The prime focus of the entire budget presentation is announcing schemes and missions that the Government will be undertaking in the upcoming year. The entire budget is prepared accordingly while allocating the requisite amount to departments and missions. Although most people focus on tax proposals, smart businesspeople focus on these announcements. This is because when government policy decides to spend on a particular project or subsidize or support any segment, their business opportunities emerge and the economic activity in the market is affected as a result of the same. This also reflects in the stock prices of segments/companies trading on the stock markets. The Government made some key announcements concerning business and finance –

1. KYC process – KYC process will be simplified by adopting a risk-based approach. Digilocker and Aadhaar will be used to develop a one-stop solution for reconciling and updating the identity and address of individuals. The scope of documents available in DigiLocker for individuals will be expanded.
2. Credit Guarantee – Revamped Credit Guarantee scheme will be launched effective from April 1, 2023, with an infusion of INR 9,000 crore to the corpus. This will in turn enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of INR 2 lakh crore.
3. Common Business Identifier – For business establishments, PAN will be used as the common identifier for all digital systems of government agencies.
4. Central Data Processing Centre – A Central Processing Centre will be set up to ensure faster response to companies through centralized handling of forms filed under the Companies Act.
5. Entity Digilocker – An Entity DigiLocker will be set up for MSMEs, large businesses and charitable trusts, to allow online storage and sharing of documents with authorities, regulators, banks and other business entities.
6. Unified filing process – Unified filing process will be set up through a common portal to avoid filing the same data to multiple Government agencies.
7. Vivad se Vishwas I – 95 per cent of the forfeited amount relating to performance security for failure to perform Government contracts during the Covid pandemic, will be returned to the MSMEs.
8. Vivad se Vishwas II – A voluntary settlement scheme with standardized terms will be introduced to settle contractual disputes of government where arbitral award is under challenge in a court.
9. Women savings – Mahila Samman Savings Certificate will be launched for women, for two years up to March 2025 with a maximum deposit limit of INR 2 lakh which will earn a fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent.
10. Senior Citizens – The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme has been enhanced from INR 15 lakh to INR 30 lakh. The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme has been enhanced from INR 4.5 lakh to INR 9 lakh for a single account and from INR 9 lakh to INR 15 lakh for a joint account.
11. Reclaiming of shares and dividends – To reclaim unclaimed shares and unpaid dividends from the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority, an integrated portal will be established.
12. GIFT IFSC – To enhance business activities in GIFT city – a) powers under the SEZ Act will be delegated to IFSCA b) a single window system would be established for registration and approval from IFSCA, SEZ authorities, GSTN, RBI, SEBI and IRDAI, c) acquisition financing will be permitted to foreign banks in IFSC, d) subsidiary of EXIM bank will facilitate trade re-financing.
13. Artificial Intelligence – Three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions where leading industry players can partner in conducting research, and developing applications and solutions.
14. Data Embassy – Data Embassies will be set up in GIFT city to enable foreign countries to store their data securely at an offshore location.
15. Data Governance – National Data Governance Policy will be brought out to enable access to anonymized data.
16. Lab Grown Diamonds – Indigenous production of Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD) seeds and machines will be promoted through a research and development grant to one of the IITs for five years.
17. National Financial Information Registry – A national financial information registry will be set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information. A new legislative framework will govern the same.
18. E-Courts – Phase-3 of the E-Courts project will be launched with an outlay of INR 7,000 crore.
19. 5G Services – For developing applications using 5G services, 100 labs will be set up in engineering institutions. The focus will be on developing smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems, and health care applications.