BUDGET 2022: HIGHLIGHTS

Hello Readers,

Welcome to My Blog!! Today I came up with an exciting topic to discuss with you all. Yes, you guessed it right!! It's that time of the year "Budget Session"!! So here I'm bringing to you all the key points discussed in the budget. Without any further delay, let's dive in and see what's there for everyone of us!!

Everyone's eyes are now set on the honorable Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who presented her fourth budget on Tuesday, 1st February 2022. She delivered her speech in 90 minutes in a paperless format for the second time.

Here are the sector-wise highlights from the budget 2022-23 announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

1. TAX:

• Let's begin with Income tax. Taxpayers have anticipated there would be some change in the slab rates. But

• NO CHANGE in Income tax rates and slabs.

• Taxpayers can file updated IT Returns within TWO years from the relevant assessment year in a one-time window.

• Surcharge on Long term Capital gains (LTCG) capped at 15%

• Any surcharge or Cess on income and profits is not allowed as Business Expenditure.

• Surcharge on Co-operative societies to be reduced from 12% to 7% for those with total Income between Rs.1 crore and Rs.10 crore.

• Alternate Minimum Tax for Cooperative societies to be reduced to 15% from 18.5%.

• Tax deduction limit increased from 10% to 14% on employers' contributions to the NPS account of State government employees.

• Tax exemption for Start-ups extended to March 2023

• GST collection for January 2022 is at a record of 1.41 Trillion. Highest ever since its inception.

• Extension of Customs Duty exemption on Steel scrap

• Customs duty on unpolished diamonds and gemstones to be reduced to 5%

2. CRYPTOCURRENCY:

• Income from the transfer of digital assets is to be taxed at 30%

• No deduction shall be allowed while computing such income except the Cost of the Acquisition

• Loss from transfer cannot be set off against any other income

• TDS of 1% will be levied on the transfer of digital assets above a monetary threshold

• Recipient to be taxed in case of gift of Virtual digital assets

3. Economy:

Entering Amrit Kaal, the top focus of this year's budget is:

• PM Gati Shakti

• Inclusive development

• Productivity enhancement, sunrise opportunities, energy transition, and climate action

• Financing of Investments

4. HEALTH:

• An open platform for the national digital health ecosystem will be rolled out.

• It will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, a unique health identity consent framework, and universal access to health facilities.

• A National tele-mental health program will be launched for mental health counseling with a network of 23 tele-mental health centers.

5. AGRICULTURE:

• Government to pay Rs. 2.37 lakh crore to 1.63 crore farmers for procurement of wheat and paddy under MSP operations.

• Chemical-free natural farming to be promoted throughout the country

• 2022-23 has been announced as the International Year of Millets

• A rationalized scheme to increase domestic oilseed production will be brought in to cut down imports

• Delivery of Digital and Hi-tech services to farmers in PPP mode

• Promotion of Kissan drones for crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides, and nutrients.

6. EDUCATION:

• One class One TV channel program of PM eVidya to be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels

• This will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1 to 12

• Digital university for world-class quality universal education with a personalized learning experience to be established using a hub and spoke model.

7. INFRASTRUCTURE:

• National highways network will be expanded by 25000km in 2022-23

• One station one product concept will be popularized to help local businesses and supply chains

• 400 new generation Vande Bharat trains to be manufactured during the next three years

• 100 PM Gatishakti cargo terminals for multimodel logistics to be developed during the next three years

8. FINANCE:

• Digital rupee using Blockchain Technology to be rolled out in 2022-23

• 75 digital banks in 75 districts will be set up by scheduled commercial banks to encourage digital payments

• World-class University to be allowed in GIFT IFSC free from domestic regulation

9. MSME:

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for small and medium-sized businesses to be extended to March 2023

MSMEs such as Udyam, e-shram, NCS & Assem portals will be interlinked to widen their scope.

10. TRAVEL

• Issuance of e-passports using an embedded chip with futuristic tech will be rolled out for the convenience of the citizens for their overseas travel.

11. INTERNET:

• Spectrum auction will be conducted in 2022 for the rollout of 5G

• The scheme for design-led manufacturing in 5G will be launched as part of PLI scheme

12. DEFENCE:

• 68 percent of the capital procurement budget for defence sector to be earmarked for domestic industry

• Defense R&D will be opened up for industry, startups, and academia with 25% of the defense R&D budget

13. OTHER KEY POINTS:

• Battery swapping policy to allow EV charging stations for automobiles will be framed

• Startups will be promoted to facilitate 'Drone shakti.'

• Tax exemption for Start-ups extended to March 2023

• Rs. 19,500 crores additional allocation for PLI manufacturing high-efficiency solar modules.

• Recognizing the importance of 'Nari Shakti,' three schemes, namely Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, Saksham Anganwadi, and Poshan 2.0, were launched to provide integrated benefits to women and children.

• Two lakh anganwadis to be upgraded under this scheme.

• 60,000 crore rupees allocated to provide tap water access to 3.8 crore households in 2022-23.

I hope you find this article helpful. Please share it and pass on these updates.