Union FM unveiled the annual budget for 2023 bringing a slew of changes and announcements. At first, the budget seems very visionary to bring a colossal set of changes for the middle class.
What is more important is how the experts from the industry see this budget and how can he it meets future aspirations. Ashwani Kumar Gupta the State Bank Patiala’s former director has also put in his views calling it a “no-harm budget”, let us dive deep into his views to get a better understanding of the budget.
The Budget for 23-24 can be at best called a no-harm budget. Despite adverse international economic and political scenarios. The FM has been able to keep the fiscal deficit under control. There is some reduction in customs duty shedding the protectionist image of govt. Particularly with respect to the Make in India.
Like every year there is an announcement of many growth and welfare schemes. There is a substantial expansion of layout for capital expenditure though without providing for resources. Much-awaited changes in tax rates have been made giving some relief to taxpayers.
But there is a paradigm shift in lawmakers’ approach. With the new regime being made the default regime society is being moved towards spending rather than saving. This shift has inherent dangers. India is essentially a saving society for ages.
This approach of saving has been proven to be a boon for Indian society at the time of economic crisis, more recently at the time of covid. The new regime will take away the new generation from the habit of saving like in most western countries where people cannot survive even a weekend and get their paychecks discounted. The new regime may help in some tax savings in short term but may affect the crisis-bearing capacity of the society in long term.