Feb 6, 2023 - Week 6
Volume 7S-91| Pages 2
Budget 2023-2024 envisions a prosperous and inclusive India
Bharat First Visit IndiaWiki.org
Feb 10, Adani Enterprise
(AE) shares still hovered
at a 46% discount to the
price they were quoted
at on Jan 25th, the day
short-seller Hindenberg
Research came out with
its controversial report
alleging market
manipulation by the
conglomerate. However
they have risen 19%
higher from the lowest
point on Feb 3.
Despite the listed price
of AE falling lower than
that demanded in the
FPO, the offer was fully
subscribed after local
tycoons chipped in. On
Feb 1, however Gautam
Adani cancelled the FPO
claiming it to be the
moral thing to do. Less
than a week later, in a
bid to restore investor
confidence he also
prepaid loans worth
$ 1.1 billion in three
group companies Adani
Green Energy, Adani
Ports, and Adani
Transmission. The group
intends to prepay all
share-backed financing it
has assured investors.
At: NationalNews, TelegraphIndia
Massive quake in
Turkey, Syria,
over 28,000 dead
Feb 12, More than
28,000 people have
been killed and tens of
thousands injured after
a magnitude 7.8
earthquake struck
Turkey and Syria on
Monday.
Rescue operations are
over in rebel-held areas
of northwest Syria.
Relief efforts there have
been complicated by a
long-running civil war.
The Syrian government
approved sending aid to
the rebel-held
territories Friday but did
not provide specifics.
Workers in Turkey are
still trying to pull
survivors from the
rubble and there have
been some harrowing
stories of success. But
some organizations
paused rescue work due
to security concerns
Saturday. At least 98
people were arrested
on Saturday by Turkish
security forces over the
alleged looting of
damaged buildings.
At: CNN
Feb 9, Pakistan's
economy is in an
unprecedented crisis as
its forex reserves have
fallen to $2.91, enough
only to cover three
weeks imports. Its rupee
dived to a historic low of
275 to the US dollar and
inflation is looming at
27%. Pakistan stares at
increasing taxes by $ 170
billion to be able to
secure an IMF loan
which will bail it out
from a default on debt.
The availability of IMF
money will avoid the
default but it is feared to
bring a tsunami of price
hikes. At: EconomicTimes
Pakistan faces
economic crisis
Feb 6, 2,278 accused,
including 60 qazis were
arrested till Sunday as
the police acted on
more than 4,000 FIRs
on child marriage cases
in Assam. Arrests are
from districts of central
and lower Assam which
have a large population
of illegal Bangladeshi
Muslims.
On Jan 23, the Assam
government decided to
arrest men who
married girls below the
age of 14 years under
the POCSO Act and
apprehend those who
married girls between
the age group of 14 to
18 under the
prohibition of the child
marriage act.
More than 8,000
accused were named in
the 4,074 cases
registered in such
cases. Action will also
be taken against
parents and qazis who
arranged to perform
such illegal marriages.
Hundreds of marriages
have been cancelled in
the wake of this drive.:
At: OpIndia
Adani withdraws
fully paid FPO;
pre-pays loans
GDP growth remained
robust at 7% in the
current year and is
projected to remain
above 6 % in 2023-2024
as well. India’s GDP
growth in the current
year was the highest
amongst all major
economies of the world.
The nominal GDP for
2023-2024 has been
projected at ₹ 302 lac-
crores.
The Minister announced
that since 2014 India’s
per capita income has
more than doubled to
₹ 1.97 lac. In these nine
years, the Indian
economy has risen from
being 10th to 5th largest
in the world. The
economy has become a
lot more organized as
reflected in the EPFO
membership which
more than doubled to 27
crore and a massive
volume of 7,400 crore
digital payments worth
Feb 1, Feb 1, Union
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman presented
the Budget for 2023-
2024 highlighting how
India will remain a strong
performer amid
continuing global geo-
political and economic
uncertainties. The
budget envisioned a
prosperous and inclusive
India.
Shaligram shilas sent from Nepal for
murtis in Ayodhya’s Shri Ram temple
J&K: 2.6 lac-acres
illegally occupied
being retrieved
Assam: 2,278
arrested for child
marriage
PM Jan Dhan bank
accounts, Insurance
cover for 44.6 crore
persons under the PM
Suraksha Bima and PM
Jeevan Jyoti Yojana
schemes and Cash
transfers of ₹ 2.2 lac-
crore to over 11.4 crore
farmers under PM Kisan
Samman Nidhi.
Feb 10, a huge reserve
of non ferrous metal-
Lithium has been
located in the Salal –
Haimana area of the
Reasi district of Jammu
and Kashmir. The
Geological Survey of
India (GSI) has
discovered the
country’s first deposit
of about 5.9 million
tonnes of inferred
resources (G3) of
Lithium.
It is stated to be second
largest Lithium reserve
in the world. Sources
said that the deposits
are worth ₹ 38 lac-
crores.
This discovery will help
in India’s transition to
EV vehicles smoother
as Lithium is a major
component for making
EV batteries
Lithium is also used to
make rechargeable
batteries for mobile
phones, laptops, digital
cameras etc and for
non-rechargeable
batteries for things like
heart pacemakers, toys
and clocks. A
Magnesium-Lithium
alloy is used for armour
plating. Aluminium-
Lithium alloys are used
in aircraft, bicycle
frames and high-speed
trains.
Chile has the largest
Lithium reserves in the
world of nearly 9.8
million tonnes. India is
now, next with larger
reserves than Australia,
Argentina or China.
At: TravelTourismTimes,
InvestingNews Image: ANI
World’s second largest Lithium
deposits located in Jammu & Kashmir
₹ 126 lac-crore being
through UPI in 2022.
An impressive set of
accomplishments in
social development over
this period includes the
construction of 11.7
crore household toilets
under Swachh Bharat
Mission, 9.6 crore LPG
connections under
Ujjawala, 220 crore
Covid vaccination of 102
crore persons, 47.8 crore
₹ lac-crores
1 Revenue Receipts 24 26
a
Tax Revenue
21 23
b
Non-Tax Revenue
3 3
2 Capital Receipts 18 19
a
Loans Recovered etc
1 1
b
Borrowings etc
17 18
Total Revenue 42 45
3 Revenue Expenditure 35 35
4 Capital Expenditure 7 10
Total Expenditure 42 45
Revenue Deficit (3-1) (11) (9)
-4.0% -3.0%
Fiscal Deficit (3+4-1-2a) (17) (18)
-6.2% -6.0%
GDP
(projected for 23-24)
273 302
2022-2023 2023-2024
(₹ lac crores)
India Budget
BUDGET PROFILE
Revenues:
The bulk of the revenue
receipts, nearly 89%, are
from taxes and these
saw impressive growth in
the current year. Tax
revenues have been
pegged at 11% of the
GDP for 2023-2024. 6%
of these will accrue as
direct tax and the rest as
indirect tax.
The budget projects that
83% of the government’s
tax revenues will accrue
from its three main taxes
GST, Corporate and
Income Tax. The
magnitude of the tax
inflows will be nearly
equal, between ₹ 9 to
9.5 lac-crores. The
Centre’s net tax revenue
is expected to rise by
about 12% over the
2022-2023 revenue
estimate.
The three major taxes,
and even Customs Duty,
are expected to rise
between 11 and 12%
above the 2022-2023
revenue estimates.
Pg 2
US shoots down
China spy-balloon
Swami DayanandaSaraswati birth anniversary, Feb 12 – image courtesy Wikipedia
Feb 3, two sacred
Shaligram shilas
(boulders) excavated
from the Kali Gandaki
River in Janakpur, Nepal
were sent to Ayodhya to
build the murtis of Sri
Ram and Maa Janaki at
the upcoming Ram
Janmabhoomi temple in
Ayodhya.
Janakpur is the
birthplace of Maa Sita
and Shaligram stones
are considered to be an
incarnation of Bhagwan
Vishnu.
At: HinduPost Image: Twitter
ED attaches P
Chidambaram’s
wife’s assets
Feb 3, The Enforcement
Directorate (ED) has
attached assets worth ₹
6.30 crore belonging to
Nalini Chidambaram, wife
of former Union minister
and Congress leader P
Chidambaram, and others,
in its ongoing investigation
into the Saradha chit fund
scam under the Prevention
of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA).
At: IndianExpress
Feb 4, the US used an F-
22 jet to fire a
Sidewinder missile and
down the Chinese spy
balloon. At: CNBC, 2OceansVibe
Feb 12, over the past three
weeks, hundreds of kanals
of government land have
been retrieved and
buildings bulldozed in the
eviction drive. Court
documents show a total of
20 lac-kanals or 2.6 lac-
acres of state land is under
illegal occupation. J&K
Lieutenant Governor
Manoj Sinha has assured
the common man ‘won’t
be touched’. Only the
influential, who have
grabbed government
property will be affected. It
is the high and mighty who
have borne the brunt of
the drive. At: HindustanTimes
Feb 6, 2023 | Week 6 | Volume 7S-91
Bharat First Visit IndiaWiki.org
PAGE 2 THE GOOD WORD
Almost three fourth the
Centre’s expenditure is
allocated to eight
heads. Interest
payments budgeted at
₹ 10.8 lac-crores,
Transport ₹ 5.1 lac-
crores and Defence ₹
4.3 lac-crores are the
top three. They are
followed by Subsidies
(for food, fertilizer,
fuel), transfer to States,
Rural Development,
Pensions and Tax
Administration.
The remaining heads of
expense account for up
to 4% of the total
expenditure and
include Education,
Health, Energy,
Agriculture, Telecom &
IT, Urban Development
etc.
Major Expenditure
Heads:
Interest Payments will
shoot up 15% over the
last years by almost
₹ 1.4 lac-crores.
Transport has received
a major thrust. Not
only did the actual
expense in the last
year rise by 11% over
budget but the
projection has been
pegged up by a further
32% for 2023-2024.
Transport has received
an additional outlay of
₹ 1.3 lac-crores over
the last year’s actuals.
The outlay for railways
is a significant part of
this.
Actual Defence spend
rose 6% over the
budget last year and an
additional 6% rise is
provided in the current
year’s budget, taking it
to ₹ 4.3 lac-crores.
This forms about 10%
of the total budget
outlay.
Subsidies: During the
Covid-19 pandemic, to
ensure that no one
goes to bed hungry,
the government had
launched an initiative
to supply free food
grains to over 80 crore
citizens for 28 months.
From Jan 2023, a
scheme to supply free
food grain to all
Antyodaya and priority
households for the
next one year will be
initiated under PM
Garib Kalyan Anna
Yojana and the Centre
will bear the ₹ 2 lac-
crores expenditure on
it.
While there was a 39%
increase in the actual
expenditure on Food
Subsidy over what was
planned this year, the
projected expenditure
is expected to go down
by ₹ 0.9 lac-crores to
₹ 1.97 lac-crores next
year. Similarly actual
Fertilizer Subsidy went
up by 114% of the
2022-2023 budget and
is slated to decrease
steeply next fiscal by
₹ 0.5 lac-crores to ₹ 1.8
lac-crores.
Rural Development
expenditure and
Pensions were both
18% higher than
budgeted in the
current year at about
₹ 2.4 lac-crores. Both
have been projected to
dip a little, between 2
and 4%, next year.
Email: IndiaWiki2020@gmail.com Website: http://TheGoodWord.IndiaWiki.Org
Expenses – Revenue vs
Capital
The government aims to
boost economic growth
by investing in
infrastructure. So the
capital expenditure
outlay for 2023-2024
has shot up by 37% to
₹ 10 lac-crores, over the
last year’s revenue
estimate. Additionally
disbursements of
government grants for
creation of capital
assets are set to rise by
14% to ₹ 3.7 lac-crores.
Expense Categories
The ambitious economic
agenda focuses on two
other key aspects, to
provide opportunities to
citizens and to
strengthen macro-
economic stability.
"Cut this forest down,
and build a city in its
place." "That is done,"
said the ghost,
"anything more?" Now
the man began to be
frightened and thought
he could give him
nothing more to do; he
did everything in a trice.
The ghost said, "Give
me something to do or I
will eat you up." The
poor man could find no
further occupation for
him, and was
frightened. So he ran
and ran and at last
reached the sage, and
said, "Oh, sir, protect
my life!" The sage asked
him what the matter
was, and the man
replied, "I have nothing
to give the ghost to do.
Everything I tell him to
do he does in a
moment, and he
threatens to eat me up
if I do not give him
work." Just then the
ghost arrived, saying,
"I'll eat you up," and he
would have swallowed
the man. The man
began to shake, and
begged the sage to save
his life. The sage said, "I
will find you a way out.
Look at that dog with a
curly tail. Draw your
sword quickly and cut
the tail off and give it to
the ghost to straighten
out." The man cut off
the dog's tail and gave
it to the ghost, saying,
"Straighten that out for
me." The ghost took it
and slowly and carefully
straightened it out, but
as soon as he let it go, it
instantly curled up
again. Once more he
laboriously straightened
it out, only to find it
again curled up as soon
as he attempted to let
go of it. Again he
patiently straightened it
out, but as soon as he
let it go, it curled up
again. So he went on for
days and days, until he
was exhausted and said,
"I was never in such
trouble before in my
life. I am an old veteran
ghost, but never before
was I in such trouble.“
(to continue next week)
-Swami Vivekananda
Karma Yoga
a series of extracts
Swami Vivekananda Image courtesy Newsgram.com;
This is an important
change and could have
a bearing on foreign
inflows into India.
As regards indirect
taxes, the proposals aim
to boost domestic
manufacturing,
promote exports, and
enhance domestic value
addition, encouraging
green energy and
mobility. From a GST
perspective, restrictions
are placed on Input Tax
Credit on activities
pertaining to Corporate
Social Responsibility
obligations as per
Companies Act, 2013.
The monetary threshold
for launching
prosecution for
offences under GST has
also increased from ₹ 1
crore to ₹ 2 crore.
From Pg 1
On the direct tax front,
the Budget continued its
focus on easing
compliance, widening
the tax base and
rationalisation of
provisions. The new tax
regime saw a series of
changes designed to
make it more attractive
for taxpayers, including
through a change in the
slab rates, rebate and
surcharge (image right
bottom). Provisions
benefitting MSMEs and
start-ups were also
introduced. Anti-abuse
provisions that targeted
companies raising
capital at high premiums
were expanded so as to
cover investments by
non-residents.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman: On course to meet a 4.5% fiscal deficit by 2025-2026
Expenditure Categories (%)
Other Expenditure
Heads:
Education expenditure
is budgeted to rise 13%
over the actuals of
2022-2023 to ₹ 1.1 lac-
crores.
The actual spend on
Energy in 2022-2023
was almost 44% higher
than budgeted. It is
now slated to go up a
further 34% to ₹ 0.9
lac-crores. The budget
reiterated the
commitment to green
growth and to move
towards a net-zero
carbon emission by
2070.
IT & Telecom, Health
and Agriculture &
Allied Activities saw a
slightly lower actual
expenditure than
planned, the dip being
between 7% and 11%.
They have been
projected to grow in
2023-2024 at 26%, 15%
and 10% respectively.
There is a sustained
push towards building
of digital public
infrastructure in
agriculture, credit to
farmers and the
cooperative sector.
The Finance Minister
lauded India’s
accomplishments in
creating unique world
class digital public
infrastructure with
Aadhaar, Co-Win and
UPI at unparalleled
scale and speed.
A 64% drop over the
2022-2023 budget has
been planned in the
current year with
respect to Finance
expenditure taking it
down to ₹ 0.1 lac-
crores.
Fiscal Deficit:
The revised estimate of
the fiscal deficit for
2022-2023 is 6.4% of
the GDP and adheres
to the budget
estimate. The fiscal
deficit budged for
2023-2024 is 5.9 %. It is
on course to achieve a
target set in two years
ago of lowering the
deficit to below 4.5%
by 2025-26.
At: Gov, MyGov, KPMG, JagranJosh
the