Union budget 2022 has been announced today. Our Honourable Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has shed light on the budget 2022-23 and shared the diverse areas that will be benefited from the budget in 2022-23. Her proposals valued the importance of advanced technologies and startups in making India more self-reliant & their contribution to building the nation’s economy. In the midst of vast budget across all the industries technology, sector & startups sector got special attention.
She has proposed the budget for the coming fiscal year, including making life improvisation for startups, entrepreneurs, and advanced technologies benefiting multiple areas like digital banking, etc.
Advanced technologies in multiple areas—from artificial intelligence (AI) and clean tech to genomics—“have immense potential to assist sustainable development at scale and modernize the country,” Sitharaman said. “They provide employment opportunities for youth and make Indian industry more efficient and competitive.”
In her announcement, she marked “Modern India” and stated that- “the latest budget would be the first stepped stone for building modern India over the next 25 years when the nation will mark the 100th year of independence.
The finance minister mentioned the central areas that the government included in their vision: digital economy & FinTech promotion, technology-enabled development, energy transition, and climate action.
Digital Rupee to be issued, taxes on all gains from Digital Assets at 30%
In the Budget 2022 announcement, Digital Rupee got the attention. A new digital rupee powered by Blockchain technology will be issued by RBI starting in 2022-23. While addressing Budget 2022, FM Sitharaman stated the significance of digital currency and mentioned that digital currency would lead to a more efficient & cheaper currency management system.
Along with these, the government has also declared that any income from the transfer of digital assets will be taxed at 30 %. This will accelerate the monitoring and pace of cryptocurrency & NFTs.
The gifting of a virtual digital asset is also proposed to be taxed in the hands of the recipient.
5G Auction and E-Passport chips to be organized in 2022-23
While addressing the budget details for the technology sector, the government has declared an auction of 5G airwaves. This auction would be accessible for all the private-sector network operators this year. Design-led manufacturing will bring India to join other countries in the race of 5G services.
Further, the government has also emphasized Passports aligning them with future technology. The embedded chip on the passports will be secure and contain more features required to travel and verify the person instead of booklets.
Extended support to startups
The government has extended support to the startups as per the budget 2022. The eligible startups will get one more year of support from the government in tax incentives. The move will encourage startup India initiatives and entrepreneurs to keep working in their startups because the pandemic has disrupted the startups and entrepreneurs. Till March 31, 2023, the startups can enjoy tax incentives boosting manufacturing, IT, and other startups.
75 Digital banking units promoting banking system
“This will encourage further adoption of digital payments. There will also be a focus to promote the use of payment platforms that are economical and user friendly” (Economic Times).
In 75 Districts, the scheduled banks will establish 75 Digital banking units spreading the digital payment system to more citizens. This move will benefit the overall goal of digitalization from the current government of India.
Digital universities empowering online education
Nirmala Sitharaman announced the establishment of digital universities that can provide world-class education to Indian students worldwide. These universities will tie-up with the central universities for maintenance and support. Due to the prolonged closure of schools during the pandemic, the current government has aligned education with the digital platform.
Wrapping up
The current government actively works on digital trends to transform the Indian economy. With the tax rate on digital payments, the government can monitor the transactions carefully. The 5G services will boost connectivity all around India. Startups will flourish for one more year since they were disturbed by the pandemic waves. Digital banks will spread banking to every citizen of India. Finally, digital universities are the future of the education sector, aligning with Metaverse.
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