On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver her fifth budget speech. While balancing growth and the budget deficit, she is expected to announce tax relief measures for salaried taxpayers, the middle class, and senior citizens. The Parliament's Budget Session, meanwhile, started today. Today in Parliament, the Economic Survey 2023 will also be presented.
Throughout the session, the government intends to introduce about 36 bills. Before the next Lok Sabha elections in February 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver the final full-fledged budget on February 1.
The Finance Bill and the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address will be the government's top priorities, but the opposition is prepared to take on the Narendra Modi-led BJP government on a number of issues, such as the Adani-Hindenburg dispute, a national census of economic activity based on caste, and the women's reservation bill in Parliament.
President Murmu to address the joint sitting of Parliament
President Droupadi Murmu will make her first speech to the joint session of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. She won the presidential election last year.
The Rajya Sabha will meet separately to conduct government business, which will start 30 minutes after the President's Address today.
However, in accordance with the rules for conducting government business, the sitting will only last a brief time.
The first part of the session, which will be split into two halves, will end on February 13. The second segment will begin on March 13 and continue until April 6.
Budget 2023 Expectations: Tax-free annual income for senior citizens is required, says Kunal Jain of Alpha Capital
Kunal Jain, Senior Consultant at Alpha Capital, shares his hopes for the budget: "My expectation from the budget for Senior Citizens is to introduce similar products like RBI Floating Rate Savings Bonds 2020 where tax-free yearly income can be delivered. They have seen lower interest rates and greater inflation over the previous many years. Except for PPF and a few other products, all interest income is now added to taxable income and taxed at marginal rates. Their tax burden should be as low as possible. The maximum investment amount for this new investment product could be Rs. 15 lakhs or higher. The government will benefit from long-term savings for manufacturing and infrastructure initiatives. The government's tax revenues will be affected in several other ways, though.”
Budget 2023 Expectations: Change in tax slabs expected, says Akshay Mehrotra of Fibe
The co-founder and CEO of the consumer lending app Fibe, Akshay Mehrotra, adds that a change in tax slabs or terms of tax-related relief is anticipated. “The aim of the majority of the expected regulatory adjustments from the Union Budget 2023 is the working population because they are India's main source of tax income. We plan on having 35% of the Indian lending market as a lender as it is predicted that some leniencies will be offered to borrowers of personal loans in the upcoming budget. The salaried group also expects long-term advantages from the government in the 2019 budget, such as healthcare, higher education, superannuation, and post-retirement pensions.”
Budget 2023 Expectations: Indian shares set to rise, with Adani Group
Today, the final day of Adani Enterprises' huge secondary share sale and the day before the Union budget, is expected to see an increase in Indian stock prices. Investors will also be watching for decisions on interest rates made by central banks across the world later this week.
As of 8:11 a.m. IST, the NSE stock futures for India quoted on the Singapore Exchange were up 0.47% at 17,789. Asian stock markets fell by 0.51%.
India broke its losing streak on Monday as major Adani Group equities stopped their two-session fall following U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research last week raised concerns about the companies' debt levels and usage of tax havens, which the conglomerate has denied. Concerns about the banks' loan exposure to the organization were exacerbated by the report.
