The Union Budget 2022, in my view, is a growth oriented and forward-looking budget that focusses on long-term goals through the implementation of the PM Gatishakti Plan for infrastructure development.Agriculture has been the backbone of our economy and has grown even during the pandemic.The budget has made substantial allocation for agriculture and rural development under various schemes.It has announced payment of Rs 2.3 lakh crores of MSP directly to farmers during the procurement of Rabi wheat and 1,000 LMT of paddy, which will benefit more than a crore farmers.
Recognising the need for imparting education in villages, which got impacted on account of the pandemic, the Union government has announced PM e-vidya to provide supplementary education by increasing the channels on which it will be available to 400.The vision for spreading education in rural India also includes completion of the laying down of optical fibres in villages by 2025.This will enable India to bridge the urban and rural divide in terms of education and technology.
The budget has once again stressed the need to spend and improve access to technology and digitisation.
Digital villages will catalyse growth in rural India.Apart from the aforesaid, focusing on trust-based governance by implementing IT bridges and removing overlapping of compliance, will facilitate Ease of Doing Business.
There’s a clear thrust on digitisation, fintech and lowering costs of transaction and an aspect that highlights this is the decision to make postal savings interoperable through ATMs, netbanking and payment apps, which will provide convenience to senior citizens and rural users.
The outlay for capital expenditure has been increased by 35.4 per cent to Rs.7.50 lakh crore for the FY 2022-23 which is 2.9 per cent of the GDP.The government has fixed targets for enhancing infrastructure, including 400 Vande Bharat trains over the next three years and adding another 25,000 kilometres in national highways.Houses for 80 lakh families will be completed under the PM Awaas Yojana and the financial outlay for housing projects is Rs 48,000 crore.The increased public spending will provide an impetus to consumption within India.
Keeping global cues in mind, the budget has enhanced the focus on sustainability, climate change, clean energy and ESG.The PLI scheme, which has been globally accepted as a success, has been extended to solar panels, implementing data centres and clean energy storage.Other measures toward sustainability include a policy for battery swapping for EVs and Sovereign Green Bonds to raise funds for public infrastructure.These steps will align with global trends and increase global investor confidence.
The crypto currency phenomenon, which has been the most debated topic in recent times, has been addressed in this budget by clearly distinguishing between crypto currency and digital currency.Taxing gains on crypto currency has certainly put an end to speculative trading and malpractices.
The government has also clearly stated its intent to issue a digital currency in the year 2022-23.
Through the budget, India’s policy makers have laid down the vision and mission for infrastructure development, driving sustainability, agri-tech, aggressive digitalisation and increased outreach to villages..
