Union Budget 2022: These are the biggest highlights from the Finance Minister’s speech

Contracts for 25,000 km of new highways will be awarded in FY23. Budget allocation: ₹20,000 crore.

The Finance Minister has announced a fund to support startups in agriculture...

...which will be routed via National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Government promises big public investment in building modern infrastructure including...

...roads, highways, transport and logistics networks over the next 25 years.

Credit guarantee trust for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)...

...will create additional credit of ₹2 lakh crore for small businesses.

To boost the Gati Shakti plan, 400 Vande Bharat trains will be developed in the next three years.

A digital university will be established for digital learning which will be available in different languages.

It will be built in collaboration with the universities in India.

To improve access to mental healthcare, 23 tele-mental health centres will be launched...

...with NIMHANS as the nodal unit, and IIIT Bangalore providing tech support.

Special mobility zones will be launched where vehicles running on petrol and diesel will not be allowed.

For delivery of digital and high tech services to farmers,...

...with involvement of public sector research and extension institutions along with private agri-tech players and stakeholders of agri-value chains, a scheme in PPP mode will be launched.

Rs. 1,000 crore BE 2022-23 for the project providing clean water.

Last year Rs. 4,300 crore were allocated for this project.

68 percent of capital procurement budget will be earmarked...

...for the domestic industry in 2022-23 — up from 58 percent last year.

Outlay for capital expenditure raised by 35 percent to ₹7.5 lakh crore, it’s 2.9 percent of GDP.

Digital currency using Blockchain technology to be...

...issued by the RBI starting the financial year ending March 2023.

The union government says states will be allowed additional interest-free 50-year loans of ₹1 lakh crore...

...to fund infrastructure projects. That’s ten times the FY22 revised allocation of ₹15,000 crore.

FY22 fiscal deficit 6.9 percent FY23 fiscal deficit estimate 6.4 percent.

It’s the difference between what the government earns and what it spends.