TOURISM

• Overall allocations for tourism sector remains Rs 2,400 crore, same as

FY23 out of which the government spent only Rs 1,300 crore. Further,
only Rs 60 crore out of the allocated Rs 341 crore was spent on overseas
promotions and the allocation for this year has been halved to Rs 167
crore.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced that 50 tourist
destinations across the country will be developed as a "whole package" in
a bid to boost tourism.
• Presenting the Union Budget 2023-2024, the Finance Minister said that
these tourist destinations will be selected through challenge mode.
• Ms Sitharaman said that states will be encouraged to set a "Unity Mall"
in the capital city or most popular tourist destination in the state for the
promotion of 'One District, One product' theme.
• Promotion of tourism will be taken up on mission mode with active
participation of states, convergence of government programmes, and
public-private-partnerships," Ms Sitharaman said.
• The Finance Minister also emphasised that the country offers "immense
attraction" for domestic as well as foreign tourists.
• There is a large potential to be tapped in tourism. The sector holds huge
opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship, forthe youth in particular,"
she said.
• Just like last year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the
Union Budget 2023-2024 in a paperless format today.
• This is Ms Sitharaman's fifth budget

• presentation since she took the charge of the Finance Ministry in 2019.
• On Tuesday, Ms Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey for the
Financial Year 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha, stating that the economic
recovery of India from the COVID-19 pandemic is complete and the
economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 6.8 per cent in the
coming financial year.
• This is in comparison to the estimated 7 per cent this fiscal and 8.7 per
cent in 2021-22.

SCHEMES
New Government Schemes Proposed to be Launch

➢ PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman (PM VIKAS)

Artisans are provided financial assistance under the PM Vishwakarma
Kaushal Samman scheme. The new scheme will enable artisans to
improve their products’ scale, quality and reach, integrating them with
the MSMEs value chain.

➢ Atmanirbhar Horticulture Clean Plant Programme

Then Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme will be launched to boost the
availability of quality and disease-free planting material for high-value
horticultural crops at an outlay of Rs.2,200 crore.
➢ Pharma Innovation Programme
In the Budget 2023, the Financial Minister proposed to launch a new
programme to promote innovation and research in pharmaceuticals,
which will be taken up through centre of excellence.

➢ Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme

The government has launched the Aspirational Blocks Programme,
covering 500 blocks to provide essential government services across
multiple areas such as nutrition, health, agriculture, skill development,
education, financial inclusion, water resources and basic infrastructure.

➢ Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission

The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission will be launched to
improve the socio-economic conditions of the Particularly Vulnerable
Tribal Groups (PVTGs). This mission will saturate PVTG habitations
and families with basic facilities such as clean drinking water and
sanitation, safe housing, health and nutrition, road and telecom
connectivity, improved access to education and sustainable livelihood
opportunities. The government will provide an amount of Rs.15,000
crore to implement this mission in the coming three years.

➢ Green Credit Programme

The Green Credit Programme will be launched under the Environment
(Protection) Act to encourage behavioural change. It will incentivise
environmentally responsible and sustainable actions by individuals,
companies and local bodies and help mobilise additional resources for
such activities.

➢ PM-PRANAM
PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and
Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) will be launched to
incentivise states and UTs to promote the balanced use of chemical
fertilisers and alternative fertilisers.

➢ Amrit Dharohar
Wetlands are crucial ecosystems to sustain biological diversity. The
government will promote the conservation values of locals towards
wetlands through the Amrit Dharohar scheme. This scheme will be
implemented over the next three years to enhance carbon stock, bio-
 diversity, income generation for local communities and eco-tourism
opportunities, and encourage optimal use of wetlands.

➢ Mahila Samman Bachat Patra

Mahila Samman Savings Certificate, a one-time small savings scheme,
will be available for two years, i.e. up to March 2025. It will offer deposit
facilities up to Rs.2 lakh in the name of girls or women for two years at
a fixed interest rate of 7.5% with a partial withdrawal option. Revision
in Existing Government Schemes

➢ PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)

A scheme to supply free food grains to all priority and Antyodaya
households for the next year will be launched under the PM Garib
Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). This scheme will be implemented
from 01/01/2023. It ensures nutritional and food security, with the entire
expenditure of about Rs.2 lakh crore to be borne by the Central
Government.

➢ Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana and National Rural Livelihood Mission

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana and National Rural Livelihood
Mission achieved success by mobilising rural women into 81 lakh Self
Help Groups (SHGs). The government will enable the SHGs to reach the
next phase of economic empowerment through the formation of
collectives or large producer enterprises, each with several members
managed professionally. They will be enabled to scale up their
operations through supporting policies to serve the large consumer
markets.

➢ PM Awas Yojana
In the Budget 2023, the outlay for the PM Awas Yojana was enhanced
by 66% to over Rs.79,000 crore.

➢ Mission Karmayogi
The government has launched an integrated online training platform,
iGOt Karmayogi, under Mission Karmayogi to provide continuous
learning opportunities for government employees and to upgrade their
skills.
➢ GOBARdhan scheme
New 500 ‘waste to wealth’ plants will be established under the
GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme
to promote a circular economy. These will include 300 community or
cluster-based plants and 200 Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants,
including 75 plants in urban areas at a total investment of Rs.10,000
crore.

➢ Skill India Digital Platform

The digital ecosystem for skilling will be expanded by launching a
unified Skill India Digital platform for linking with employers, including
MSMEs, enabling demand-based formal skilling and facilitating access
to entrepreneurship schemes.

➢ National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme Direct

Benefit Transfer (DBT) under a pan-India National Apprenticeship
Promotion Scheme will be launched to provide stipend support to 47
lakh youth over three years.

➢ Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs

The government will revamp the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs
through the infusion of Rs.9,000 crore corpus, effective from
01/04/2023. It will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of
Rs.2 lakh crore, and the cost of the credit will be reduced by about 1%.

➢ Savings Scheme
The maximum deposit limit is enhanced to Rs.30 lakh from Rs15 lakh
for the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme. The maximum deposit limit
under the Monthly Income Account Scheme will be enhanced to Rs.9
lakh from Rs.4.5 lakh for a single account and Rs.15 lakh from Rs.9 lakh
for a joint account.

➢ Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0

 The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will be launched to skill
youth within three years. The scheme will cover the new age courses for
Industry 4.0, like AI, coding, mechatronics, robotics, IoT, drones, 3D
printing and soft skills. 30 Skill India International Centres will be set
up to skill youth for international opportunities across different States.

FINANCIAL SECTOR

Focus area Measures announced

Credit Guarantee for MSMEs A national financial information registry will
be set up to serve as the central repository of
financial and ancillary information. This will
facilitate efficient flow of credit, promote
financial inclusion, and foster financial
stability. A new legislative framework will
govern this credit public infrastructure, and it
will be designed in consultation with the
RBI.
Financial Sector Regulations To facilitate optimum regulation in the
financial sector, public consultation, as
necessary and feasible, will be brought to the
process of regulation-making and issuing
subsidiary directions. To simplify, ease and
reduce cost of compliance, financial sector
regulators will be requested to carry out a
comprehensive review of existing
regulations. For this, they will consider
suggestions from public and regulated
entities. Time limits to decide the
applications under various regulations will
also be laid down.
GIFT IFSC Delegating powers under the SEZ Act to
IFSCA to avoid dual regulation, Setting up a
single window IT system for registration and
approval from IFSCA, SEZ authorities,
GSTN, RBI, SEBI and IRDAI, Permitting
acquisition financing by IFSC Banking Units
of foreign banks, Establishing a subsidiary of
EXIM Bank for trade re-financing,
Amending IFSCA Act for statutory
provisions for arbitration, ancillary services,
and avoiding dual regulation under SEZ Act,
and Recognizing offshore derivative
instruments as valid contracts.
Data Embassy For countries looking for digital continuity
solutions, government will facilitate setting
up of their Data Embassies in GIFT IFSC
Improving Governance and Investor To improve bank governance and enhance
Protection in Banking Sector investors’ protection, certain amendments to
the Banking Regulation Act, the Banking
Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of
India Act are proposed
Capacity Building in Securities Market To build capacity of functionaries and
professionals in the securities market, SEBI
will be empowered to develop, regulate,
maintain and enforce norms and standards
for education in the National Institute of
Securities Markets and to recognize award of
degrees, diplomas and certificates.
Central Data Processing Centre A Central Processing Centre will be setup for
faster response to companies through
centralized handling of various forms filed
with field offices under the Companies Act
Reclaiming of shares and dividends For investors to reclaim unclaimed shares
and unpaid dividends from the Investor
Education and Protection Fund Authority
with ease, an integrated IT portal will be
established
Digital Payments Digital payments continue to find wide
acceptance. In 2022, they show increase of
76% in transactions and 91% in value. Fiscal
support for this digital public infrastructure
will continue in 2023-24.
 DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH

➢ The Budget of 2022-23 allocated capital expenditure of Rs 312.57 crore

for the youth-related activities in the Union Territory of Jammu and
Kashmir
➢ It includes Youth Empowerment, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Skill
Development and Sports Activities as this year’s allocation is Rs.19.72
crore more than the previous year’s budget allocation.
➢ To empower and provide self-employment opportunities to youth, Rs
200 crore have been provisioned under the “Mission Youth Programme”
under which job fairs will be conducted for facilitating jobs in the private
sector and training to be imported to build entrepreneurship capacities
for self-employment.
➢ More youth will be covered under MUDRA/GECL and other financial
inclusion schemes through bank finance for raising their own livelihood.
The basic purpose is to attain development in an inclusive and
sustainable manner by supporting and promoting partner institutions and
creating an ecosystem of growth for the micro enterprises sector.
➢ Employment/job portal at par with National Career Service (NCS) portal
will be developed for providing a single platform for employer and job
seekers. The portal will work towards bridging the gap between
jobseekers and employers, candidates seeking training and career
guidance, agencies providing training and career counselling, besides
financial support will be provided to youth for undertaking self-
employment and Overseas Employment Corporation will be revitalized.
➢ In order to make the sports lucrative for youth, the Jammu and Kashmir
Government has sanctioned the implementation of Jammu & Kashmir
Sports Policy 2022 with the institution of several sports awards,
incentives, scholarships, appointment of outstanding sports persons
among other features.
➢ This first ever policy document has been created with the vision of
‘games & sports for all’ and is designed to be in conformity with the
National Sports Policy of the country.
➢ The Government of Jammu & Kashmir is laying the main focus on sports
activities for the engagement of youth. Over 17 lakh youth participated
in diverse sports activities and 1.26 lakh youth received coaching in
different sports activities.
ANALYSIS BY ARTILLERY COMMITTEE, ADMIFMS