Budget 2023 Live Updates: Not Forcing Anyone To Move To New Tax Regime, Nirmala Sitharaman Says

The outlay for the vehicle scrapping policy has exceeded Rs 1,000 crore, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan says.

All central government vehicles beyond 15 years of age will be scrapped, money for this is provided for in different departmental budgets, because it’s not a macro number planned centrally.

For state governments, this is part of the scheme for state capex. States need to meet conditions under the National Scrapping Policy to avail this.

Taxation will now be on net winnings, since the nature of online gaming is such that one plays several games in a series, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra says.

The tax deducted at source, or TDS, was previously calculated on every Rs 10,000 in winnings. "Some companies were then keeping the winning lower at Rs 10,000, so we’ve removed that now," he says.

If the economy continues to grow at the pace at which it is growing, we’re confident our borrowings and interest burden will continue to come down, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan says. The quality of public expenditure is increasing, he says.

Private capital expenditure in India has been improving every year for the past three years, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran says. "Both in terms of intent and actual spend, private capital investment is showing clear signs of revival," he says.

This budget is aimed at robust management of macroeconomics, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says. Prudent ways of effective expenditure, without reducing committed expenditure, are ways in which one can make money mean more.

"For every rupee you spend, you get a better set of returns," she says.