1 February 2023

• Budget day: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24, the last full budget before the 2024 general election. Capital expenditure jumped to Rs 10 lakh crore, a 33 per cent rise.
• Economy: The Economic Survey 2022-23, tabled a day before the Budget, projected GDP growth at 6.0 to 6.8 per cent for 2023-24 and noted headline inflation at 6.8 per cent.
• Digital: Digital payments crossed 600 crore transactions a month. India reached 40 per cent installed non-fossil fuel capacity ahead of its 2030 target.
• Governance: The e-Gram SWARAJ portal and a real-time fiscal data portal were highlighted as governance reform anchors.

GS area: Economy, Governance

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament on 1 February 2023. It organised all proposals around seven priority areas called "Saptarishi." The headline numbers:

• Total expenditure: Rs 45 lakh crore.
• Total receipts (excluding borrowings): Rs 27.2 lakh crore.
• Fiscal deficit: 5.9 per cent of GDP for 2023-24. The government targets below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.
• Capital expenditure: Rs 10 lakh crore, or 3.3 per cent of GDP. This is a 33 per cent increase over the previous year.
• Effective capital expenditure (including grants to states for capital creation): Rs 13.7 lakh crore, or 4.5 per cent of GDP.
• Railways: Rs 2.40 lakh crore, the highest-ever railway allocation.

The seven Saptarishi priorities are Inclusive Development, Reaching the Last Mile, Infrastructure and Investment, Unleashing Potential, Green Growth, Youth Power, and Financial Sector. Each priority carries a cluster of scheme announcements.

Static linkage: Indian Economy (budget, fiscal policy, capital expenditure).

GS area: Economy, Governance

The tax and scheme changes carry multiple prelims hooks:

• Personal income tax rebate: raised to Rs 7 lakh under the new regime. The new tax regime now becomes the default, though the old regime remains available.
• Basic customs duty rates: reduced from 21 slabs to 13. Simplification of the tariff structure.
• Capital gains deduction: capped at Rs 10 crore for investments in residential property. Previously uncapped.
• GST prosecution threshold: raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore. Fewer small cases enter criminal proceedings.
• Startup incorporation benefit: extended to 31 March 2024 from 31 March 2023.

Selected scheme announcements by priority:

• PM PVTG Development Mission: targets 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups across 17 states and 1 Union Territory. Covers housing, water access, education and health.
• Aspirational Blocks Programme: covers 500 blocks, extending the Aspirational Districts framework down to the block level.
• PM Awas Yojana outlay: increased by 66 per cent.
• Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission: aims to screen tribals under 40 years and eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047.
• Mahila Samman Savings Certificate: one-time deposit of up to Rs 2 lakh at 7.5 per cent interest for two years. New instrument for women depositors.
• Senior Citizen Savings Scheme limit: raised from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

Static linkage: Indian Economy (budget provisions, flagship schemes).

GS area: Economy

The Economic Survey, presented the day before the Budget, is the government's annual macro snapshot. Key data points for prelims:

• GDP growth projection: 6.0 to 6.8 per cent for 2023-24. India remains the fastest-growing major economy, ahead of China's 5.4 per cent projection.
• Headline inflation: 6.8 per cent in 2022-23, above the RBI's 2 to 6 per cent tolerance band.
• Urban unemployment: declined from 9.8 per cent in Q2 2021 to 7.2 per cent in Q2 2022.
• Government health expenditure: reached 2.1 per cent of GDP as per the 2023 budget estimate.
• Agriculture: grew at 4.6 per cent annually over six years. Agricultural exports reached $50.2 billion in 2021-22.
• Digital payments: exceeded 600 crore transactions monthly. India's services exports placed the country in the top 10 globally.
• Non-fossil fuel capacity: India reached 40 per cent of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources ahead of its 2030 target.

Static linkage: Indian Economy (macroeconomic indicators, planning, data releases).

GS area: Economy (environment and energy)

The Budget designated Green Growth as one of the seven Saptarishi priorities. Specific allocations:

• Battery Energy Storage: 4,000 MWH of battery storage capacity target.
• Ladakh renewable energy evacuation: Rs 8,300 crore for inter-state transmission to carry 13 GW of renewable energy from Ladakh.
• GOBARdhan plants: 500 "waste to wealth" plants for biogas and compressed biogas.
• PM-PRANAM: scheme to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers by incentivising states to reduce their use.
• Bio-Input Resource Centres: 10,000 centres to promote biological inputs for natural farming.
• MISHTI: Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes. To be implemented through MGNREGA and CAMPA Fund convergence. India has 4,992 sq km of mangroves. West Bengal has the highest cover at 2,114 sq km.

Static linkage: Environment (mangroves, renewable energy, green economy).

GS area: International Relations, Science and Technology

The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) was announced as an India-US partnership in 2021. The Budget week brought renewed attention to its cooperation areas:

• Focus sectors: quantum computing, semiconductors, space, artificial intelligence, 6G wireless technology, and defence innovation.
• Mechanism: aims to accelerate technology partnerships and strategic convergence by linking research agencies, industry, and academic institutions across both countries.
• Semiconductor supply chain: resilience of chip supply chains is a stated priority. India's Production Linked Incentive for semiconductors and the iCET are complementary instruments.

The partnership matters for the GS paper because it sits at the intersection of foreign policy, technology governance, and strategic autonomy.

Static linkage: India and the world (India-US relations), Science and Technology.

GS area: Governance

Two digital governance instruments received attention alongside the Budget:

• e-Gram SWARAJ: part of the Panchayat Enterprise Suite under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project. The platform supports "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance" at the grassroots level. Its PRIASoft module enables online payment to vendors and service providers at the gram panchayat level.
• Real-time fiscal data portal: the 2018 National Statistical Commission committee had flagged that India's fiscal database was "fragmented, incomplete, and often comes with lags." The proposed portal would improve public spending efficiency by making data on government expenditure available in real time. The Budget proposed accelerating this.

Static linkage: Governance (local self-government, digital governance).

• IMF World Economic Outlook Update (January 2023): global recession not expected. Global inflation peaked in 2022 with disinflation expected through 2024. India projected to remain the fastest-growing major economy.
• Agriculture credit target: raised to Rs 20 lakh crore in the Budget.
• Eklavya Model Residential Schools: 38,800 teachers and support staff to be recruited for 740 schools serving 3.5 lakh tribal students.
• 50 new airports: the Budget proposed 50 additional airports, heliports and water aerodromes to improve regional connectivity.
• 3 AI Centres of Excellence: to be set up in top educational institutions with industry partnership.