Focus On Middle Class To Infra Push: Key Features Of Budget 2023

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a big ticket budget ahead of next year's general elections which focussed on infrastructure and agri sectors and raised the rebate on income from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh a year.

The government has outlined seven priority areas in the last complete budget before next year's general elections. The areas, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, are "inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector".

For the railways, the Finance Minister announced an outlay of ₹ 2.4 lakh crore. This is the highest in almost a decade and four times the outlay made in last year's budget. "This is about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14," she underlined, comparing it with the last year of the Congress-led UPA.

Here are key features of Budget 2023-24