Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 2nd February 2023

Union Budget 2023-24: Highlights

The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament. 

Budget Estimates 2023-24:

• The total receipts other than borrowings are estimated at Rs 27.2 lakh crore and the total expenditure is estimated at Rs 45 lakh crore.
• The net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 23.3 lakh crore.
• The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 5.9 percent of GDP.
• To finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore.
• The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore.
• Per capita income has more than doubled to ₹1.97 lahks in around nine years.
• Revised Estimates 2022-23:
  • The total receipts other than borrowings is Rs 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are Rs 20.9 lakh crore.
  • The total expenditure is Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs 7.3 lakh crore.
  • The fiscal deficit is 6.4 percent of GDP, adhering to the Budget Estimate.

Union Budget 2023 Highlights:

• The Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world in the past nine years.
• EPFO membership has more than doubled to 27 crore.
• Insurance cover for 44.6 crore persons under PM Suraksha Bima and PM Jeevan Jyoti Yojana.
• Cash transfer of ₹2.2 lakh crore to over 11.4 crore farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.
• The seven priorities of the budget ‘Saptarishi’ are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power, and financial sector.
• Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program with an outlay of ₹2200 crore to be launched to boost the availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops.
• 157 new nursing colleges are to be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014.
• Centre to recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students over the next three years.
• The outlay for PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66% to over Rs. 79,000 crores.
• Capital outlay of Rs. 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which is the highest ever outlay and about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14.
• Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) will be established through use of priority Sector Lending shortfall, which will be managed by the national Housing Bank, and will be used by public agencies to create urban infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• 100 labs to be setup for 5G services based application development to realize a new range of opportunities, business models, and employment potential.
• 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme to be established for promoting circular economy at total investment of Rs 10,000 crore. 5 per cent compressed biogas mandate to be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and bio gas.
• Centre to facilitate one crore farmers to adopt natural farming over the next three years. For this, 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres to be set-up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing network.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, to be launched to skill lakhs of youth within the next three years covering new age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.
• 30 Skill India International Centres to be set up across different States to skill the youth for international opportunities.
• Revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to take effect from 1st April 2023 through the infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus.
• This scheme would enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore and also reduce the cost of the credit by about 1 percent.
• Central Processing Centre to be setup for faster response to companies through centralized handling of various forms filed with field offices under the Companies Act.
• The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme is to be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
• Targeted Fiscal Deficit to be below 4.5% by 2025-26.
• Agriculture Accelerator Fund to be set-up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas.
• To make India a global hub for ‘Shree Anna’, the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
• ₹20 lakh crore agricultural credit targeted at animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries
• A new sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana with targeted investment of ₹6,000 crore to be launched to further enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies, and expand the market.
• Sickle Cell Anaemia elimination mission to be launched.
• New Programme to promote research in Pharmaceuticals to be launched.
• Rs. 10 lakh crore capital investment, a steep increase of 33% for third year in a row, to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd-in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds.
• Aspirational Blocks Programme covering 500 blocks launched for saturation of essential government services across multiple domains such as health, nutrition, education, agriculture, water resources, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure.
• Rs. 15,000 crore for implementation of Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission over the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes.
• Investment of Rs. 75,000 crore, including Rs. 15,000 crore from private sources, for one hundred critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer, and food grains sectors.
• New Infrastructure Finance Secretariat established to enhance opportunities for private investment in infrastructure.
• District Institutes of Education and Training to be developed as vibrant institutes of excellence for Teachers’ Training.
• A National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents to be set-up for facilitating availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device agnostic accessibility.
• Rs. 5,300 crore to be given as central assistance to Upper Bhadra Project to provide sustainable micro irrigation and filling up of surface tanks for drinking water.
• Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions’ to be set up in a digital epigraphy museum, with digitization of one lakh ancient inscriptions in the first stage.
• Effective Capital Expenditure’ of Centre to be Rs. 13.7 lakh crore.
• iGOT Karmayogi, an integrated online training platform, launched to provide continuous learning opportunities for lakhs of government employees to upgrade their skills and facilitate people-centric approach.
• More than 39,000 compliances reduced and more than 3,400 legal provisions decriminalized to enhance Ease Of Doing Business.
• Jan Vishwas Bill to amend 42 Central Acts have been introduced to further trust-based governance.
• Three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence to be set-up in top educational institutions to realise the vision of “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”.
• ₹35000 crore outlay for energy security, energy transition and net zero objectives.
• Battery energy storage systems to be promoted to steer the economy on the sustainable development path.
• 20,700 crore outlay provided for renewable energy grid integration and evacuation from Ladakh.
• “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth” (PM-PRANAM) to be launched to incentivize States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.
• ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes’, MISHTI, to be taken up for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands, through convergence between MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund and other sources
• Green Credit Programme to be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act to incentivize and mobilize additional resources for environmentally sustainable and responsive actions.
• Amrit Dharohar scheme to be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities.
• A unified Skill India Digital platform to be launched for enabling demand-based formal skilling, linking with employers including MSMEs, and facilitating access to entrepreneurship schemes.
• Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme to be rolled out to provide stipend support to 47 lakh youth in three years.
• At least 50 tourist destinations to be selected through challenge mode; to be developed as a complete package for domestic and foreign tourists.
• Sector-specific skilling and entrepreneurship development to be dovetailed to achieve the objectives of the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative.
• Tourism infrastructure and amenities to be facilitated in border villages through the Vibrant Villages Programme.
• States to be encouraged to set up a Unity Mall for promotion and sale of their own and also all others states’ ODOPs (One District, One Product), GI products and handicrafts.
• National Financial Information Registry to be set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information for facilitating efficient flow of credit, promoting financial inclusion, and fostering financial stability. A new legislative framework to be designed in consultation with RBI to govern this credit public infrastructure.
• To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate to be launched. It will offer deposit facility upto Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for tenure of 2 years (up to March 2025) at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.
• The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme to be enhanced from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single account and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for joint account.
• The entire fifty-year interest free loan to states to be spent on capital expenditure within 2023-24. Part of the loan is conditional on States increasing actual Capital expenditure and parts of outlay will be linked to States undertaking specific loans.
• Fiscal Deficit of 3.5% of GSDP allowed for States of which 0.5% is tied to Power sector reforms.
• Enhanced limits for micro-enterprises and certain professionals for availing the benefit of presumptive taxation proposed. Increased limit to apply only in case the amount or aggregate of the amounts received during the year, in cash, does not exceed five per cent of the total gross receipts/turnover.
• Deduction for expenditure incurred on payments made to MSMEs to be allowed only when payment is actually made in order to support MSMEs in timely receipt of payments.
• Provision of a higher limit of Rs. 2 lakh per member for cash deposits to and loans in cash by Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies (PACS) and Primary Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs).

Union Budget 2023: Taxes

• To improve taxpayer services, a proposal to roll out a next-generation Common IT Return Form for taxpayer convenience, along with plans to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism.
• Rebate limit of Personal Income Tax to be increased to Rs. 7 lakh from the current Rs. 5 lakh in the new tax regime. Thus, persons in the new tax regime, with income up to Rs. 7 lahks to not pay any tax.
• Tax structure in the new personal income tax regime, introduced in 2020 with six income slabs, to change by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs. 3 lakh. Change to provide major relief to all tax payers in the new regime.
• Proposal to extend the benefit of standard deduction of Rs. 50,000 to salaried individual, and deduction from family pension up to Rs. 15,000, in the new tax regime.
• Highest surcharge rate to reduce from 37 per cent to 25 per cent in the new tax regime. This to further result in reduction of the maximum personal income tax rate to 39 per cent.
• The limit for tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees to increase to Rs. 25 lakh.
• The new income tax regime to be made the default tax regime. However, citizens will continue to have the option to avail the benefit of the old tax regime.
• Income from Market Linked Debentures to be taxed.
• Income of authorities, boards and commissions set up by statutes of the Union or State for the purpose of housing, development of cities, towns and villages, and regulating, or regulating and developing an activity or matter, proposed to be exempted from income tax.
• Conversion of gold into electronic gold receipt and vice versa not to be treated as capital gain.
• Agniveer Fund to be provided EEE status (Exempt Exempt Exempt category that is tax exemptions on investment, interest/return, and maturity.).
• Period of tax benefits to funds relocating to IFSC, GIFT City extended till 31.03.2025.
• Certain acts of omission of liquidators under section 276A of the Income Tax Act to be decriminalized with effect from 1st April, 2023.
• Number of basic customs duty rates on goods, other than textiles and agriculture, reduced to 13 from 21.
• Minor changes in the basic custom duties, cesses and surcharges on some items including toys, bicycles, automobiles and naphtha.
• Excise duty exempted on GST-paid compressed bio gas contained in blended compressed natural gas.
• Customs Duty on specified capital goods/machinery for manufacture of lithium-ion cell for use in battery of electrically operated vehicle (EVs) extended to 31.03.2024
• Denatured ethyl alcohol used in chemical industry exempted from basic customs duty.
• Duty reduced on key inputs for domestic manufacture of shrimp feed.
• CGST Act to be amended
  • to raise the minimum threshold of tax amount for launching prosecution under GST from one crore to two crore;
  • to reduce the compounding amount from the present range of 50 to 150 per cent of tax amount to the range of 25 to 100 per cent;
  • decriminalise certain offences;
  • to restrict filing of returns/statements to a maximum period of three years from the due date of filing of the relevant return/statement; and
  • to enable unregistered suppliers and composition taxpayers to make intra-state supply of goods through E-Commerce Operators (ECOs).

Ukraine’s Odesa : UNESCO’s World Heritage In Danger

The World Heritage Committee decided to add the historic centre of Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa to its list of World Heritage sites.

• This decision recognizes the extraordinary universal value of the site and the duty of all humanity to protect it.
• The Historic Centre of Odesa has also been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
• The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions that threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List and to encourage corrective action.
• As of 2023, the 52 properties are decided by the Committee to include on the List of World Heritage in danger.
• Odesa, a free city, a world city, a legendary port that has left its mark on cinema, literature and the arts, is thus placed under the reinforced protection of the international community,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

iCET Initiative:

India’s National Security Advisor hold talks with the US counterpart on the first dialogue on Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) in the US.

• Completing the work on the long-awaited NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) earth observation satellite is an excellent example of how the US-India partnership in space can benefit the world.
• The iCET initiative was launched by India and the US in May 2022, and is being run by the National Security Councils of both countries.
• Under iCET, the both countries have identified six areas of cooperation which would include co-development and co-production, that would gradually be expanded to QUAD, then to NATO, followed by Europe and the rest of the world.
• Under iCET, India is ready to share its core technologies with the US and expects Washington to do the same.
• The six areas for cooperation are scientific research and development; quantum and artificial intelligence, defense innovation, space, advanced telecom which would include things like 6G and semiconductors.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover : First Sample Depot

NASA’s Perseverance rover recently completed the first “sample depot on another world” by dropping the tenth and final sample tube.

• The tube will be part of a depot that will be considered for the return to Earth as part of the Mars Sample Return Campaign.
• Perseverance rover is robotic explorer to land on Mars as part of NASA’s ongoing Mars 2020 Mission.
• Main Job is to Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.
• The rover will collect samples of rock and soil, encase them in tubes, and leave them on the planet’s surface to be returned to Earth at a future date.
• It was launched on July 30, 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• Successfully landed on the surface of Mar’s Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
• It is about 3 metres long, 2.7 metres wide, and 2.2 metres tall.
• It is about the size of a car, but weighs only about 1,025 kilograms with all instruments on board.
• Power source is Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG).
• Converts heat from the radioactive decay of plutonium into electricity.

Yaya Tso Lake : Ladakh’s First Biodiversity Heritage Site

Yaya Tso Lake was declared Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site under the Biological Diversity Act.

• The Biodiversity Management Committee, the panchayat of Chumathang village, along with the SECURE Himalaya Project recently resolved the issue and declared Yaya Tso Lake a biodiversity heritage site.
• Lake Yaya Tso is known as a bird’s paradise for its beautiful lake located at an altitude of 4,820 metres in Ladakh.
• It is a nesting habitat for a large number of birds and animals, such as the bar-headed goose, black-necked crane and brahminy duck
• It is also one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India.

Secure Himalaya project:

• It is funded by the Global Environment Facility.
• It supports the government’s efforts for the conservation of snow leopard and its habitat by developing and implementing a landscape-based approach for Himalayan ecosystems, and addresses key issues of habitat degradation, threatened livelihoods and illegal trade in wildlife.
• It was launched in 2017.

Red-headed vulture : Spotted In The Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

The Red-headed vulture was spotted in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

• Red-headed vulture is one of the 9 species of Vulture which are found in India
• It is also called the Asian King vulture or Pondicherry Vulture was extensively found in India but its numbers drastically reduced after diclofenac poisoning.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range on the Delhi-Haryana border and in Southern Delhi as well as northern parts of the Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana.
• It is at the end of an important wildlife corridor that starts from Sariska National Park in Alwar, Rajasthan.
• Flora: Wide variety of trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses.
• Fauna: A large number of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and dragonflies

Turnersuchus hingleyae : Fossils Of The ancient Marine Crocodile

Palaeontologists have recently discovered fossils of the ancient ‘marine crocodile Turnersuchus hingleyae.

Turnersuchus hingleyae:

• The fossils uncovered on the Jurassic Coast in the United Kingdom include part of the head, backbone, and limbs of Turnersuchus hingleyae.
• Its age dates back to the early Jurassic, Pliensbachian period, which was about 185 million years ago.
• Due to their relatively long, slender snouts, they would likely have looked similar to the currently living Gharial crocodiles.
• Pliensbachian period :It occurred between 190.8 million and 182.7 million years ago during the Early Jurassic Period.
• The stage’s name is derived from the village of Pliensbach, Germany.

110th Birth Anniversary Of Amrita Sher-Gil:

The National Gallery of Modern art in association with Liszt Institute, Hungarian Cultural Centre, New Delhi celebrated the 110th birth anniversary of Amrita Sher-Gil.

• Amrita was an Indian-Hungarian painter and one of the avant-garde women artists.
• Though her art education was from Paris, she has discovered the artistic traditions of India.
• She travelled widely in India during 1939 which brought a robust impact on the style of expression, figuration and composition in her artwork.
• Her famous works are
  • A group of three girls.
  • Brahmacharis, Bride’s toilet.
  • Lady Daljit Singh of Kapurthala, Musicians, women on Charpoy, Camels and Village girls.

Economic Survey For 2022-23:

Finance Minister recently tabled the Economic Survey for 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha.

• The Economic Survey 2022-23 highlighted that India’s economic recovery from the pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow in the range of 6% to 6.8% in the coming financial year 2023-24.

Highlights of Economic Survey 2023:

• India’s GDP growth is expected to remain robust in FY23 at 7 percent (in real terms). This follows an 8.7 percent growth in the previous financial year.
• GDP forecast for FY24 to be in the range of 6-6.8 %, depending on the trajectory of economic and political developments globally.
• Economic Survey 2022-23 projects a baseline GDP growth of 11 percent in nominal terms and 6.5 percent in real terms in FY 24.
• India is the third largest economy in PPP (purchasing power parity) terms, the fifth largest in terms of exchange rate
• Private consumption as a percent of GDP stood at 58.5 percent in Q2 of FY23, the highest among the second quarters of all the years since FY15, supported by a rebound in contact-intensive services such as trade, hotel, and transport.
• While India’s retail inflation rate peaked at 7.8 percent in April 2022, above the RBI’s upper tolerance limit of 6 percent, the overshoot of inflation above the upper end of the target range in India was however one of the lowest in the world.
• Credit growth to the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has been remarkably high, over 30.5 percent, on average during Jan-Nov 2022.
• Capital expenditure of the central government, which increased by 63.4 percent in the first eight months of FY 23, was another growth driver of the Indian economy in the current year.
• The Economic Survey cautions that the challenge of the depreciating rupee, although better performing than most other currencies, persists with the likelihood of further increases in policy rates by the US Fed.
• A surge in the growth of exports in FY22 and the first half of FY23 induced a shift in the gears of the production processes from mild acceleration to cruise mode.
• Electronics exports rise nearly threefold, from US $4.4 billion in FY19 to US $11.6 Billion in FY22.
• The government’s finances have shown a resilient performance during the year FY23, facilitated by the recovery in economic activity, and buoyancy in revenues from direct taxes and GST.
• The Gross Tax Revenue registered a YoY growth of 15.5 percent from April to November 2022, driven by robust growth in the direct taxes and GST.
• GST has stabilized as a vital revenue source for central and state governments, with the gross GST collections increasing at 24.8 percent on YoY basis from April to December 2022.
• The Centre’s Capex has steadily increased from a long-term average of 1.7 percent of GDP (FY09 to FY20) to 2.5 percent of GDP in FY22 PA.
• Credit disbursed by Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) has also been on the rise.
• Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio has fallen to a seven-year low of 5.
• The Capital-to-Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) remains healthy at 16.0.
• Central and State Government’s budgeted expenditure on the health sector touched 2.1% of GDP in FY23 (BE) and 2.2% in FY22 (RE) against 1.6% in FY21.
• Social sector expenditure increased to Rs. 21.3 lakh crore in FY23 (BE) from Rs. 9.1 lakh crore in FY16.
• The Aspirational Districts Programme has emerged as a template for good governance, especially in remote and difficult areas.
• JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile) trinity, combined with the power of DBT, has brought the marginalized sections of society into the formal financial system, revolutionizing the path of transparent and accountable governance by empowering the people.
• Labor markets have recovered beyond pre-Covid levels, in both urban and rural areas, with unemployment rates falling from 5.8 percent in 2018-19 to 4.2 percent in 2020-21.
• The year FY22 saw improvement in Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER) in schools and improvement in gender parity. GER in the primary enrolment in classes I to V as a percentage of the population in age 6 to 10 years – for girls, as well as boys, have improved in FY22.
• Due to several steps taken by the government on health, out-of-pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure declined from 64.2% in FY14 to 48.2% in FY19.
• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Under Five mortality rate (U5MR), and neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) have shown a steady decline.
• Over 1.54 lakh Health and Wellness Centres have been operationalized across the country under Ayushman Bharat.
• Private investment in agriculture increases to 9.3% in 2020-21.
• MSP for all mandated crops fixed at 1.5 times of all India’s weighted average cost of production since 2018.
• Institutional Credit to the Agricultural Sector continued to grow to 18.6 lakh crore in 2021-22
• Foodgrains production in India saw a sustained increase and stood at 315.7 million tonnes in 2021-22.
• Online, Competitive, Transparent Bidding System with 1.74 crore farmers and 2.39 lakh traders put in place under the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Scheme
• Organic Farming is being promoted through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
• India stands at the forefront to promote millets through the International Year of Millet initiative.
• Overall Gross Value Added (GVA) by the Industrial Sector (for the first half of FY 22-23) rose 3.7 per cent, which is higher than the average growth of 2.8 per cent achieved in the first half of the last decade.
• Credit to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has grown by an average of around 30% since January 2022 and credit to large industries has been showing double-digit growth since October 2022.
• India has become the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer globally, with the production of handsets going up from 6 crore units in FY15 to 29 crore units in FY21.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows into the Pharma Industry have risen four times, from US $180 million in FY19 to US $699 million in FY22.
• The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes were introduced across 14 categories, with an estimated capex of ₹4 lakh crore over the next five years, to plug India into global supply chains. Investment of ₹47,500 crores has been seen under the PLI schemes in the FY22, which is 106% of the designated target for the year. Production/sales worth ₹3.85 lakh crore and employment generation of 3.0 lakh have been recorded due to PLI schemes.
• The services sector is expected to grow at 9.1% in FY23, against 8.4% (YoY) in FY22.
• Robust expansion in PMI services, indicative of service sector activity, observed since July 2022
• Tourism sector is showing signs of revival, with foreign tourist arrivals in India in FY23 growing month-on-month with resumption of scheduled international flights and easing of Covid-19 regulations.
• Merchandise exports were $332.8 billion for April-December 2022.
• As of December 2022, Forex Reserves stood at $ 563 billion covering 9.3 months of imports.
• As of end-November 2022, India is the sixth largest foreign exchange reserves holder in the world.
• 89,151 projects costing ₹141.4 lakh crore under different stages of implementation; 1009 projects worth ₹5.5 lakh crore completed
• ₹ 0.9 lakh crore monetisation target achieved against expected ₹0.8 lakh crore in FY22.
• FY23 target is envisaged to be ₹1.6 lakh crore (27 per cent of overall NMP Target)
• The total installed power capacity (industries having demand of 1 Mega Watt (MW) and above) increased from 460.7 GW on 31 March 2021 to 482.2 GW on 31 March 2022.
• Rapid increase in National Highways (NHs) /Roads Construction with 10457 km NHs/roads constructed in FY22 compared to 6061 km in FY16.