Union budget 2023: Seeking diverse societal groups to bring economic stability

It is essential to adopt innovative approaches to operations management of a business unit at all phases of the management cycle due to the current economic climate's impact on the business environment. There are many management approaches and technologies that have evolved and improved over time, both in research and practice. This circumstance holds true equally for budgeting in many economic activity sectors. A technique for evaluating a country's economic development is the Economic Study.

The Economic Survey 2023–24, that was handed to Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, outlines the nation's economic patterns and enables a stronger insight of the way those trends are being mobilised.

GDP expands - The Survey states that the Indian Economy is estimated to grow by 8- 8.5 percent in real terms in 2022-23.

Revamp on tax slab

India's basic income tax relief limit is Rs 2.5 lakh per year. Additionally, a person having an annual taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh is qualified for an income tax rebate of Rs 12,500 under Section 87A of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Both the previous and current income tax regimes allow for this provision. In essence, this means that people whose net taxable income is up to Rs 5 lakh are completely exempt from paying income tax.

In Budget 2023, a uniform capital gains tax system is planned. More incentives and exemptions may be planned in order to boost disposable income in order to increase investments, savings, and wealth-building.

Gurmeet Singh Chawla - Director, Master Capital Services Ltd, said, "The budget is expected to spread its priority towards various sectors be it employment opportunities, equitable distribution of national incomes, enhance social protection, speed up the infrastructure etc. The rural development is one of the key areas which will be taken into consideration and the budget will focus on providing increased access to social security, health care, infrastructure & technology along with other benefits of different groups. It is most likely expected for the budget to cater to healthcare majorly this year.  GST reduction on life saving drugs, health insurance and hospitals will most likely happen. There is an increased focus on prioritising health & sanitation this year.

In the context of the current standard deduction limit, this can at least be enhanced to INR 1,00,000 from INR 50,000, to ensure even-handedness between salaried and business class. Moreover, the 1.5 lakh limit under section 80C of ITA, and tax deduction on medical expenses might also go through some transitions as the current figures appear quite low. The short-term capital gains tax has also gone from a slab rate to 10% from 15% at current levels.

Last year, to tackle the inordinate inflation rate, RBI had no choice but to increase the interest rates. This further led to a rise in both the interest and principle rates of loans including that of the housing market. The upcoming budget might bring in some relief on loan repayments.

Moreover, to give a boost to domestic production in certain sectors, there can be some rework done on the customs duties. Not only this will encourage people to buy locally produced goods/services but also give a push to the idea of a self-reliant economy. As for the educational sector, GST in this sphere can be removed for a period of 10 years, it will also provide some kind of level playing field for new Ed-tech companies. The pandemic, quite evidently had a huge effect on the educational sphere as the industry still continues to loom between offline and online learning.

Keeping in view the current number of active traders and investors, India is still far behind many developed nations. A slight correction in STT (Securities Transaction Tax) can help in improving this number. It is anticipated that the Indian stock market can become the 3rd largest in the world by 2027. To achieve this level, there is a dire need to make changes in the STT slab. Investors are expecting a uniform tax structure for capital gains which might help taxpayers to have more disposable income.

Furthermore, to support the advent of new technologies in the automobile sector, there is a vital need for an efficient and vast network of charging facilities for EV penetration. A CAPEX subsidy of 50% by the government, for setting up charging infrastructure across the country can assist in the same. The government is also expected to announce plans to increase the number of digital transactions and provide subsidies for digital banking infrastructure along with tax incentives for businesses and individuals who use digital banking services.

While the predictions might seem hopeful and constructive at the same time, controlling the fiscal deficit might be a major factor influencing the upcoming budget. With the global recession making its way into the international sphere, there is going to be a massive need for job creation and security at the same time".

Ed-tech sector

The education sector, which is among the top contributors to the economy and so remains a major emphasis every year, has high aspirations to maintain in the Union Budget for the years 2023–2024, which is just around the corner. To put things in perspective, the government provided a sum of Rs 63,449.37 for school education and literacy and Rs 40,828.35 crore for higher education in last year's Union Budget for 2022–23. The Union Budget 2023 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2023.

The upcoming Union Budget is anticipated to contain significant announcements for the developments, as the government recently launched a number of new initiatives and policy changes under the new National Education Policy (NEP). These include, among others, the use of regional languages in technical and medical education, the internationalisation of higher education, and investments in skill development. Additionally, efforts were made to increase employment prospects by promoting emerging industries like the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sector. The ed-tech industry, which is now struggling owing to a funding crisis, also anticipates a break.

Work from Home Benefits

As Experts predict that a number of significant adjustments and reliefs in tax filing for the average person may be implemented in the Union Budget 2023, which is expected to be unveiled on February 1 by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Work From Home Allowance intends to provide those who have been putting out effort to establish their home offices with a specific allowance. Since a direct allowance is unlikely to be given to them, people choosing the WFH model are likely to be given a tax-related relief. According to Archit Gupta, some exemption should be given to individual taxpayers who set up a home office to do business from there.

Finale on Budget

Mr. Gautam Nimmagadda, Founder & CEO, Quixy, said, “The past union budget focused copiously on amplifying the digital ecosystem in the country. But to explore a comprehensive digital India, the private and government sectors must be incentivized to adopt indigenous digital solutions developed particularly in the MSME sector. Currently, startups can avail of a tax holiday for 3 years since incorporation. However, the ideal exemption should be 10 years, in view of the high cost of solution development. As positive employment drivers, startups also require government intervention in the expensive affair of hiring and retaining the right talent to drive growth.

Furthermore, despite having several means of financial backing like PMRY, Credit Guarantee Fund for MSMEs, Start-up India, etc., MSMEs face tremendous challenges in gaining the right window of financial support. This discourages them from becoming an intrinsic part of the Digital India program. Hence, to lead the startups onwards and upwards, a single-window process to enable the right financial support from government would be incentivizing for MSMEs. This will catalyze and leverage the full inherent potential of the Indian technology industry to become champions of digitization”.

The analysis reveals the macroeconomic stability and conception of the Indian economy. It also focuses on the significant assistance that has been given for the development of monetary policy and the hope that comes with increasing other sectors of the Indian economy by targeting diverse societal groups will help bring about economic stability. As this economic category is rapidly evolving and changing over time, requiring specialised skills in fields like management, economics, governance, controlling, and others, the scope of budgeting encompasses a number of scientific positions.

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