Budget 2023: There are compulsions of the government as well as of the public, but there is hope of finding a middle ground in the election year and providing relief to the public.

The new budget is about to come, about which all kinds of discussions are going on. The government has its own compulsions and the public has its own. Finding a middle way out of these, the government will definitely bring some relief in this era of inflation because assembly elections are to be held in 9 states this year and after that Lok Sabha elections are to be held next year. That is why it is believed that the Narendra Modi government at the Center can give some relief on the income tax front to the middle class and employed people in this budget to be presented before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Apart from this, the scope of areas covered under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is also likely to be increased. Let us tell you that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget for 2023-24 in Parliament on February 1. This is his last full budget before the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Looking at the current global challenges and the domestic situation, talking about the priorities of the government in the budget, one thing is clearly visible that definitely many global problems have come together and this has increased the economic challenges in the country on the front of the economy. Huh. These include slowing of economic growth, rising inflation and current account deficit along with insufficient employment generation. Inflation, especially core inflation (excluding fuel and food articles), continues to remain elevated. The rate of economic growth has slowed down in the first three quarters of the financial year 2022-23 and it is estimated that the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate in the financial year 2023-24 will be only 5.2 percent. Besides, the current account deficit (CAD) is also above a satisfactory level.

On the income tax front, the middle class and salaried people are expected to get some relief in the budget, it is quite possible that the finance minister will give some relief by increasing the exemption limit (tax slab and investment limit) or standard deduction. However, as far as the expectations of the public are concerned, they have a lot of expectations from the budget because inflation has made it difficult for people to run their homes.