February 6, 2023

SCHEMES UNDER UNION BUDGET 2023-24

The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate presented the first Union budget of “Amrit Kaal” 2023-24 in Parliament 01.02.2022. This budget brought funds for various schemes to achieve the vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. It focused on the empowerment of women, enhancing the skills of artisans, green energy, and various other segments to provide a whole growth to the country.

The union budget not only brought new schemes but also added benefits to existing schemes. A bird eye view of new schemes announced by Hon’ble FM and additional benefits added to the existing scheme:

1. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission

This mission was launched for the economic empowerment of Women and it has achieved remarkable success by mobilizing rural women into Self Help Groups.
Now the government has proposed to reach this group to the next stage of economic empowerment through the formation of large producer enterprises or collectives with each having several thousand members and managed professionally.
Through supporting policies, they will be enabled to scale up their operations to serve the large consumer markets, as has been the case with several start-ups growing into ‘Unicorns’.

2. PM VIshwakarma Kaushal Samman (PM VIKAS)

To achieve the focus areas of India@100, PA VIKAS is a key area of transformation during Amrit Kaal.
Traditional artisans and craftspeople, who work with their hands using tools, have brought renown for India.
Hon’ble FM has announced a new scheme that will enable them to improve the quality, scale, and reach of their products and will integrate them with the MSME value chain.
This scheme will not include only financial support but will also provide access to advanced skill training, knowledge of modern digital techniques and efficient green technologies, brand promotion, linkage with local and global markets, digital payments, and social security.
This scheme will be of great benefit to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, women, and people belonging to the weaker sections
The government has considered this scheme as transformative during Amrit Kaal.

3. Atmanirbhar Horticulture Clean Plant Program

This program will boost the availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops at an outlay of 2,200 crores.
This program is a part of “Inclusive Development-Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” moto of Amrit Kaal.

4. PM Matsya Sampada Yojana

As a part of Inclusive development of all sectors, government has announced launch of a new sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana with targeted investment of INR 6,000 crore.
This scheme will enable the activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies, and expand the market.

5. Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission

In the sector of health, the government has initiated a Mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia by 2047.
It will entail awareness creation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and counseling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.

6. Pharma Innovation Programme

The Government will launch a new program to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals that will be taken up through centers of excellence.
It will encourage the industry to invest in research and development in specific priority areas.

7. Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme

Inspired by the Aspirational Districts Programme, the Government has recently launched the Aspirational Blocks Programme covering 500 blocks for saturation of essential government services across multiple domains such as health, nutrition, education, agriculture, water resources, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure.

8. Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission

This mission is launched to improve the socio-economic conditions of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs).
This mission aims to provide PVTG families and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water, and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity, and sustainable livelihood opportunities.
An amount of 15,000 crores will be made available to implement the Mission in the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes.

9. PM Awas Yojana

The Government has proposed to increase the outlay for PM Awas Yojana by 66 percent to over 79,000 crores.

10.Mission Karmayogi

Under Mission Karmayogi, the Centre, States, and Union Territories are making and implementing capacity-building plans for civil servants.
The government has also launched an integrated online training platform, iGOT Karmayogi, to provide continuous learning opportunities for lakhs of government employees to upgrade their skills and facilitate a people-centric approach.

11. State Support Mission

The State Support Mission of NITI Aayog will be continued for three years for our collective efforts toward national priorities.

12 . Green Hydrogen Mission

The National Green Hydrogen Mission will facilitate the transition of the economy to low carbon intensity, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and make the country assume technology and market leadership in this sunrise sector.
This mission target is to reach an annual production of 5 MMT by 2030.

13. Green Credit Programme

For encouraging behavioral change, a Green Credit Programme will be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act.
This program will incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, individuals, and local bodies, and help mobilize additional resources for such activities.

14. PM-PRANAM

“PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth” will be launched to incentivize States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.

15. GOBARdhan scheme

500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme will be established for promoting a circular economy.
These will include 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants, including 75 plants in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based plants at a total investment of ` 10,000 crores.
Further, a 5% CBG mandate will be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and biogas.
For a collection of bio-mass and distribution of bio-manure, appropriate fiscal support will be provided.

16. Amrit Dharohar

Wetlands are vital ecosystems that sustain biological diversity.
The government will promote their unique conservation values through Amrit Dharohar, a scheme that will be implemented over the next 3 years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities, and income generation for local communities.

17. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

As a part of Youth empowerment, the government will launch Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 to skill lakhs of youth within the next 3 years.
This scheme will emphasize on:
- On-job training,
- industry partnership, and
- alignment of courses with the needs of the industry.

The scheme will also cover new-age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.
To skill youth for international opportunities, 30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across different States.

18. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme

To provide stipend support to 47 lakh youth in three years, Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme will be rolled out.

19. Credit Guarantee for MSMEs

A step to empower the finance sector, the government has proposed to revamp the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs
This revamped scheme will take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of 9,000 crore in the corpus.
This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of 2 lakh crore.
Further, the cost of the credit will be reduced by about 1%.

20. Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Mahila Samman Bachat Patra

The government has announced a one-time new small savings scheme.
Under this scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate will be made available for a two-year period up to March 2025.
This will offer deposit facility of upto 2 lahks in the name of women or girls for a tenor of 2 years at a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.

21. Senior Citizen Saving Scheme & Monthly Income Account Scheme

The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will be enhanced from 15 lakh to 30 lahks.
The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme will be enhanced from 4.5 lakh to 9 lahks for single accounts and from 9 lahks to 15 lahks for a joint accounts.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are strictly of the author and VJM & Associates LLP. The contents of this article are solely for informational purpose. It does not constitute professional advice or recommendation of firm. Neither the author nor firm and its affiliates accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any information in this article nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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