Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered her fourth budget speech on Tuesday that lasting only 92 minutes. While the opposition criticised the BJP-led government for ignoring the concerns of the middle class, farmers, and women, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the goal of this year's budget was "the upliftment of poor people."

So the top 5 takeaways from the budget are as follows

1. Income tax rates remain intact: With no change in slabs, corporate and personal income tax rates remain unchanged.

2. Total expenditure was 39.5 lakh crore, an increase of only 4.8%: The increase from 35.1 lakh crores in the previous fiscal year to 37.7 lakh crores last year was 7.4 percent.

3. 60,000 'Make-in-India' jobs: "The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for achieving Aatma Nirbhar Bharat has had an exceptional response, with the potential to create 60 lakh new jobs and increased production of 30 lakh crore over the next five years," Finance Minister said today.

4. Any income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset will be taxed at a rate of 30%, Ms. Sitharaman said today, adding that "no deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance to be permitted in computing such income save the cost of acquisition."

5. The RBI plans to establish digital currency: The government has advocated the use of blockchain and other technologies to create a "Digital Rupee." "It would be issued by the Reserve Bank of India beginning in 2022-23 for a more efficient and cost-effective currency management system," the Finance Minister stated.

ADVERTISEMENT

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Chairman, Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer, Paytm said that the Union Budget today made way for the digital rupee, which is a monumental step in driving the next phase of growth in the digitization of financial services and payments in India and will bring the efficiency of transactions. Clearly, the success of digital payments is prompting the next milestone of this journey. Through the massive adoption of Paytm, QR codes, and digital banking, we have seen that customers are ready for mainstream digital money. I'm excited that India will be at the forefront of new financial services that can act as a big gamechanger in lowering the cost of banking, which in turn will drive financial inclusion.