Budget Session 2022: Nirmala Sitharaman stresses budget aimed to boost growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the final draft of the Budget 2022-23 where she stressed that the budget is aimed at promoting growth. The Budget was crucial especially given the tie of the assembly elections.

One of the most noticeable things this time was the length of the budget. It won’t be wrong to say that it took half the duration of last year to complete the presentation. This cleared a lot of things for the experts. Having said that, some of the changes that will impact the citizens can be found below-

1. The capital expenditure for this year has been increased. The government has decided to increase it to Rs 7.5 lakh crore.
2. The budget also saw the finance minister announce the roll out of epassports. She said that the e-passports will be in 2022-23 for convenience of overseas travel.
3. Sitharaman also talked about Parvatmala scheme saying that contracts will be awarded in 2022-23 for eight ropeway projects of 60 km length
4. The center also proposed provisions file an updated return on payment of additional tax
5. Digital currency was another hot topic during the budget session. “The digital currency will be generated by using blockchain technology,” said FM while addressing the issue.
6. Attempt to promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has also been made by extending the  Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) , which was introduced in 2020, till 2022-23.
7. She also said that the committee has decided to add Rs. 50,000 Cr. to ECLGS for benefit of hospitality, related sectors having noticed how pandemic impacted the sector
8. Praising the start up culture, the FM also noted the importance of Private equity funds and venture capitalists. Things regarding the policies related to this will also be discussed for which a committee has also been formed.
9. The FM also announced proposal for  for bringing out Battery Swapping Policy and interoperability standards
10. Niti Ayog CEO has appreciated the budget calling it ‘progressive’.