The 2022 Union Budget saw Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman focusing on government spending to boost growth.
Budget 2022 was Sitharaman's shortest budget speech, which lasted one hour and 30 minutes -- a paperless budget that was read out from a tablet.
These were the major takeaways of Budget 2022
Bigger budget
The FM presented a budget of Rs 39.45 lakh crore for FY23 which focused on infrastructure investment to boost revival from the pandemic.
Capex push
FM Sitharaman bumped up capital expenditure by 35% to Rs 7.50 lakh crore. The move was part of India's efforts to revive the economy through higher investments amid disruption from the pandemic and rising inflation.
Affordable housing
FM announced the completion of 80 lakh homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and allocation of Rs 48,000 crore under PMAY urban and rural. As many as 80 lakh homes are expected to come up by 2023.
Slower privatisation
The Centre pegged a divestment target for FY23 at Rs 65,000 crore.
Taxpayers
Taxpayers were given opportunity to correct errors and file updated returns within two years of the relevant assessment year.
Tax deduction limit
The tax deduction limit for state government employees on the employer’s contribution to the National Pension System increased to 14 percent from 10 percent to bring them at par with Central government employees.
LTCG
The surcharge on long-term capital gains arising from the transfer of any type of asset was capped at 15 percent.
Rail network
As part of Atmanirbhar Bharat, 2,000 km of network was to be brought under Kavach, the indigenous, world-class technology for safety and capacity augmentation, in FY23.
Vande Bharat trains
400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains to be built over the next three years.
5G rollout
Spectrum auctions was to conducted in 2022 to facilitate the rollout of 5G mobile services.
Paperless e-bill system
A completely paperless, end-to-end online e-bill system to be started for use by all central ministries for their procurements as a further step to enhance transparency and to reduce delays in payments.
E-passports
E-passports using embedded chips and futuristic technology was announced to make overseas travel more convenient.
Defence
To reduce imports and promote AtmaNirbharta in equipment for the armed forces, 68 percent of the capital procurement budget was earmarked for the domestic defence industry.
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