THE HEADLINES:

• Union Budget for 2023-24 pegs country's economic growth for current financial year at seven per cent.

• Finance Minister says, the Union Budget lays emphasis on empowering Women, Youth and Artisans. 

• Several tax concessions  in the Budget to benefit individual tax payers.

• Rebate limit for Income tax payers raised from 5 lakh to 7 lakh rupees.

• One hundred and fifty-seven new nursing colleges to be set up in  157 medical colleges existing since 2014.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Budget strives to fulfill dreams of the aspirational society, poor, villages and middle class.

• Trade and Industry organisations welcome the Budget as progressive and growth oriented.

• Hydrogen trains to start running in the country by the end of this year, says Railway Minister.

• The decisive third and final T20 international Cricket Match between Indian and New Zealand underway in Ahmedabad.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2023-24 in Parliament today. She said that the Indian economy is on the right track and is heading towards a bright future, despite challenging times. Ms Sitharaman said the economic growth in the current year is estimated to be at 7 per cent.

The Finance Minister announced that Capital investment outlay will be increased by 33 per cent to 10 lakh crore rupees, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP. To spur investment in infrastructure, Ms Sitharaman said, the government has decided to continue the 50-year interest free loan to State governments for one more year.

To increase opportunities for private investment in Infrastructure, the government has established Infrastructure Finance Secretariat which will assist all stakeholders for more investment in railways, roads, urban infrastructure and power.

Focussing on the Agriculture Sector, Ms Sitharaman said an Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set-up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas. The Fund will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. The Finance Minister also announced that the agriculture credit target will be increased to 20 lakh crore rupees, with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.

The year 2023 has been declared as the international year of millets. The Finance Minister said, the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level in order to make India a global hub for 'Shree Anna'.

Ms Sitharaman said the government will bear an expenditure of about 2 lakh crore rupees to supply free food grain to all Antyodaya and priority households for the next one year under PMGKAY.

Stating that traditional artisans and craftpeople have brought India  for centuries, the Finance Minister said that for the time, a package of assistance under PM-VISHWAKARMA KAUSHAL SAMMAN has been conceptualized for them. The aim is to enable them to improve the quality, scale and reach of their products, integrating them with the MSME value chain.

In a further push for the government’s objective of housing for all, the Finance Minister said, the outlay for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana will be enhanced by 66 per cent.

Shifting her focus towards the education sector, the Finance Minister announced that one hundred and fifty-seven new nursing colleges will be setup in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. The Centre will recruit teachers and support staff for the Eklavya Model Residential Schools.

The Finance Minster has announced major concessions for individual tax payers. The rebate limit has been hiked from existing 5 lakh rupees per annum to 7 lakh rupees in the new tax regime.

The Finance Minister announced that a capital outlay of 2.40 lakh crore rupees has been provided for the Railways, highest ever outlay of about 9 times of what was  made in 2013-14.

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The Home Ministry has been allocated an overall budget of 1.96 lakh crore rupees. This includes support to Union Territories. Out of the total Budget Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have got 41 thousand 539 crore rupees while Delhi police has been allocated 11 thousand 932 crore rupees.

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The Defence Ministry has been allocated 5.94 lakh crore rupees in Budget 2023-24. This is 13.18 per cent of the total budget, and a jump of 13 per cent over previous year. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh termed Union Budget 2023-24 as growth-oriented.

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The Government has decided to change the rates in customs duty of various commodities to boost domestic manufacturing and promote export competitiveness. The customs duty of some of the commodities has been reduced, hence making them cheaper.These include - Minerals and vitamin premixes;Specified capital goods/machinery for manufacture of lithium-ion cell for use in battery of electrically operated vehicle (EVs); Camera lens and its parts for use in manufacture of camera module of cellular mobile phone; Specified parts for manufacture of open cell of TV panel and Heat coil for manufacture of electric kitchen chimneys.

Items to become costlier include articles made from gold bars;  kitchen electric chimnies;  seeds used in manufacturing of lab-grown diamonds;  Silver wares and bars; copper products; compounded rubber; ready-made garments and cigarettes.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Union budget has laid emphasis on empowering women, boosting tourism, training of youth and empowerment of artisans and green growth. Addressing media in New Delhi after tabling the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament, Ms Sitharaman said, the capital investment to the tune of 10 lakh crore rupees has been announced. Out of this, 1.3 lakh crore rupees will be given to the States, added the Minister.

 She mentioned that the Budget has laid emphasis on the growth of MSMEs as the Government has extended and widened the Emergency Credit Liquidity Guarantee Scheme for it.

The Finance Minister said, the Government is looking at a futuristic Fintech sector. She added that people will be trained through Industrial Revolution 4.0, with an aim to unleash digital economy in various walks of life. Ms Sitharaman pointed out that there is a lot of increase in agriculture credit availability. She emphasised that people living in coastal areas are also going to benefit from the sub-scheme under PM Matsya Sampada Yojana.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the first Union Budget in the Amrit Kaal has established a strong base to fulfill the aspirations and resolutions of a developed India. In his address after the Union Budget presentation in Parliament today, Mr Modi said, this Budget gives priority to the deprived and strives to fulfill the dreams of the aspirational society, poor, villages and the middle class.

अमृतकाल का ये पहला बजट विकसित भारत के विराट संकल्प को पूरा करने के लिए एक मजबूत नींव का निर्माण करेगा। ये बजट वंचितों को वरीयता देता है। ये बजट आज की एसप्रेशनल सोसाइटी गांव-गरीब, किसान, मध्यम वर्ग, सभी के सपनों को पूरा करेगा।

The Prime Minister  congratulated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team for a historic Budget.

The Prime Minister stressed this Budget will make cooperatives a fulcrum of the development of the rural economy. He said the Government has made the world's largest food storage scheme in the cooperative sector.

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Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said that following the mantra of 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi', the Government is determined to raise the standard of living of crores of people through cooperatives.

In a series of tweets today, Mr Shah said that the unprecedented decisions taken in the Union Budget today to strengthen the cooperative sector are symbols of this determination. He said, with the plan of setting up the world's largest decentralised storage capacity, farmers associated with cooperative societies will be able to get a fair price for their produce by selling it at the appropriate time. The Minister said, this will play an important role in increasing the income of the farmers. 

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Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari termed the Union Budget as progressive and inclusive. Mr Gadkari said, this Budget will equip India with new-age infrastructure, decline imports and strengthen the energy sector with a futuristic approach.

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The Congress has lauded the Union Budget announcement related to tax cuts. Talking to media outside Parliament, Party MP, Karti Chidambaram said, any tax cut is a welcome step. Another party MP Shashi Tharoor also said, some of the things in the Union Budget are good. He, however, said it has no mention of MGNREGA, unemployment and inflation.

DMK Member of Parliament Dayanidhi Maran termed the budget as disappointing.

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Industry bodies and common people have lauded the Union Budget as growth oriented.

FICCI President Subhrakant Panda said, as India is the world's fifth largest economy now, this year's budget is not only significant to the domestic audience but also a move towards placing India as the world's engine of growth.

CII president Sanjiv Bajaj has termed the Budget as growth oriented. Talking to AIR News, Mr Bajaj said, a 33 per cent increase in public capital expenditure will create jobs.

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The Budget evoked mixed responses among the business and academic circles of Kolkata, West Bengal. Debashish Dutta , President of the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry hailed the budget as a good one.

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Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries  Murugesh R Nirani has welcomed the Budget, saying that the announcements made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will enhance the export competitiveness of marine products, especially shrimps as Karnataka produces around 1000 tonnes of Tiger Shrimp annually. He added that relief in customs duty on the import of camera lenses and concessional duty on lithium-ion cells and TV panel parts will support Karnataka’s electronics manufacturing.

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Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today said, the allocation of around 2.40 lakh crore rupees to the Railways will help push various infrastructure projects in the country.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Mr Vaishnaw said, the Railway Budget will also fulfil the aspirations of the passengers and bring transformative changes in the Railways' infrastructure. Talking about the Vande Bharat trains, the Minster said, the production of Vande Bharat trains will be given a facelift.  He added that now apart from ICF Chennai, Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured at Sonepat in Haryana and Latur in Maharashtra.

Mr Vaishnaw said, Indian Railways will ramp up the manufacturing of Vande Bharat Train in the country. By the end of this financial year, two to three trains will be manufactured every week, he added.

The Minster also announced that by December 2023, Hydrogen trains will start running in the country. He said, it will be designed and manufactured in India and the train will run on heritage circuits initially. 

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In the third and final T20 international, chasing the target of 235 New Zealand  were 13 for 4 in 3 overs against India at  Ahmedabad when report last came in. 

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AND NOW BEFORE WE END THE BULLETIN,

THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.

• Union Budget for 2023-24 pegs country's economic growth for current financial year at seven per cent.

• Finance Minister says, the Union Budget lays emphasis on empowering Women, Youth and Artisans. 

• Several tax concessions  in the Budget to benefit individual tax payer.

• Rebate limit for Income tax payers raised from 5 lakh to 7 lakh rupees.

• One hundred and fifty-seven new nursing colleges to be set up in  157 medical colleges existing since 2014.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Budget strives to fulfill dreams of the aspirational society, poor, villages and middle class.

• Trade and Industry organisations welcome the Budget as progressive and growth oriented.

• Hydrogen trains to start running in the country by the end of this year, says Railway Minister.

• The decisive third and final T20 international Cricket Match between Indian and New Zealand underway in Ahmedabad.

For details of these stories and more, log on to our website www.newsonair.gov.in and News On Air App.

THAT IS ALL IN THE NEWS AT NINE

GOOD NIGHT.

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