Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, presented the Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament on February 01, 2022. Nirmala Sitharaman coined the term Amrit Kaal, the 25-year-long leadup to India@100, as India is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Budget 2022 estimated India’s economic growth at 9.2%. It will be the highest among all large economies. Under the productivity linked incentive scheme in 14 sectors, it is expected to create 60 lakh new jobs. It will also have the potential to create an additional production of Rs 30 lakh crore.

In Amrit Kaal, the Union budget of India provides an increase in the growth along with four priorities such as:

1. PM GatiShakti
2. Inclusive Development
3. Productivity Enhancement & Investment, Sunrise opportunities, Energy Transition, and Climate Action.
4. Financing of investments

Union Budget 2022: Key highlights

PM GatiShkati: The National Master Plan

Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure are considered as the seven engines of PM GatiShakti. It will provide economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency.

Road Transport

In 2022-23, the National Highways Network will be expanded by 25000 Km. An amount of rupees 20000 Crore will be mobilized for National Highways Network expansion.

Multimodal Logistics Parks

In 2022-23, Multimodal Logistics Parks will be found at four locations. It will be implemented through PPP mode. 

Railways

To help local businesses & supply chains, the Union budget of 2022 is proposing the One Station One Product concept. In 2022-23, 2000 Km of the railway network will be brought under the indigenous world-class technology and capacity augmentation ‘Kavach’. Union budget is proposing the manufacturing and commission of 400 new generation Vande Bharat Trains during the next three years. Along with these, 100 PM GatiShakti Cargo terminals for multimodal logistics to be developed during the next three years.

Parvatmala

Parvatmala is the National Ropeways Development Program implemented in the PPP model. In 2022- 23 contracts 8 ropeway projects of 60 Km length will be awarded. 

Agriculture

There will be a direct payment of Rs. 2.37 lakh crore for procurement of wheat and paddy. It will be a direct payment to 1.63 crore farmers. The union budget is all set to promote Chemical-free Natural farming all throughout the county. NABARD will facilitate funds with blended capital to finance startups for agriculture & rural enterprise. For crop assessment, digitization of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients ‘Kisan Drones’ will be used.

Ken Betwa project

The amount of Rs 1400 crore is the outlay for the implementation of the Ken – Betwa link project. The Ken-Betwa link project will help the 9.08 lakh hectares of farmers’ lands to receive irrigation benefits.

MSME

The Portals such as Udyam, e-shram, NCS and ASEEM will be interlinked. Additional credit will be provided to 

130 lakh MSMEs under Emergency Credit Linked Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), which was extended up to March 2023. Also, the guarantee cover under ECLGS was expanded by Rs 50000 Crore to a total cover of Rs 5 Lakh Crore. Union Budget also proposed Rs 2 lakh Crore additional credit for Micro and Small Enterprises to be facilitated under the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).

Skill Development

To empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill through online training Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood (DESH-Stack e-portal) will be launched. To facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ and for Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS) startups will be promoted.

Education

One of the important announcement in the budget is the implementation of ‘One class-One TV channel’ programme of PM eVIDYA. It will be be expanded Up to 200 TV channels. To promote critical thinking skills and a simulated learning environment among students Virtual labs and skilling e-labs will be set up. High-quality e-content will be developed for delivery through Digital Teachers is the another important announcement in the Budget. Digital University with a personalised learning experience to be established in India. 

Health

National Digital Health Ecosystem is an open platform announced in the Budget. ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ will be established for the quality mental health counselling and care. A network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence with NIMHANS as the nodal centre will be set up.  The International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) will provide the technical support for the project.

Saksham Anganwadi

Union budget is announcing the upgadation of two lakh anganwadis to Saksham Anganwadis. Integrated benefits to women and children will achieved through Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. 

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Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal

Under Har Ghar, Nal se Jal scheme Rs. 60,000 crore allocated to cover 3.8 crore households in 2022-23.

PM-DevINE

Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East Region (PM-DevINE) scheme will be launched to fund infrastructure and social development projects in the North-East. To enable livelihood activities for youth and women under the scheme an initial allocation of Rs. 1,500 crore made.

Vibrant Villages Programme

Vibrant Villages Programme will be implemented for the development of Border villages with a sparse population, limited connectivity and infrastructure on the northern border.

e-Passport

e-Passports are the futuristic technology to be rolled out through Budget 2022. e-Passports are with embedded chips.