Every year, on the 1st of February, the Finance Minister of India announces the Budget at the Parliament. This year, FM Nirmala Sitharaman called out some huge changes, relating to business, startups, and entrepreneurship.

Sitharaman announced major changes for taxpayers and economy in tax slabs under the new tax regime and big hike in allocation for MSMEs and other sectors. This has made the new income tax regime more attractive for taxpayers and has thus brought about ‘substantial changes’ in its structure for the benefit of the middle class. Here are some of the key highlights below:

MSMEs

Revamped credit guarantee for MSMEs to take effect from Apr 1, 2023 with infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in corpus. 130 lakh MSMEs will receive additional credit under the ECLGS, extended until March 2023. ECLGS guarantee coverage will increase by Rs 50,000 crore, totaling Rs 5 lakh crore. Additional Rs 2 lakh crore credit for Micro and Small Enterprises available through CGTMSE. RAMP program with a budget of Rs 6,000 crore to be launched.

Health

Health sector has been allocated Rs 89,155 crore in the Union Budget.

On a mission to eliminate sickle cell Anaemia by 2047. The industry will be encouraged to invest in research with the development of new programme in pharmaceuticals. The budget allotment for National Health Mission has been increased from Rs 28,974.29 crore. The allotment has been increased from INR 140 Crore to INR 341.02 Crore for the National Digital Health Mission – NHM. The budget allocation has been increased from Rs 121 crore to Rs 133.73 crore for “National Tele Mental Health Programme” will be launched to offer quality mental health counselling and care services.

Interest-Free Loan

Centre to continue 50-year interest-free loan to state governments for one more year.

Agriculture

An Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs. INR 20 Lakh Crore agricultural credit targeted at animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries. One crore farmers will get assistance to adopt natural farming in the next 3 years.

Launching a sub-scheme under PM Mastya Sampada Yojna with outlay of INR 6 thousand Crore to further enable activities of fishermen. ‘Shree Anna’, the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR), Hyderabad will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level to make our country a global hub.

Farmers will receive payments of INR 2.37 Lakh Crore for purchasing wheat and rice. NABARD will provide blended capital funding for agriculture and rural enterprise startups. “Kisan Drones” will be utilized to evaluate crops, digitize land records, and apply insecticides and nutrients.

Travel

Promotion of tourism will be taken up on mission mode with active participation of states, the convergence of Govt. programs & public-private partnerships.

There will be 50 tourist destinations to be selected through challenge mode to be developed as a whole package for domestic and international tourism.

There will be a large potential to be tapped in tourism which will offer immense attraction for domestic as well as foreign tourists. The sector will provide huge opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship for youth in particular.

Education

There will be three centres of excellence for artificial intelligence to be set up in top educational institutions. The PM eVIDYA program will expand to 200 channels, virtual labs and skilling e-labs will be established to promote critical thinking, high-quality e-content will be created for delivery through Digital Teachers and a Digital University will be established to provide world-class, personalized education.

Digital Innovation Service

100 labs for developing applications to use 5G services to be set up in engineering institutions. These labs will cover smart classrooms, precision farming, and healthcare applications. Top industry players will partner to developing, providing scalable options for health, agriculture, and other sectors.

Careers

To skill the youth for international opportunities, 30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across different States.

Digital Rupees

Digital Rupee will be introduced in 2023.

Above highlights for Union Budget 2023 has laid down a blueprint to steer the economy towards increased growth and prosperity. As the country is sowing the correct path, focusing on consistently improving the country’s business environment and implementing innovative measures to boost manufacturing and investments in the country has unlocked the potential of the country’s economy and presents game-changing opportunities for domestic businesses, multinational companies, and the government. This brings focus on variety of areas for private sector, start-ups and entrepreneurs to build a more sustainable way of life onwards.