Budget 2022 prioritise big ideas for transformational change

Contact Counsellor

Last Updated04/02/2022

As India celebrates 75 years of Independence and prepares to spend the next 25 years in building its stature as a global power to reckon with, this budget will serve as the guiding light on India’s pathway to prosperity and international dominance.
The Union budget brings in several new ideas and fits them snugly in the framework of government policies and expenditure.
The goals that the current government has set for the Amrit Kaal are ambitious, comprehensive and unambiguous.

Focus on growth and all-inclusive welfare.
Technology-enabled development
Comprehensive energy transition plan, coupled with climate action.
Push for a virtuous cycle of private investment, crowded in by public capital investment.

It is a new vision for how infrastructure is developed in the country, inclusive development with the fruits of progress reaching the last person in society, innovative financing of investments and productivity enhancements and a focus on sunrise sectors.
The budget outlines the government’s vision for these goals and priorities very ably and effectively.
This budget gives a thrust to strong infrastructure building.
Under the PM Gati Shakti framework, the budgetary capital expenditure has been increased by 35 per cent.
Seven sectors of roads, railways, ports, airports, mass transit, waterways and logistics infrastructure will be the thrust of this record-high of Rs 7.5 lakh crore government asset-building push.

The 14 production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes operationalised by the government will result in additional industrial output of Rs 30 lakh crore over the next five years and create 60 lakh new jobs.
An additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crore has been made for the solar industry PLI scheme.
This will also help India realise its goal of 280-gigawatt solar installed capacity by 2030.

An additional Rs 50,000 crore has been provided for the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, which will be used exclusively for the hospitality and related sectors.
This will benefit a beleaguered sector and help stabilise business operations as the tourism industry recovers.

Another interesting feature of the budget is creating specific, targeted development plans for different geographies based on the data and indicators available.
A new scheme, the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East, has been proposed to be implemented via the North Eastern Council.
In the spirit of the PM Gati Shakti plan, this scheme will fund local infrastructure.
However, the prioritisation and selection of the projects will be done by the states themselves.
The decision-making and execution for this Rs 1,500 crore programme will be decentralised from end to end.
Not only will this programme create better local accessibility, bringing jobs to the region, but will also demonstrate the true spirit of devolution and local empowerment.

In the spirit of cooperative federalism, collaboration with the states is also reflected in a Rs 1.05 lakh crore support to the states for productive economic investments.
These will be 50-year interest-free loans over and above the state borrowing, demonstrating true federalism and bereft of any political considerations.
States will also benefit from central support on urban planning, which has been identified as key to improving ease of living.

Draft project reports of five river links, namely the Damanganga-Pinjal, the Par-Tapi-Narmada, the Godavari-Krishna, the Krishna-Pennar and the Pennar-Cauvery have been finalised.
These projects will immensely benefit the southern states.

The budget lays the path not only for a “Digital India”, but also for a “Digital First India”.
Be it banking, education, agriculture, health or skill development, digital will be the backbone for India’s socioeconomic transformation.
For each sector, the budget offers specific interventions and a futuristic vision of how the J-curve of productivity can be unleashed.

The taxation proposals reflect the government’s view of balancing the precarious pandemic situation and the need for constant improvements on the margins.
Capital gains being capped at 15 per cent will help unleash a wave of angel investments in Indian start-ups.
This will help develop a new asset class for those who are able to invest in emerging businesses.
As the service economy opens up further and activities like travel and tourism pick up, the goods and services tax collection will continue to build on a robust base.
The Finance Minister has also proposed a realistic fiscal deficit target given the current scenario which is indeed a commendable achievement.