Screening of Union Budget 2022 – 23
The Department of Economics & Banking of VVM’s Shree Damodar College of Commerce & Economics, Margao, Goa, organized “Live Screening of Union Budget 2022 – 23 for the faculty and students of the College, by live streaming of the Presentation of the Union Budget from the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister of India, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 01st February 2022 from 11:00 a.m. to 01:15 p.m. The session began by the Finance Minister expressing her empathy for those who suffered during COVID-19 pandemic. She unveiled a bigger Rs. 39.45 lakh crore budget, emphasizing that this was a growth-oriented budget, focusing on four pillars – health and well-being, infrastructure, inclusive development, energy transition and climate action, and financing of investments through PM Gati Shakti initiative. She expressed that India’s economy would grow at the rate of 9.2 percent, the highest among all big economies. Smt. Sitharaman emphasized that the budget’s approach is driven by seven engines – roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure as the key areas. She said that all seven engines will pull forward the economy in unison, complemented by energy transmission, IT communication, water and sewerage sector and social infrastructure. Some of the additional key highlights of the speech included digital Rupee currency, imposition of tax on cryptocurrency assets and transactions, 5G auction to be conducted in 2022, capital expenditure stepped up to Rs. 7.5 lakh crore, prominence to Make in India in terms of budget allocation for defence arms procurement, new battery swapping policy for electric vehicle sector, ‘One Nation, One Registration’ to be established for ease of living and doing business, updated tax return system, announcement of minimum support price (MSP) worth Rs. 2.37 lakh crore to wheat and paddy farmers, green bonds and several more. For 2022-23, an allocation of Rs. 1 lakh crore was announced to assist the states in catalyzing overall investments in economy and also announced productivity-linked incentives for 14 sectors that would generate 60 lakh new jobs over the next five years. She expressed that the Union Budget 2022-23 is a blueprint for Amrit Kaal – a 25-year-period beginning 2022 – the 75th year of Independence and ending in 2047, the 100th year of India’s Independence. She further presented the proposals, incentives on taxation, start-ups, MSMEs, SEZs, custom duties and tariffs, imports, exports, etc. and subsequently concluded her presentation.
87 participants including faculty and students virtually attended the webinar through the Google Meet channel. The programme was coordinated by Asst. Prof. Ms. Lizette D’Costa and Asst. Prof. Poorva Gude, of the Department of Economics & Banking.