Union Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her fifth budget in Parliament on Wednesday (February 1). All eyes are on her budget speech in which she will tell who will get what from the Union Budget. Politically, it is very important for the Modi government as it is the last full budget before the general elections due in 2024.
Budget 2023 will prove to be a ray of hope for the world: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India’s budget will try to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of common citizens and be a beacon of hope for the world amid global economic turmoil.
Addressing the media ahead of the budget session of Parliament, Modi said recognized voices in the world of economy are bringing positive messages from all sides.
The Prime Minister said that the budget will try to fulfill the hopes, aspirations of the people and also boost the hopes with which the world is looking at India.
ALSO READ: Economic Survey 2023 Highlights: Lending rate remains high, GDP to grow at 6-6.8%
“The ray of hope the world is seeing will be brighter – for this I have firm faith that the Finance Minister will make all efforts to fulfill these aspirations,” Modi said.
He also said that President Draupadi Murmu was delivering her maiden speech at the joint sitting of Parliament at the beginning of the budget session.
Modi said the President’s speech is the pride of the Constitution of India, the pride of India’s parliamentary system and also an opportunity to honor women and the great tribal traditions of the country.
As per parliamentary traditions developed over the last six to seven decades, a first-time MP speaking in the House, belonging to any political party, is accorded respect and a conducive environment is created to boost his/her confidence, the Prime Minister said.
“It is a rich and noble tradition. It is the responsibility of the parliamentarians to ensure that this moment of the President’s first address to Parliament is filled with enthusiasm, warmth and energy. I am sure our parliamentarians will pass the test.” Told.
What are India Inc’s expectations from the Union Budget?
Industry bodies said the Economic Survey 2022-23 presented in Parliament on Tuesday presents a realistic assessment of India’s economy, while they hoped for path-breaking measures to boost growth and consumption in the upcoming Union Budget. India’s economy is projected to slow to 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year beginning April, but it will remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy as it prepares to deal with the extraordinary challenges facing the world, the survey said. has performed better. CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said the review effectively analyzes and captures the prevailing trends in all major sectors of the economy which can become a pivot for deliberations on the future course of the economy.
“CII hopes that some of the perceptions and views in the survey will find a place in the Union Budget to be presented tomorrow,” he added.
FICCI President Subhrakant Panda said that sustained support from the government would be required throughout the year to ensure that the growth momentum is sustained.
“We are hopeful that the Union Budget will continue to lay major emphasis on capex, including physical, digital and social infrastructure. This will help crowd in private investment, which has already started showing momentum,” he said.
Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood said the Economic Survey is a realistic assessment of the Indian economy listing challenges and opportunities in the context of a difficult global economy marked by high inflation, the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war and tighter monetary tightening by major central banks. . ,
Budget should focus on falling imports, slowdown: Ex-Finance Minister Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the BJP-led central government should focus on issues like impact of global recession on economic growth, falling exports, widening current account deficit (CAD) in its upcoming budget. . And the total government debt is rising.
He added that the Union Budget should also take note of the threat of a decline in consumption leading to a lower standard of living due to high unemployment rates, layoffs and inflation.
“I have high hopes but, given the past experience with NDA budgets, I am also prepared for major disappointment. In fact, the budget for 2023-24 (the last full budget) should address the current weaknesses of the economy. They The effects are a global slowdown on economic growth in 2023-24; sluggish private investment; falling exports; widening current account deficit; rising total government debt; and above all, high unemployment rates and declining consumption due to layoffs and inflation lowering living standards. doing,” he said.
Jobs remain elusive, quality employment even more so
Sanjay Maiti, 43, hurries from Kolkata’s Barabazar to reach the small firm whose accounts he prepares after handling cash at an eatery on Strand Road. After losing her job as an accountant at a metal works in Howrah, soon after the Covid pandemic broke out three years ago, and after a period of being locked in her two-room flat near Posta Bazar during the lockdown, she Utara first worked part-time in a wholesaler firm and then worked at the cash counter in a restaurant.
“I juggle two jobs now… and earn almost the same amount of money that I was getting in metal works… but the quality of my work has gone down. Working long hours, there is no safety net for health or old age,” said Maity (surname has been changed to protect his identity).
Maiti is not alone in complaining. As the economy moves slowly after the pandemic-induced business slump, jobs are pouring into the market, but their quality is often poor, as most of them are in the informal sector.
At the same time as population growth and more new entrants joining the job market push alongside those who lost work during the pandemic, job opportunities are still few and far between.
“Growth is being driven mostly by large corporates, which have recovered from two years of COVID-19, but the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) or semi-formal sector is partly dead and partly doubling Haven’t been able to recover from. Demonetisation and the brunt of the pandemic,” explained Dr Pranab Sen, renowned economist and former chairman of the National Statistical Commission.
The MSME sector is responsible for three out of four formal sector jobs in India. Analysts say the bitter truth is that many more workers like Maiti have been affected by the closure or scaling down of operations by many MSMEs.
Economists pointed out that unemployment, which was less than 3 per cent in 2011-12 and around 6 per cent in 2017-18, is now close to 8 per cent.
Data compiled by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy shows unemployment rising from 6.6 per cent in January last year to 8.3 per cent in December 2022. However, it dropped from 7 to 7.
1 percent on January 29, although urban unemployment remained at a high of 8.6 percent.
In eastern India, unemployment in Bihar remains at a high of 19.1 per cent, while Jharkhand stands at 18 per cent for December 2022. West Bengal reported a much lower figure of 5.5 percent, but economists say this is partly due to the success of its rural employment program, which had 10.33 million active workers in addition to “exporting” construction labor to other states. .
Dr. Sen said, “On the one hand there is more formalization of the economy and a rise in the informal sector… In the process, MSMEs have been squeezed and this has affected the job market and the quality of jobs. ” The problem, economists suspect, is that with the MSME sector drying up, urban unemployment is on the rise. The last National Sample Survey on MSMEs was conducted in 2015-16, and showed that the number employed by the sector was 110 million. Economists fear that the number of jobs in this sector has decreased by 10-15 per cent since then, although numbers are not available as the NSSO has not compiled any data since 2016.
(with PTI inputs)
Also read: Union Budget 2023: When, where to watch Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech LIVE