetary allocation. Several measures have been announced in the budget for the effective implementation of the Provisions of the New Education Policy and Skilling.

Health:

• The budget for the year 2023-24 indicates a significant trend as there is an increase in the expenditure on health as percentage of GDP from 1.4 percent in 2019-2020 to 2.1 percent in 2022-23.
• Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana, launched in 2018-19, has emerged as a flagship programme. This is now the world’s largest government funded healthcare programme targeting over 50 beneficiaries. Towards it, the BE provision for 2023-24 is over Rs. 7,200 crore, showing over 2.6 times increase since 2018-19  when the scheme was launched.
• Among the new initiatives for Amrit Kaal, it is proposed to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047 through interventions like awareness creation, Universal screening, etc. of over seven crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in the affected tribal areas, and counseling them through synergized efforts of Central Ministries and State Governments.
• A special scheme namely Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission would be launched. The Government has also announced the establishment of 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. Budget also proposed to launch a new programme during 2023-24 to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals.

Nutrition:

• In the nutrition sector the proposed Aspirational Blocks Programme, covering 500 blocks for saturation of essential government services across multiple domains, would also include nutrition. The proposed Rs 15,000 crore Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes would also provide nutritious food to vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs).
• Similarly, PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) with an expenditure of about Rs 2 lakh crore, would provide food and nutrition security to over 80 crore persons for 28 months.  As per the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFI-15) 2019-21, about 19.3 per cent of children below five years were facing wasting and 35.5 percent were stunted.
• The Budget has made provision for supporting the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
• The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), now known as Sakshann Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, is allocated Rs 20,554 crore.  Another important initiative, Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (the mid-day meal scheme) has been provided with a budgetary allocation of Rs 11,600 crore.

Education and Skilling:

• The allocation for education in this Budget is Rs. 1, 12,898.97 crore. The Higher Education Budget is allotted Rs. 44,094.62 crore for 2023-24, a considerable increase from Rs. 40,828.35 crore in revised estimates for 2022-23. The Budget has proposed support of Rs. 68,804.85 crore for school education.
• Measures have also been announced for the effective implementation of all the provisions of the National education Policy, particularly focussing on skilling. The idea is to synergise skills with economic policies to facilitate job creation at scale and to support business opportunities.
• For promoting good governance, attention has also been paid to the skilling of government officers and staff under the Mission Karmayogi. The integrated online training platform, iGOT Karmayogi has been launched for continuous learning opportunities for lakhs of government employees to upgrade their skills and facilitate a people centric approach.
• To further boost reading habits a National Digital Library for children and adolescents is proposed to provide quality books in various local languages.
• To address the challenge of last-mile connectivity, education has also been included in the programmes for Aspirational Blocks. Women’s education under the Samagra Shiksha, an overarching school education programme under the National Education Mission, has been provided Rs 37,453 crore.
• The budget has also proposed to set up three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence (Al) at the top educational institutions to help connect industry with academics and help evolve an ecosystem for Al.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will be launched to skill lakhs of youth within the next three years.  On-job training, industry partnership, and alignment of courses with industry needs will be emphasised. 
• As per the commitment to inclusion, the Budget 2023-23 laid emphasis on skilling artisans. The PM Vishwakarrna Kaushal Samman (PM VIKAS) would enable artisans and craftspeople with focus on quality, scale and reach of their products while integrating them with the MSME value chain. 

Green Growth:

• The Budget has elaborated some of the programmes that include green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, and green equipment and also talks about the industrial transition strategies.
• The National Green Hydrogen Mission, with an outlay of Rs 19,700 crore is planned with a target to reach an annual production of 5 MMT by 2030. Banks and other financial institutions would also be encouraged to launch a Green Credit Programme, which would be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act. 
• Central and State Government Departments are also being encouraged to scrap old vehicles. For promoting green mobility, excise duty on GST­ paid compressed biogas has been exempted. This would help in avoiding the cascading effect of taxes on blended compressed natural gas. 
• It is also proposed to exempt customs duty on the import of capital goods and machinery required to manufacture lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles. PM PRANAM, a new scheme, is also being launched to incentivise States/UTs to promote the usage of alternative fertilisers. 

5.Banking: Focusing on New Responsibilities and Good Governance

• Banking provisions of the budget generally lead to the narrowing down of the discussions ranging from tax concessions on deposits or loans and privatisation of banks to capital provisions.
• It has now been widely recognised as a secure and robust medium which, through various real and virtual mediums, has introduced innovation in deposit schemes, provided security for the deposited money and extended prompt help giving loans and transactions from the government to the common man.
• At the same time, the banking system has not only remained a conglomerate of traditional banks.
• New forms of banks such as payment banks, small finance banks and the general banking system of post offices and non-banking financial companies have also made inroads in it.

Considering many provisions of the banks, General Budget 2023-24 for the banking sector can be analysed by dividing it into five parts.

1. New savings schemes and changes in existing savings schemes
2. Sources of Government Borrowing
3. Campaign to promote digital transactions
4. Loan for a specific sector
5. Reforms in banking governance

Deposit schemes:

• Measures have been taken to promote savings among women and secure the future of the elderly through savings.
• Keeping in view the importance of economic empowerment of half the population, “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Mahila Samman Bachat Patra” has been announced.
• Under this scheme, a new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, will be available for two years until March 2025.
• It will offer a deposit facility of up to Rs 2 lakh for women or girls for two years at a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with a partial withdrawal option.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana:

• It was launched on January 22, 2015 under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative.
• The aim was to encourage families to invest in the girl child’s education and save for her marriage expenses.
• Under the scheme, parents of girls below the age of 10 can open a maximum of two (three in case of first girl child twins) Sukanya Samriddhi accounts in an authorised bank or post office.
• In this, a maximum of Rs 1.50 lakh can be deposited every year and it is tax exemption at the time of investment, tax exemption on the increase in investment and tax exemption at the time of withdrawing the entire amount of investment including interest.

Sources of the government borrowing:

• Net market borrowing from dated securities has been estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore against a fiscal deficit of Rs 17.87 lakh crore in the union Budget 2023-24.
• Banks will play an important role in fulfilling this estimate because on such dated securities (dated securities, tenure from 1 year to 40 years) interest is received at a fixed rate and the government guarantees both interest and principal.
• Banks invest a large amount of money in these bonds, to meet the statutory requirement and on the other hand, to take advantage of the market conditions.
• For active participation in this system financial condition of the banks must be sound.
• The deposits of these banks are continuously increasing, making it easier for them to participate in the government’s borrowing.

Promoting digital transactions:

• There is a lot of competition among banks to provide a fast, secure and accessible medium for digital transactions.
• One reason for the competition is the incentive scheme announced in the budget for the financial year 2021-22. It was continued in the financial year 2022-23.
• Under this, approval has been granted for giving Rs 2600 crores to banks for the current financial year to promote point-of-sale (POS) and e-commerce transactions using RuPay Debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M).
• In 2022, 76 per cent increase in transactions and 91 per cent in value; fiscal support for this digital public infrastructure will continue in 2023-24 as well.

Sector-specific loans:

• Banks get some facilities with these targets such as the provision of a part of the interest rate by the government or the credit guarantee fund. It helps the banks to give their loans to a specific sector.
• Agriculture is most important for specific sector lending. It was stated in the budget that about 86 per cent of small farmers in the country had significantly benefited from the Kisan Credit Card. These farmers should continue to get benefits like this.
• The agricultural loan target has been increased to Rs 20 lakh crore, focusing on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.
• It must be kept in mind that the government assists farmers with short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh.
• The interest rate on such loans is 7 per cent, but if the farmer repays the loan on time he gets an interest subvention of 3 per cent, making the effective interest rate 4 per cent.
• For allied activities including fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy, short-term loans up to Rs 2 lakh are also available at an interest rate of 7 per cent, but in case of timely repayment of the loan, the interest subvention of 3 per cent is available, due to which the effective interest rate here also becomes 4 per cent.
• If the bank gives agricultural loans through its resources, then they get 2 per cent assistance. Thus, targeted loans can benefit all banks and farmers and agriculture-related activities.
• An essential part of the economy is the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, i.e., MSMEs keeping this in view, the government has also been running targeted schemes for MSMEs.
• Considering this it is stated that renewal of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs.
• With the addition of 9 thousand crore rupees, this renewed scheme will commence from April 01, 2023. This will enable collateral-free loans of an additional Rs 2 lakh crore, besides bringing down the cost of credit by about one per cent.

Reforms in Banking Governance:

• The budget has proposed some amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, Banking Companies Act and Reserve Bank of India Act to improve the banking system and increase investor protection.
• The changes taking place in the banking system and the mode of analysing the general budget for the banking system the mode of analysing the general budget for the banking sector has also changed.
• The main reason for this is that the financial health of public sector banks has improved a lot, bad loans have come down and the situation is likely to remain the same in the future.

6.Strengthening the Financial Sector

• The Union budget has presented laying down the foundation and a clear path for India @100 Amrit Kaal.
• The Minister has rightly identified objectives, assigned priorities, recognised constraints, technological innovations in the world economy and the need of Indians & Indian Industry, incorporating the mission and vision.
• The Budget is a well-planned document which presents a clear-cut roadmap for India’s tomorrow.
• The budget has laid a foundation for catering to the needs and aspirations of Millennials and Generation Z in India@100.
• Given the GDP growth of 7 per cent in 2022-23 with controlled inflation at 6.8 per cent and Fiscal Deficit at 6.4 per cent, India has moved to a higher pedestal amongst the top five world economies in every sphere of its activity and amongst the top three world economies on PPP basis having GDP of over US $10 Trillion.
• This budget would enhance global competitiveness and ensure a sound sustainable future for India and the Indian industry on account of inducing transparency, accountability and sustainability through digital influx in all spheres of public and private lives and livelihood.
• Budget 2023 is growth oriented; employment generating; infrastructure expanding budget with a focus on development through Atmanirbharta, transparency & digitalisation; repealing laws towards ease of doing business; bringing dynamism in tax structure with a portfolio approach.
• Through reorienting tax slabs, reducing surcharges to individuals, corporates and associations provides more liquidity to the middle class while targeting to control evasion or avoidance of taxes.

RBI’s Digital Currency:

• The re-mention of RBI issuing Digital Currency in 2023-24 having a test run initiated in November 2022 will help India increase productive efficiency and global competitiveness of the economy while containing inflation in the medium term, facilitating ease of doing business and ease of living in tune with the latest technological developments taking the economy to a higher platform.
• The budget proposals would directly benefit India its youth, women, farmers, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, senior citizens, BPL families, MSMEs, “have nots” and those suffering from the ill effects of the pandemic.
• Financial inclusion through schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana; Ayushman Bharat; Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana; Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana; stand up India; Crop Insurance; Emergency Credit Guarantee Scheme and others with Aadhaar as its backbone provides security and authenticity.
• It was much needed that post-pandemic recoveries are supported by the government to ensure that the poorest of the poor receive the benefits of the continued economic growth pegged at 7 per cent.
• The setting up of Post Banking as core Banking in 1.5 lakh Post Offices and 75 districts by SCBs is empowering rural consumers with financial liquidity and mobility via JAM Trinity.

 Mahalia Samman Bachat Patra:

• Mahalia Samman Bachat Patra is an attempt to secure the small savings of women who find no means or instruments dedicated to their effort of small savings which help them and their families in difficult times.
• This would improve the saving rate in the financial system and also make women at the grassroots level incentivised to be part and parcel of economic development and prosperity through interest earning.

 Digital University:

• The launching of the Digital University, One-Class-One-TV channel under PM e-Vidya 200 TV channels will supplement equitable right to education in national and regional languages for classes 1-12, setting up 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics along with 75 virtual skilling e-labs for simulate learning environment.
• The development of high-quality e-content in all spoken languages for delivery via the internet, mobile, TV, and radio will equip teachers with digital tools for teaching and facilitating better equitable learning outcomes throughout the country for all.

 The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act (IBA):

• NPAs continue to be a challenge, especially with the legacy baggage of the world financial crisis of 2007-08 and the post-pandemic effect.
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act (IBA) provided for the strengthening of creditors’ rights has enabled the banking system to exert their rights and protect the money of the depositors.
• Yet the constant challenge for most bankers is the inability to communicate any defaults or delimit any individual or company which has a default credit history. The need for a National Financial Information Registry to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information
• This would strengthen the financial system and its intermediaries by making borrowers more accountable for their borrowings.
• The ability to serve the institutions in terms of public data would continue to be challenged by privacy issues and cyber-attacks.
• A framework for M&As or recoveries that protect the borrowers would further be needed with a borrower redressal mechanism that protects and supports the borrowing process through Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Several initiatives have been in GIFT IFSC to make India a financial hub for international transactions and promote international business and trade. The bilateral trade talks:

1. Free trade agreements
2. Alliance in QUAD
3. Neutral and Peace initiatives in the Russia-Ukraine war
4. G20 Presidency and Internationalisation/Digitalisation of the Rupee have all put India in a position to become a leader that recognises UN-ESG’s continuous growth needs for its people and sustainable development contributions to the world economy.

The Support for the MSME through Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 1, 2 and 3 continues to be further facilitated by the government through the Credit guarantee for MSME with revamped scheme from 1^st April 2023.

The Agriculture Credit:

1. Green Credit
2. Unity Mall and the Productive Linked Investment Scheme in 14 Sectors, Solar and other schemes in Sunrise Opportunities
3. Energy Transition and Climate Action
4. Green Clearances
5. e-Passports
6. Urban Planning & Development support to States
7. Clean & Sustainable Mobility
8. Battery Swapping Policy
9. Land Records Management
10. IBC, accelerated corporate exit, modernising Government Procurement
11. Payment of 75 per cent of government-running bills mandatorily within 10 days
12. Setting up ways to improve AVGC sectors to generate employment and build domestic capacity
13. Rolling out of 5G mobile services for proliferation in rural areas and access to e-services communication facilities will foster job creation and eco-friendly growth in all sections of society.

• The Budget strives to enrich states and make them an integral part of India’s Growth Story through the 50-year interest-free loan to the state government to spur infrastructure, health care and socio-economic development.
• Foreign Exchange Reserves for India are US$563 Billion (excluding more than US$ 50 billion as loans to neighbouring countries) with over US$7 billion FDI being received monthly is an indication of India being one of the Most Favoured Nations for Investment.
• Globally despite the effect of Covid-19 & US increased interest rates help India have leverage on Fiscal Spending for long-term growth projects.
• The innovative methods of financing various projects using PPP mode will all add to the growth and help build the productive capacity of the economy and jobs.

7.Budget Empowers India’s Gen-Z

Introduction:

• For any country, youth is its biggest asset as youth power entails a spirit of innovation, technology prowess, entrepreneurship and sports acumen.
• India is blessed to have the highest number of young population. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, several policies to meet the youth’s aspirations have been implemented to achieve the vision of a developed India in Amrit Kaal by 2047.
• In the progressive landscape of India’s economic growth and development, youth has a significant leadership role.
• With high energy, innovation and creativity levels, Indian youth are meaningfully contributing to India’s growth story. 
• Youth are becoming more conscious of convergence and inclusion and are supporting efforts to foster dialogue with their global counterparts. The Union Budget 2023-24 has emphasised ‘Amrit Peedhi’ as a priority under the “Saptarishi” guiding through the Amrit Kaal. 
• It focuses on seven key areas: inclusive development, youth power, last-mile connectivity, infrastructure, green growth, unleashing potential, and a robust financial sector. 

• Youth empowerment is one of the top priorities in this year’s budget.

Tapping the Demographic Dividend:

• India is a consumer-driven economy with a young working-age population. Young people can adapt fast and be in sync with the dynamic macroeconomic ecosystem and technological change. 
• With a population of more than 1.4 billion, India marks a new phase in its growth story, enabling the opportunity to frame development strategies. 
• The median age in our country is 28.4, this is 38 in China and 47 in Germany. The rural youth population is 65 percent of the total population. 
• The population bulge with young people has produced a demographic dividend providing an unprecedented economic development trajectory. 
• Although there is a global economic slowdown, India’s GDP is projected to grow by 7 per cent in the current financial year as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Skill Development:

• One of the top priorities of this year’s budget is youth empowerment. Additional allocations in the budget for skill development and employment opportunities will empower the youth. 
• The proposal to launch Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 and set up Skill India International centres will facilitate imparting of world-class skill training to our youth. 
• Building the capacities of youth through quality education and skilling will contribute to economic growth. 
• A manifold increase in the budget for youth affairs and sports will help develop an enabling ecosystem for learning sports-related disciplines and technology, thus creating opportunities for the youth to make a career in the field of sports.

Education:

• Education and Skill Development are the growth drivers for inclusive development. Building the capacities of youth through quality education and skilling will contribute to economic growth.
• The 2023-24 Budget for the Ministry of Education is Rs 1,12,898.97 crores. It is the highest allocation so far. 
• The National Education Policy (NEP) lays the foundation for a comprehensive and inclusive education focusing on up-skilling and facilitating job creation at scale for well-rounded individuals armed with 21st-century skills. 

Youth-led Entrepreneurship:

• India has an inherent entrepreneurial spirit as nearly 79% of organisations in India are family-led businesses. 
• Our new-age businesses and Startups are creating a competitive edge for innovation and prosperity. With the burgeoning Startup ecosystem and the entrepreneurship culture, Indian youth are geared to become entrepreneurs and solve real-life problems. 
• Many young entrepreneurs are now exposed to early-stage incubation support through Atal Tinkering Labs in schools which is crucial to boost entrepreneurship from a young age.
• The launch of the Startup India Initiative in 2016 has boosted innovation and economic activities in our country. 
• India is the hub of the Startup ecosystem in the world, ranking third with more than 91,000 DP IIT- recognised startups and 108 unicorns worth 30 billion dollars; this has been manifested only by the contribution of India’s youth. 
• The Union Budget has proposed several strides to boost the startup ecosystem, improving the investment climate and boosting the entrepreneurial spirit of the youth.

Youth Power-one of the 07 top priorities: 

• Yuva Shakti is the prime driver for nation-building. India’s development journey depends on creating a progressive ecosystem for creating opportunities for youth to think big, create, innovate, and leapfrog for India’s growth and global impact. 
• The aspirational initiatives proposed in the Union Budget 2023-24 shall strengthen the Indian youth to realise their true potential thereby aiding their advancement, making them more competitive and securing formidable positions on the global front. 
• India’s youth are mindful of the critical challenges related to sustainable development; they are now more sensitised and have increased commitment to social, economic and environmental issues. 
• Policy-makers must create an enabling ecosystem for new-generation entrepreneurs who can become job providers. The time is ripe for India’s youth to rise to the occasion, channel their energy and tech prowess towards a self-reliant India and establish India’s name as a global leader.

8.Skills, Employment and Human Resource Development

Introduction:

• According to World Economic Forum (WEF) report published in October 2020, the rapid acceleration of automation and economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic will shift the division of labor between humans and machines, causing 85 million jobs to be displaced and 97 million new ones to be created by 2025
• India is home to the largest youth population in the world with around 66 percent of the total population below the age of 35
• Indian work force is set to grow by over 8 million per annum over the coming decade, most of which will be driven by youth entering the labor market

Challenges to the State:

• One of the major challenges for policymakers in the current workforce landscape is to create gainful employment and meaningful work opportunities for the ever increasing educated youth
• The other issue is close to 50% of under graduate engineering capacity lies unutilized due to the want of students

Skilling ecosystem:

• Vocational education in India has grown alongside the industry needs, which is supposed to prepare trained power
• Over the past decade , lot of efforts have been made to short term training especially described as ‘minimum employable Skills’ which opens doors for entry level employment, rather than looking vocational education as a whole
• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to integrate vocational education into mainstream education in a phased manner by the creation of a National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF), which will be coordinated with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) for ease of mobility between streams

Recent reforms in Skilling and Employment Landscape:

• Our country’s Technical & Vocational educational training (TVET) ecosystem has witnessed tremendous development, growth, and evolution since it’s inception in the Ministry of Skill development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in 2014
• The journey of bringing the “Neither in Employment, Education and Training (NEET) candidates to recognized Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK), Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS), and National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) centers is a positive move that will be augument the training and skilling ecosystem of the country and take it to the next level

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