Budget 2023: The big numbers

Budget 2023

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has tabled the Union Budget 2023 in Parliament, pegging total expenditure for the fiscal year 2023-24 at Rs 45 lakh crore. Of this over Rs 10 lakh crore has been allocated for capital expenditure. The allocation for capital expenditure is the highest ever, with a whopping increase of 33% compared to the previous year's allocation.

The Finance Minister has also announced the highest-ever capital outlay for the Railways at Rs 2.4 lakh crore. The FM said that the allocation for the Railways is now nine times the amount provided in 2013-14. On the receipts front, the government is expecting to earn Rs 26.3 lakh crore through the next fiscal year.

This includes Rs 23.3 lakh crore rupees in tax revenue and Rs 3 lakh crore in non-tax revenue. The government also expects to earn Rs 23,000 crore through the recovery of loans and Rs 61,000 crore through other receipts. Apart from these, the government has pegged its borrowings and other liabilities at Rs 17.8 lakh crore during the next fiscal year.

Shifting the focus to fiscal deficit, the budget has retained the projection for 2022-23 at 6.4 per cent. Some experts were expecting the figure to be revised downwards. The fiscal deficit target for the next fiscal year has been set at Rs 17.86 lakh crore or 5.9 per cent of the GDP. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also reiterated that she aims to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by the fiscal year 2024-25.