FM, Sitharaman focuses on 7 priorities of Budget 2023, calls them 'Saptrishi'

By siliconindia  |  Wednesday, 01 February 2023, 12:27:51 PM IST

FM, Sitharaman focuses on 7 priorities of Budget 2023, calls them 'Saptrishi'

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 7 priorities of the Budget for fiscal 2022-2023 at 11 am today at the Parliament in New Delhi.

The 'Saptrishi' of the Budget 2023, according to FM Nirmala Sitharaman are:

Inclusive development

According to the Finance Minister, the government's Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas policy has benefitted many sections, including women, SCs, STs, OBCs, and other underprivileged groups. Agriculture will benefit from an open source, open standard, and interoperable digital public infrastructure.

Agricultural startups will be encouraged through the establishment of an accelerator fund. In addition, modern technology will be introduced to transform agro practices. Providing innovative and affordable solutions to farmers' present-day challenges is the idea.

The government will launch an Atmanirbhar Clean Plant program to boost availabiltiy of disease-free, quality planting material, she says. The Minister claimed that India is at the forefront of popularizing millets, which improve food security and farmer well-being.

“We grow several types of Shree Anna, such as Jowar, Raagi, Bajra, Ramdana, Cheena and Saama… These have a number of health benefits and have been an integral part of our food for centuries,” she added.

Reaching the last mile

Building on success of Aspirational District program, we have recently launched the Aspirational Blocks program, covering 500 blocks for saturation of government services.

In order to improve the economic conditions of particularly vulnerable groups, PM-Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Group Development Mission was launched. Safe housing, clean water, road, and telecom connectivity will be provided. An Amount of 15,000 crores was allocated to implement this across three years.

The FM also said that 38,800 teachers and support staff would be recruited for 740 Eklavya residential schools, which serve 3.5 lakh tribal students.

Infrastructure and investment

The capital investment outlay is being increased steeply by 33 percent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 percent of GDP.

A 35.4% increase in the outlay to Rs 7.50 lakh crore was made in FY 2022-23. In the previous year, it was Rs 5.54 lakh crore.

The amount will be almost three times what was spent in 2019-20.

Unleashing the potential

Financial sector

Credit guarantee for the MSMEs. The revamp schemes will take effect from 2023 through an infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus. This will enable another collateral-free credit of Rs 2 lakh crore. Further the cost of credit will be reduced by around 1 percent.

Green growth

India is moving forward firmly to achieve the net zero target. The recently launched national green hydrogen with an outlay of Rs 19,700 crore will facilitate the transition of the economy to low carbon intensity and reduce dependency on fossil fuel imports. Our target is to reach an annual production of 5 MMT by 2030. This budget provides for Rs 35,000 crore capital investment towards energy transition and net zero objective and energy security by the Ministry of petroleum and natural gas, the FM declared.

The FM said four transformative opportunities can be used in Amrit Kaal to enhance economic empowerment. The finance minister said the digital public infrastructure for agriculture will be built as open source, open standard and interoperable public good. Infrastructure growth has been offering multiplier effects in the economy. Under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), over 89,151 projects worth Rs 141.4 lakh crore are under various stages of implementation.

The government has also launched the National Monetisation Pipeline with an investment potential of Rs 9 lakh crore.

Green credit programs for encouraging behavioral change will be notified under the environment protection act.

This will incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive action by companies, individuals, and local bodies in mobilizing additional resources for such activity.

Youth power

The government has formulated the National Education Policy.

There will be a launch of the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 to skill lakhs of youth. In addition to drones and 3D printing, the scheme will cover new age courses.

There will be 30 Skill India International centers in various states.

The FM also announced the launch of a unified skill platform for India. To provide stipends to 47 lakh youth in three years, direct benefit transfer under a Pan-India national apprenticeship scheme will be rolled out. This is a developing story, stay tuned for more information.

Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, India & Vice President APAC, at Barco said, “Indian economy is heading towards a bright future, the 'Saptrishi' of the Budget 2023 prioritizes on inclusive development, reaching last mile, unleashing potential, green growth, youth power. Announcement around adding 50 tourist destinations as a whole package and focusing holistically on physical as well as virtual connectivity, tourist guides, high standards for food streets and tourists’ security through an app to enhance tourist experience, is a significant step that will unlock growth and job opportunities in the sector. The Budget is perfectly aligned with Barco’s aim to make India a popular tourist destination with visible impact, allowing people to enjoy compelling entertainment experiences. Further, Budget has focused on overall growth & sustainability as India has the potential to be a world-class infrastructure centre, moving toward net zero carbon emissions by 2070 & setting up the AI based solutions in health, education, and sustainable cities will give additional push towards the extensive use of technology.

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