Budget 2023 LIVE Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present Union Budget 2023-24 today

07:55 (IST)

Budget 2023 LIVE Updates

Budget needs to be a growth-oriented in line with economic outlook of India: USISPF

This year's annual budget needs to be a growth-oriented one in line with the country's economic outlook, a top American India-centric strategic and business advocacy group said Tuesday.

The previous budgets were focused on pandemic recovery.

This current budget needs to be a growth-oriented budget in line with India's economic outlook, said Mukesh Aghi, president of the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum.

PTI

Budget 2023 LIVE Updates: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament today, the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term.

This year’s Budget holds much significance as the country is scheduled to have the next Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024.

The budget session of the Parliament began on Tuesday with President’s address. This year’s budget session is going to have 27 sittings till 6 April with a month-long recess to examine the budget papers. The first part of the session will conclude on 13 February. Parliament will reconvene on 12 March for the second part of the Budget Session and conclude on 6 April.

The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday tabled the Economic Survey for the Financial Year 2022-23.

The Economic Survey said that India’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 per cent to 6.8 per cent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to 7 per cent this fiscal and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22.

Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form.

Amid growing public expectations around the Union Budget 2023, top business leaders of the country have also put forward their suggestions for Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Arihant Infrastructures, CMD, Ashok Chhajer told ANI that the government should focus on reducing home loan rates.

“The government should reduce home loan rates. The affordable housing segment, which is capped at Rs 45 lakh, should be changed to Rs 60-75 lakh which is the average cost of a house in Metro cities and 2-tier cities,” said Chhajer.

Hiranandani Group MD, Niranjan Hiranandani said the Budget should focus on further investments in roads, railways, ports, airports and highways, as well as slum rehabilitation schemes.

He added that if multimodal transport becomes successful in the next 2-3 years, the logistics cost can be reduced by 3-4 per cent for every item in the country.

“Logistics cost in India is 13 per cent. If our multimodal transport matters become successful in the next 2-3 years, we can reduce logistics cost by 3-4 per cent for every item in the country,” he added.

A key expectation of the healthcare sector from the upcoming Budget 2023 is an increase in expenditure on healthcare infrastructure, said experts in this field.

Keeping the COVID-19 pandemic in view, the Budget 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 focused on the country’s healthcare sector.

During the Budget 2022-2023, the Centre in its Budget announced rolling out an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem which consists of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities.

Besides, Sitharaman also highlighted the launch of the National Tele Mental Health Programme, which included building a network of 23 telecentres to support the mental well-being of individuals, and families.

According to Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, Senior Vice President, NATHEALTH and MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare, “India is amongst the most preferred destinations globally for medical tourism and therefore, increased policy support is required to encourage, facilitate medical value travel to India, develop MVT as an organized sector.”

“Another critical area is addressing the shortage of healthcare professionals – by identifying doctors, nurses and technical staff willing to work in Tier 2/3 cities and looking at non-traditional ways to double the number of doctors. We should look at best practices adopted in universities abroad (fall/summer admission pattern) to increase seats in existing medical colleges,” he said.

Dr Ashutosh further said the sector needs lower-cost financing through tax incentives for both existing and new healthcare projects. For new projects, the Government should provide a tax holiday period of 15 years and for existing projects, tax relief for 10 years as re-investment support.

The Indian Medical Association(IMA) has recently submitted suggestions to the government of India for the Budget. The IMA has submitted overall twelve suggestions for the Budget.

Some of them include– IMA feels the opportune time to do so has arrived. It is expected that GOI will be able to take this monumental step. Universal access to Health including safe water, sanitation, nutrition, primary education as well as eradication of poverty is a cornerstone in the path to the wellness of a society and nation. Conceptualizing good Governance to attain the wellness of a people could mean clubbing together these services (clinical, public health and social determinants) under one roof. At least drinking water, sanitation and poverty alleviation should be clubbed with Health as Ministry for wellness.

The Union Budget 2023 is a much-anticipated event for the real estate sector in India. Industry experts and stakeholders have high expectations from the government as they hope to see a number of reforms and initiatives that can help boost the real estate market and encourage investment in the sector.

The area of interest for the real estate sector is tax incentives. Real estate developers and investors are hoping for tax breaks and other financial incentives that can help lower the cost of developing new projects and make it more profitable for them. This can also encourage more investment in the sector and help boost the economy as a whole.

Another key area of focus for the real estate sector is affordable housing.

Industry experts said many people are struggling to find affordable housing options with the increasing cost of living and rising real estate prices.

The government is expected to announce new initiatives and funding for affordable housing projects to make them more accessible to a wider range of people.

The realty sector is looking forward to an increase in tax rebates, policy reformation, receiving industry status, and the long-awaited single window clearance. In addition, the real estate sector is hoping to see increased investment in infrastructure and transportation systems. This can help improve the accessibility and livability of real estate markets, making them more attractive to potential buyers and investors.

The stakeholders in the tourism business in Himachal Pradesh are expecting special provisions for the state in the next Union Budget.

The stakeholders of tourism Industry stakeholders in the region said they were hopeful of certain special provisions in the Budget for boosting tourism industries in hill states such as Himachal Pradesh.

Local travel agents and hoteliers’ said they want special budgetary provisions in the field of tourism, which contributes significantly to the state GDP.

Hotel businesses are also looking at a special package to boost religious tourism and sought separate allocations for the development of infrastructure.

As the countdown begins for the presentation of the Union Budget for fiscal 2023-24, citizens across a wide spectrum of society have put forward their expectations.

The Union Budget, also comprising the Railway Budget, will be presented on the floor of the Parliament on 1 February, Wednesday.

Meanwhile, homemakers said rising inflation is eating into their household budgets, making it difficult for them to put a leash on their expenses. They said the rising prices of essential food items and LPG cylinders have added to their woes.

The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on 10 October.

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