A push for infrastructure and a 30 per cent tax on transfer or sale of digital assets were the highlights of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2022. Income tax rates have been kept unchanged.
The government’s total expenditure has been increased by 4.8 per cent to ₹ 39.5 lakh crore.
A 30 per cent tax will apply on income from the sale or acquisition of virtual and digital assets such as cryptocurrency.
Taxpayers can file updated income tax returns within two years in one-time window. There is no change to Income Tax slabs.
The surcharge on long-term capital gains has been capped at 15 per cent.
PM Gati Shakti which was the highlight of the budget is driven by seven engines- Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure. Data centre and energy storage system will be given infrastructure status to provide easy financing to the sector.
A digital rupee will be introduced by the Reserve Bank of India in 2022-23.
5G mobile services will be rolled out in the country within the next financial year.
e-Passports with embedded chips will be launched next year for more convenience to the public. In a big boost to the electric vehicles sector, battery swapping will be introduced.
The GDP is seen to grow by 9.2% — the quickest rate among major economies — in the current year, with the government expecting a repeat performance in the next year with an estimated 8% to 8.5% expansion.
Imported items and parts will get expensive along with umbrellas and unblended fuel from April once latest budget takes effect.
On the other hand, chargers and cameras for phones, wearable tech like smartwatches, hearing aids, gemstones and diamonds, farming tools and smart meters, steel scraps and chemicals for petroleum refining will get cheaper.
Higher spending through the pandemic has brought India on the path to regain its world’s fastest-growing major economy title from China in the current fiscal year.
