Budget Highlights 2022: Digital Rupee to 5G to Crytpo Tax, Top 20 Announcements by Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed inclusive development, productivity enhancement, energy transition and climate action as the four pillars of development as she presented Union Budget 2022 in Parliament on Tuesday.

From digital rupee and 5G rollout to the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan to the Tele Mental Health Program, Nirmala Sitharaman made several key announcements in her shortest Budget speech yet.

Here’s a look at the top 20 announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2022 speech:

1. Big private investment in infrastructure would be guided by the Rs 100 lakh-crore PM Gati Shakti Master Plan. The PM Gati Shakti Master Plan for Expressways will be formulated to facilitate faster movement of people and goods. The National Highway network will be expanded by 25,000 km and Rs 20,000 crore will be mobilised to complement public resources. Around 400 new-generation Vande Bharat trains with better efficiency and 100 PM Gati Shakti Cargo terminals will be developed during the next three years.
2. Digital rupee will be issued using blockchain and other technologies by the RBI starting 2022-23 in a big boost to the economy.
3. Any income from transfer of any virtual digital asset (cryptocurrencies and NFTs) shall be taxed at the rate of 30%. No deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance shall be allowed while computing such income, except cost of acquisition. The announcement could mean the government is unlikely to ban cryptocurrencies.
4. The government proposes to increase tax deduction from 10% to 14% on contribution in NPS by state governments to employees. This will help bring state government employees at par with Central government employees.
5. No change in Income Tax slabs but government provides taxpayers an opportunity to correct errors in filing returns. Taxpayers can now file an updated return within two years from the relevant assessment year.
6. Surcharge on long-term capital gains to be capped at 15%.
7. An open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out. It will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities. To better the access to quality mental health counseling and care services, especially in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, a National Tele Mental Health program will be launched.
8. Spectrum auction will be conducted to roll out 5G mobile services within 2022-23 by private firms. As per a recent press statement by the Department of Telecommunications, 13 cities across the country will get 5G in the beginning — Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.
9. Issuance of e-passports will be rolled out in 2022-23 to enhance convenience for citizens.
10. Special mobility zones will be developed for electric vehicles and battery swapping policy to allow Electric Vehicle charging stations for automobiles will be framed.
11. India will allocate an additional Rs 195 billion for production-linked incentives towards solar equipment manufacturing.
12. The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) will be extended up to March 2023 and the guaranteed cover will be expanded by Rs 50,000 crore to total cover of Rs 5 lakh crore.
13. ‘One Class, One TV Channel’ program of PM eVIDYA will be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. This will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for Classes 1 to 12.
14. Financial support will be provided to farmers to take up agro-forestry. Chemical-free natural farming will be promoted throughout the country with a focus on farmers’ land in 5 km wide corridors along the river Ganga, in the first stage. Procurement of wheat in Rabi season and the estimated procurement of paddy in Kharif season will cover 1,208 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and paddy from 163 lakh farmers. Around Rs 2.37 lakh crore will be the direct payment of MSP value to their accounts.
15. Around 68% of the capital procurement budget for defence will be earmarked for the domestic industry to promote atmanirbharta (self-reliance) and reduce dependence on imports of defence equipment. This is up from 58% in the last fiscal.
16. The SEZ (Special Economic Zones) Act will be replaced with a new legislation for the development of enterprise and hubs. It will cover the existing industrial enclaves and enhance the competitiveness of exports.
17. A completely paperless, e-bill system will be launched for procurement to be followed by all central ministries.
18. Rs 48,000 crore allocated for completion of construction of 80 lakh houses under PM Awas Yojana in rural and urban areas in the year 2022-23.
19. Customs duty on cut and polished diamonds, gems will be reduced to 5%.
20. PM’s Development Initiative for North East to be implemented through North Eastern Council with initial allocation of Rs 1,500 crore.

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