Public debt management: issuance below calendar, yields hardened and maturities shortened amid liquidity pressures.
Central Government borrowing in July-September 2022 involved issuance of dated securities below the notified calendar amount, with primary yields hardening and weighted average maturity of new issuances shortening. No cash management bills were issued and RBI did not conduct open market operations; liquidity absorption under LAF was substantial. Total gross liabilities rose quarter on quarter, public debt increased its share of liabilities, and a significant share of outstanding dated securities had residual maturities under five years.

Budget consultations propose policy measures to support MSMEs, green technologies, labour protections and infrastructure in forthcoming budget.
Pre-budget consultations were held virtually with over one hundred invitees across seven stakeholder groups and senior finance officials to collect proposals for the forthcoming Union Budget. Stakeholder suggestions included green certification for MSMEs, an urban employment guarantee programme, income tax rationalisation, innovation clusters, measures to strengthen domestic supply chains, tax and policy support for electric vehicles and green hydrogen, a Social Sector Entrepreneurship Fund, care-economy worker training and accreditation, portable social benefits for children, a national regulatory authority for water and sanitation, expanded ESIC coverage for unorganised workers, continuation of public capital expenditure, and fiscal consolidation with customs duty adjustments.

Intergovernmental fiscal consultation: states submitted budget priorities after recognition of central borrowing and devolution support, for review.
Pre-budget intergovernmental consultation assembled state and union finance officials to present proposals for Budget 2023-24; participants acknowledged central fiscal support measures-enhanced borrowing limits, two advance devolution installments, and Special Assistance for capital expenditure-and the Union Finance Minister committed to examine the submissions as part of the consultative budgetary process.

Finance Act 2022: virtual digital assets taxed at 30%, stricter charity compliance, faceless assessment expanded.
The Finance Act, 2022 revises income tax chargeability, surcharge bands and adds a 4% Health and Education Cess; defines "virtual digital asset" and taxes transfers of such assets at 30% with only cost of acquisition allowed and no carry forward of losses; tightens trust and institutional compliance by amending sections on registration, corpus, accumulation, audit and cancellation of approvals; creates a 24 month updated return regime with required tax payment and additional income tax for delays; expands faceless assessment architecture and prescribes electronic process, video hearings and automated workflows; and updates customs/excise tariff rates and classifications.

Finance Bill 2022 taxes transfers of virtual digital assets at 30% with no deductions allowed.
The Bill defines virtual digital asset and establishes a dedicated tax regime: income from transfer of virtual digital assets is subject to tax at thirty per cent, with no deduction except cost of acquisition, no set off of losses against other income, and no carry forward of such losses; a parallel thirty per cent rate applies to specified incomes of certain exempt entities; the Central Government may, by notification, exclude particular digital assets from the definition.

Definition of Transfer expanded to include virtual digital assets, changing tax treatment and reporting obligations for such assets.
Proposed Finance Bill amendments expand statutory references to include electronic and digital forms, explicitly apply the concept of transfer to virtual digital assets, and create a recomputation rule treating disallowed surcharge or cess deductions as deemed under reported income for penalty purposes while allowing a prescribed recomputation and payment route to avert under reporting treatment.

Central Excise notification amendments propose to update existing excise notification framework and supersede prior notification.
Central Excise notification changes amend an earlier consolidated notification and supersede an older central excise notification, effecting procedural and regulatory modifications to the existing legal instruments that govern central excise levy and related administrative provisions to align with budgetary policy.

Customs tariff amendments update exemptions, cess rates, rescissions and concessional import rules affecting import duty treatment.
Amendments revise the customs tariff framework by modifying notification provisions to adjust effective rates of the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, exempt the Social Welfare Surcharge for specified marble, travertine and certain precious metals, rescind multiple prior notifications, and amend rules governing concessional import duty and related non tariff procedural measures to align levy and exemption mechanics.

Tax regime reforms: updated return facility and targeted taxation of virtual digital assets to boost compliance and clarity.
The Budget prioritizes large public capital expenditure via PM GatiShakti to expand transport and logistics infrastructure, complemented by targeted schemes for agriculture, digital education, health, and regional development; financing includes sovereign green bonds and long-term state capital assistance. Tax reforms promote voluntary compliance through an updated return facility, introduce a 30% tax regime with restrictive set-off and TDS for virtual digital asset transfers, provide parity and reliefs for cooperatives and state employees' pension contributions, extend startup and manufacturing tax incentives, streamline customs exemptions and move SEZ customs administration onto an IT-driven national portal.

Taxation of virtual digital assets: new fixed rate tax, restrictive deductions, TDS and no set off for losses.
Direct tax measures introduce an Updated Return permitting declaration of omitted income within two years on payment of additional tax, reduce alternate minimum tax and surcharge for cooperative societies, extend start up and concessional regime timelines, establish a specific tax regime for transfers of virtual digital assets with fixed rate taxation, restrictive deductions, disallowance of set offs for losses and TDS on transfers and gifts, and adopt litigation management by deferring departmental appeals on identical legal questions pending in higher courts.

Urban planning reform: proposed high-level committee to recommend policies and governance changes for sustainable cities.
Proposal to constitute a high-level committee of urban planners, economists and institutions to recommend reforms in urban policy, planning, implementation, capacity building and governance to enable orderly urban expansion, strengthen metropolitan and secondary city roles, and reimagine cities as centres of sustainable living with inclusive opportunities for women and youth.

Trust-based governance to streamline approvals, digitise services and eliminate overlapping compliances for easier business operations.
Trust-based governance will drive Ease of Doing Business 2.0 through digitisation, Central-State IT integration, single-point citizen services and rationalisation of compliances. PARIVESH will be expanded for single-form, location-specific green clearances with CPC-Green tracking. States will be encouraged to adopt a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number and transliteration of records. Procurement reforms include an end-to-end online e-bill system and acceptance of surety bonds in place of bank guarantees. Institutional measures include an AVGC task force, C-PACE for accelerated voluntary winding-up, a design-led 5G PLI strand, and opening defence R&D to industry with earmarked budget and SPV facilitation.

Energy transition policy advances domestic solar manufacturing, circular economy measures and power sector decarbonisation under budget proposals to boost jobs.
The budget advances a domestic manufacturing incentive for high efficiency solar modules to support expanded solar capacity and jobs, implements a circular economy agenda through infrastructure, reverse logistics, technology up gradation, integration with the informal sector and extended producer responsibility, and proposes biomass co firing in thermal plants, an ESCO model for commercial buildings, and pilot coal gasification projects to test technical and financial viability as part of a coordinated low carbon transition.

Household piped water entitlement expanded under Har Ghar Nal Se Jal scheme, extending coverage and infrastructure support.
Resources were allocated to expand Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal to increase household piped water coverage and to fund completion of beneficiary houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, alongside administrative reforms to speed land and construction approvals and improve housing finance access. New programmes include the Vibrant Villages Programme for northern border villages-covering infrastructure, housing, connectivity, decentralized renewable energy, broadcast educational access and livelihood support-and a refocused Aspirational Districts initiative targeting lagging blocks within previously identified districts, with scheme convergence and outcome monitoring.

Central Bank Digital Currency to be introduced as blockchain-backed legal tender, boosting digital payments and interoperability.
The Reserve Bank will introduce a blockchain-enabled Central Bank Digital Currency as sovereign digital legal tender to boost the digital economy and lower currency management costs. Concurrent measures include setting up Digital Banking Units by scheduled commercial banks, migrating post offices to the core banking system to enable interoperability and online access, and continuing financial support for affordable, user-friendly digital payment platforms to advance financial inclusion.

Ease of Living initiative expands with e passports, urban planning reforms and battery swapping policy to streamline services.
The Budget advances a renewed phase of the Ease of Living initiative focused on state participation, digitisation and IT integration to create single point access for citizen services and reduce overlapping compliances. It announces rollout of chip embedded e passports, modernization of building byelaws, Town Planning Schemes and Transit Oriented Development to promote transit proximate living, designation of up to five Centres of Excellence in urban planning with Rs. 250 crore endowments each, and a Battery Swapping Policy with interoperability standards for the EV ecosystem.

Design-led manufacturing for 5G ecosystem promoted under PLI, with spectrum auctions and rural broadband support.
A design-led manufacturing scheme under the Production Linked Incentive is proposed to build a domestic 5G ecosystem; spectrum auctions will be conducted to facilitate 5G rollout by private providers. Five per cent of annual Universal Service Obligation Fund collections is to be allocated to enable affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas and to promote R&D and commercialization. Bharatnet contracts for optical fibre to all villages will be awarded through PPP to extend digital access and improve efficient use of the fibre network.

Regional development initiative funds North-East infrastructure and social projects, prioritising state-nominated proposals over centrally proposed ones.
PM-DevINE is a regional development scheme implemented through the North-Eastern Council to fund infrastructure and social development projects addressing felt needs in the North-East. It supports multi-state and state-specific initiatives to promote livelihoods, fill sectoral gaps, and provide gap-funding for connective and pilot projects. The scheme is complementary to existing programmes, prioritises state-nominated projects while allowing central ministries to propose candidates, and includes an initial illustrative project list across healthcare, agriculture, transport, and livelihood interventions.

Government contribution for R&D in sunrise opportunities to accelerate innovation via policy support and collaborative frameworks.
The document states a policy commitment to provide government contribution for R&D in sunrise opportunities, paired with supportive policies, light-touch regulation, and domestic capacity building, implemented through collaboration among academia, industry and public institutions, targeting strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, genomics, space economy, geospatial systems and green and clean mobility technologies to foster sustainable development and competitiveness.

Health and Education Cess not deductible as business expense; surcharges and cesses on income excluded from business deductions.
Health and Education Cess is not allowable as a business expenditure; taxes, including cesses and surcharges on income and profits imposed to fund welfare programmes, are excluded from computation of business income and not deductible as business expenses, and judicial allowances of such cesses run contrary to legislative intent.