Unlike previous many Budgets, this year’s Budget passed by Finance Minister which is the fourth Budget of present Government 2.0, the Budget is little tricky to understand at first sight as it covered wide range of subjects such as the emerging Cryptocurrencies and launch of blockchain-based digital rupee starting 2022-23 and virtual currencies coming under tax net such as taxation on income from virtual digital assets at 30%, taxing any gift of cryptocurrencies at receiver’s end, etc. Cryptos though a digital currency that emanated way back in 2009 is still at a nascent stage in our country and millions of people still do not have an exact idea about the concept of Cryptos.
Apart from the digital currency, this year’s budget focused on PM Gati Shakti, including master plan for expressways and provision of lakhs of jobs and opportunities for the youth, Inclusive Development, Productivity Enhancement, Climate Action, Financing of investments, etc. The Budget included host of schemes, policies and measures aimed at boosting growth in a period of rising inflation accompanied by the pandemic epiphanies and the uncertainties revolving around the COVID period, and it is very good that despite the challenges, our nation’s growth is said to be highest among many major economies. Not even that, we are now in a comfortably good position to withstand unforeseen challenges. For common income tax payers, there were no changes in tax slabs and rates, which is usually the main thing which comes to one’s mind as soon as one hears of passing of Budget.
The only remarkable change in the current Budget is towards personal income tax structure which includes inclusion of new provision of one-time window to correct omissions and mistakes made while filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs). Now, an updated return with requisite correction can be filed till 2 years from the conclusion of the relevant assessment year. The Budget is having good and progressive outlook and the layman budget such as increase of gas cylinder prices and sundry items are a history now. There was once a time when during Budget, small small things like increase in cost of Inland letter or telegram charges, etc. used to be revised and the only one which do not see any change in price was that of post-card letter which are all now almost antiques, thanks to the digital age of email and other such communications. Now, hardly one bothers about the variation in rates for sending inland letters or book-post letters.
In Education sector, particularly during this period of online education, it is a good initiative that a ‘one class, one TV channel’ program of PM eVIDYA shall be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels which will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1 to 12. Another important development in the Budget is the rolling out in 2022-23 of e-Passports with embedded chip for convenience in overseas travel. Overall, it can be said that the Budget is a very good, progressive and forward looking one which covers wide range of topics such as infrastructure including extension of expressways and interlinking of rivers in some States, housing, industry, MSMEs and start-ups, ease of doing business, women and children recognizing the importance of Nari Shakti and Anganwadis for improvement in child health, telecom including roll out of 5G, healthcare facilities, electric vehicles, agricultural front such as Kisan drones for spraying insecticides, crop assessment, etc.
The Budget presentation itself included a change in the sense that the same was brought in Make in India tablet in digital format unlike the usual trademark briefcases of yesteryears. Even the change of halwa ceremony to that of mixed sweets on the eve of Budget is another welcome step.
