‘Momentum on growth should not be relaxed…’: FM Sitharaman reveals PM Modi’s instructions for Budget 2023

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed her and her team to ensure that the momentum on growth is not relaxed or diluted in the Union Budget 2023. 
 
She also revealed that the PM told her to focus on “public expenditure” and ensure it continues at a “higher level.”
 
“For the last 3-4 years, there has been a consistent emphasis on public capital expenditure, such as in last year's budget, and this year's budget has seen a 30 percent increase in capital expenditure. This is the first time in many years that the capital expenditure has reached a double-digit amount, making it the clear focus of this budget,” the FM stated at a post-budget session at PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
 
Sitharaman also highlighted that this year they have gone into the minute details of various segments such as agriculture. She was referring to the new ‘Agriculture Accelerator Fund’ which would be set up to encourage agritech start-ups founded by young entrepreneurs in rural areas. The launch of this fund was announced by the FM during the budget speech on February 1.
 
“We have gone into segments which otherwise get covered in an umbrella but get left out because they are a minute part of a larger category,” she said.
 
Sitharaman also said that MSMEs or the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) continue to be a major focus of the government because they are the “backbone” of the Indian economy. 
 
“Msmes are spread all over the economy and wherever they are located, they generate local employment,” she said adding, “MSMEs have always been there on our minds ever since 2020 when covid-19 pandemic struck.”

She also revealed that the government has been "nudging the public sector undertakings" to clear the dues of the MSMEs within 45 days.
 
The MSME sector contributes about 30 per cent to India’s GDP, 45 per cent to India’s exports and is also the second largest employer of workforce after agriculture, as per data shared by the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Ministry. The sector was brought to its knees during the COVID-19 pandemic, with several MSMEs reporting revenues declining by 30-40 per cent. To bail the sector out of the crisis, the Indian government introduced the Rs 20-lakh-crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Stimulus Package in May 2020.

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