Budget 2022: PM Modi to Talk About ‘People-Friendly’ Budget on Wednesday

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma hailed the Union Budget and termed it as a forward looking and futuristic budget. The CM said he is happy that our suggestions during the budget discussion meeting in December to increase outlay under the Scheme for Financial Assistance to the state has been accepted and now Meghalaya would benefit by Rs 100 crore more in this year itself.

The Union Budget 2022-23 is growth-oriented, focused on building long term strength using investment as the lever while maintaining policy stability and inclusivity, auto industry body SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa said. While lauding various proposals announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said, “We welcome the message on ease of doing business and look forward to this being observed in spirit by all departments”. In a statement, Ayukawa highlighted steps such as the 35 per cent increased capex outlay, major infrastructure projects like 25,000 km road construction, 100 cargo terminals, project Gati Shakti, 5G network, optic fibre cable laying and the recent PLI schemes as major positives. “Impetus to charging infrastructure and energy storage systems and government support in R&D for clean energy, green mobility and semiconductors will help the auto sector,” said the head of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

“As soon as the TRAI recos come, we will be ready with the auction process. TRAI recommendations on 5G spectrum is expected in March. We hope to reach 10 lakh broadband connections per month. More regulatory reforms are needed for the telecom sector. We are working on new reforms. Lot more needs to be done to improve the health of the telecom sector,” said Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to CNBC-TV18.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “Budget has made substantial increase in allocation. All super critical, critical projects for increasing capacity can be given priority. Budgetary allocations will help access to newer tech.”

“This Budget brings more infra, more investment, more growth and more jobs. Budget aimed at transforming the agriculture sector including ensuring credit, record MSP, boosting food processing and encouraging start-ups in the sector,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a series of tweets.

The Ministry of Ayush has received an allocation of Rs 3,050 in the Union Budget 2022-23, a slight increase of 2.69 per cent from 2021-22 when Rs 2,970 crore was earmarked for it. An amount of Rs 306 crore has been set aside for the Central Sector Schemes under the ministry, while Rs 110 crore has been allocated for Statutory and Regulatory Bodies. Autonomous bodies like Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy and Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine have been allocated Rs 1,759 crore. The allocation for the National AYUSH Mission has increased to Rs 800 crore from Rs 553 crore in 2021-22.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Rs 1,500-crore budget allotment for development of the North-East region has spread cheer among locals. The scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for NorthEast, PM-DevINE, will be implemented through the North-Eastern Council. It will fund infrastructure, in the spirit of PM GatiShakti, and social development projects based on the needs of the North-East. It will enable livelihood activities for youth and women, filling the gaps in various sectors. Read More

With a focus on Uttar Pradesh, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised 1,533 km road projects at a cost of Rs 46,627 crore, with the allocation of Rs 16,350 crore for national highways, in Budget 2022 announced on Tuesday. The massive infrastructure projects include expressways between Kanpur and Lucknow, Varanasi and Kolkata, and a corridor between Gorakhpur and Siliguri in West Bengal. It also includes international connectivity between Sonauli (a transit point between India and Nepal) and Gorakhpur. The government’s focus seems to be on the development of roads in Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. Read More

“This (Budget 2022) is just like another “Mann ki Baat” of Centre. By selling companies and properties of the country, the BJP has become a company of worth Rs 5,000 crore,” said Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has been allocated Rs 14,217 crore in the Union Budget 2022-23, a 3.9 per cent decrease from last fiscal. The ministry has three departments Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). An amount of Rs 6,000 crore has been allocated to the Department of Science and Technology, Rs 2,581 crore to the Department of Biotechnology and Rs 5,636 crore have been allocated to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. All these departments played a key role in combating the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The Central Sector Schemes under the Department of Science and Technology were allocated Rs 2,894 crore, a drop from Rs 2,915 crore in 2021-22.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fourth budget address on Tuesday morning which is touted to be her shortest speech in 4 years, garnered praise from eminent personalities from all walks of life and was especially hailed for its rare mention of mental health amid the ongoing pandemic. Joining the bandwagon was also President of USIBC ( and U.S. Ambassador (retd.), Atul Keshap who congratulated the Finance Minister and the Government of India on today’s Union Budget announcement. Lauding the budget speech, Atul Keshap said that the initiatives undertaken show India’s continued commitment to enhancing productivity, creating jobs, and capitalizing on nine percent projected growth to integrate into global value chains. Read More

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar claimed the state contributed Rs 48,000 crore to the central kitty in the form of GST, but it got only Rs 5,000 crore in the Union Budget for 2022-23, which he said, reads like an election manifesto with no relief for middle class tax payers. In a statement issued after the budget was presented in Parliament, Pawar, who is also the state’s finance minister, said injustice has been done to Maharashtra, ruled by the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance. It seems the Union government has decided to continue its tradition of neglecting Maharashtra in its budgetary provisions like the previous ones. Maharashtra contributed to the tune of Rs 48,000 crore to the Union government’s total collection of Rs 2.20 lakh crore (so far) in the current fiscal (2021-22). However, Maharashtra has received only Rs 5,000 crore in return, Pawar said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the annual budget has steadiness, predictability and futuristic as it has been designed for the next 25 years. The finance minister said that Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has the potential to generate at least 60 lakh new job opportunities. Nirmala Sitharaman said that capital expenditure has increased from Rs 5.5 lakh crore to Rs 7.5 lakh crore. She also said that the government is giving the highest MSP to farmers on crops and added that the government is ready to help the farmers decide the fate of agriculture. Read More

The substantial increase in capital expenditure to Rs 7.50 lakh crore as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is clearly the highlight of the Union Budget and this bodes well for sustaining the economic activity and job creation in the medium term, a top official of Sundaram Finance said. The support extended to the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, especially hospitality, through an extension of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till March 2023 would help recover MSMEs from the fallout of the pandemic, Sundaram Finance Managing Director Rajiv Lochan said. “The government has done its part on investments and thrown down the gauntlet to the private sector to make its contribution to investments”, he was quoted as saying by PTI, adding that all these initiatives make it a “progressive budget” for the medium term.

The Centre has allocated Rs 19,130 crore in the Union Budget 2022-23 for various metro projects in the country. An outlay of Rs 19,130 cr has been made in the Budget for metro projects across the country. In November last year, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that 723 km of metro network was operational in 18 cities, and additional over 1,000 km of network under construction in various cities. Separately, six new proposals were also being evaluated, he had said. Meanwhile, Delhi Metro officials said in recent years, the Union Ministry of Finance is providing Budget for all metro projects in India, instead of DMRC alone. Accordingly, in Budget 2022-23, allocation made for all metro projects in India is Rs 19,130 cr.

“To understand the Budget Session 2022, you (Opposition) need intelligence. Rahul Gandhi anyway has a problem in understanding maths, he will look at everything with a sum of 0. I believe that FM has shown a new way of developing the nation,” said Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

“Tax burden on the middle class has already been reduced quite a lot. Our efforts are to conserve resources and increase opportunities and income…Privately issued cryptocurrencies are not government recognized legal tenders and will have a 30 per cent tax,” ANI quoted Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal as saying.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, “In the Union Budget, many steps have been taken by the Central Government to boost the pace of development in the country, which is commendable. The decision to build infrastructure on a large scale in the country is also welcome.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the Union Budget presented in the Parliament this morning will benefit the poor and create more growth and jobs for the country’s youth. “This budget is pro-poor. It addresses India’s future and is for India’s youth. The budget will create more growth and more jobs. This budget is for ‘Kissan Kalyan’ and it also focuses on ‘Garib Kalyan’,” PM Modi said. Countering the Opposition’s argument that the Budget does not focus on the deprived or the salaried middle-class, the prime minister highlighted that an important aspect of the budget is the welfare of the poor. Read More

Emphasising the central government’s focus on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and overall maritime security, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a massive jump of around 43 per cent in the modernisation funds of the Indian Navy in the defence budget for 2022-23 at Rs 47,590.99 crore. The Indian Air Force retained the biggest share of the forces’ capital budget at Rs 56,851.55 crore–an increase of just about 4.5 per cent from the previous financial year. But the Indian Army’s capital budget went down by 12.2 per cent to Rs 32,102 crore, from Rs 36,481.90 crore in the last fiscal. Read More