The Union Budget 2023-24

First the good news: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that India’s per capita income has increased to Rs 1.97 lakh crore. This increase in the per capita income is a major jump in the past decades.

The Union budget was the last full-year budget before the country goes into general elections in 2024. There was a general apprehension that the government would use the budget to announce populist schemes for specific electoral constituencies. Instead, it refrained from populist measures, and projected a fiscal deficit of 5.9 per cent for 2023-24. The budget adhered to the fiscal deficit target of 6.4 per cent for 2022-23. The budget has set a disinvestment target of Rs 51,000 crore. Effective Capital Expenditure’ of Centre to be Rs. 13.7 lakh crore and Targeted Fiscal Deficit to be below 4.5% by 2025-26. Rs. 10 lakh crore capital investment, a steep increase of 33% for third year in a row, to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd-in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds.

Budget Estimates 2023-24:

• The total receipts other than borrowings is estimated at Rs 27.2 lakh crore and the total expenditure is estimated at Rs 45 lakh crore.

• The net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 23.3 lakh crore.

• The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 5.9 per cent of GDP.

• To finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore.

• The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BUDGET

PART A

• Per capita income has more than doubled to ₹1.97 lakh in around nine years.

• Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world in the past nine years.