On February 1, 2023, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the final full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. By declaring income up to Rs. 3 lakh free from income tax, the government made the new income tax system more palatable. With a refund, anyone making up to 7 lakh will no longer have to pay income tax. 

Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria reaction on the Budget

Senior BJP leader and former Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria described the budget as impressive and he has not seen any budget like this in his political life. Apart from this he also said that it is a beneficial budget for every section. Although the leaders of the Communist Party of India are not calling this budget useful for farmers and tribals. 

Senior leader of the Communist Party of India and Senior Advocate Rajesh Singhvi said that even in the budget, changes were made in the tax slabs, but what did a remote area give to the farmer. No announcement was made regarding the minimum wage for the tribals. Money law has been made for the tribals, but it is not being fully implemented, whereas if this law is implemented, the farmer will be prosperous.

The main components of Budget 2023–24 will contribute to the wellbeing of every state and sector in the country. It will center on "Amrit Kaal," which is said to be the most fortunate period to start a new thing. On the occasion of India's 75th Independence Day in the year 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi first used the word "Amrit Kaal." The purpose of this is to raise Indian citizens standards of living. 

Vision of Amrit Kaal

Vision of Amrit Kaal will fall under three categories namely Opportunities for citizens with focus on the youth, Growth and Job Creation and Strong and stable Macro-Economic Environment. 

Finance Minister Sitharaman lists seven goals that she refers to as "Saptrishi"

These seven goals include Inclusive Development, Reaching the Last Mile, Infrastructure and Investment, Youth Power, Unleashing the Potential, Green Growth and Financial Sector. 

Inclusive Development will include Agriculture and Cooperatives - Under this work will be done in Building Digital Public Infrastructure, Setting up Agriculture Accelerator Fund, ANB Horticulture Clean Plant Program, Targeted Funding, Making India Global Hub for Millets and Setting up of widely available storage capacity. The goals of this developments are to provide 9 crore drinking water connections to rural houses, Cash transfer of Rs 2.2 lakh crore to over 11.4 crore Farmers under PM-KISAN, Insurance Cover, 11.7 crore household toilets constructed under SBM, 47.8 crore PM Jan Dhan bank accounts, 9.6 LPG connections under Ujjawala and 220 crore Covid vaccinations of 102 crore persons.

Health sector will include 157 New Nursing Colleges, Sickle Cell Anaemia Mission, New Program to promote research in Pharmaceuticals and Joint Public and Private Medical Research. 

Education and Skilling which includes Revamped teachers training via District Institutes of Education and Training, National Digital Library. 

Reaching the Last Mile

Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission to be launched, Financial assistance to be given for sustainable micro irrigation in drought prone regions of Karnataka, More teachers to be recruited for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, Bharat (SHRI) to be set up for digitization of ancient inscriptions. 

Infrastructure and Investment 

This will include Increased Capital investments outlay by 33.4% to Rs 10 Lakh crore, Continuation of 50 year interest fee loan to State Government, Highest ever Capital outlay of Rs 2.4 lakh crore for Railways, 100 transport infrastructure projects, Creating Urban Infrastructure in Tier 2 and 3 cities via establishment of UIDF.

Green Growth will consist of PM-PRANAM, 500 Waste to Wealth plants, Sustainable Ecosystem development and other initiatives. 

Under Youth Power the goals will be covering new courses like coding, AI, Robotics, 3D printing under PMKVY 4.0. Measures to Boost Tourism sector and States will be encouraged to set-up Unity Malls. 

Financial Sector will include Setting up of National Financial Information registry, Setting up of a Central Data processing Center, Mahila Samman Bachat Patra, Benefits for Senior Citizens and other initiatives. 

The Budget will support the Macro-Economic level growth focus with a micro-economic level all inclusive welfare focus. The Budget will also promote Digital Economy. 

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