The Indian Union budget for 2022–2023 elicits mixed emotions. On the plus side, it includes provisions for using 5% of the Universal Service Obligation General Fund (USOF) to support R&D and the commercialization of technology and solutions in addition to significant allocations to BSNL and the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM). Unfortunately, funding for PMGDISHA is still insufficient, and there are still worries that a sizable financial investment may not be made.
The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have collectively received Rs. 1,02,942.57 crores from the Union Budget for Financial Year 2022–23:
Budget Estimates 2022–2023 (Rs. 3,980.77 crores) for the MIB showed a rise of 5.7% from the Revised Estimates of 2021–2022 in terms of allocation (Rs. 3,764.69 crores).
In comparison to the Revised Estimates of 2021–2022, the DoT’s allocation in the Budget Estimates 2022–2023 (Rs. 84,586.8 crores) increased by 137.9 percent (Rs. 35,550.21 crores).
Budget Estimates 2022–2023 (Rs. 14,300 crores) for the MeitY experienced an increase in allocation of 49.2% when compared to the Revised Estimates of 2021–2022 (Rs. 9,581.25 crores).
The overall capital spending of the DoT, MeitY, and MIB (Rs. 54,564.07 crores) is much higher than the Revised Estimates for 2021–22 (Rs. 5,898.27 crores), up roughly 825 percent, mostly due to an increase in the DoT of 889.9 percent. Nevertheless, kudos for these allotments
telecommunications department: Indian Union Budget
Net of collections and recoveries, the allocation in the Budget Estimates for 2022–2023 for the DoT is Rs. 84,586.80 crores. This is an increase of 138 per cent above the 2021–22 Revised Estimates, According to the union budget, TDS return filing is very necessary, which were estimated at Rs. 35,550.2 crores. However, the increased budget needs to be evaluated carefully because it is not equally dispersed among all programs, initiatives, and areas of innovation and research.
The significant rise in overall funding may be ascribed to the Rs. 52,702.3 crores designated for Other Central Sector Expenditure, representing a huge 1091.4 per cent increase from the Revised Estimate 2021-22. (Rs. 4,423.6 crores). The primary cause of this 1091.4 per cent rise is the funding allocated to the state-owned company BSNL, which is now experiencing losses (Rs. 44,720 crores).
The overall spending for the Central Sector Schemes declined from Rs. 13,616.92 crores in the Revised Estimates 2021–2022 to Rs. 11,678 crores in the Budget Estimates 2022–2023, a loss of 14.23%, according to an analysis of the budget allocation for these programs. In this case, the transfer to the USOF has increased from Rs. 8,300 crores to Rs. 9,00 crores, which is crucial since India wants to close the urban-rural gap by bringing seamless telecom access to the separate areas. In addition, the Government has set aside Rs. 7000 crores of the total funding for USOF for capital expenses. Increased funding for this fund, especially for capital expenses, is greatly applaudable as it demonstrates the government’s commitment to advancing India’s digitization through improved telecom infrastructure.
A budget of Rs. 10 crores was allotted for the 5G Connectivity Test, a 455.5 per cent increase over the Rs. 1.8 crores allotted the year before. The Finance Minister said that the Government will introduce a new production-linked incentive program as part of its drive for 5G technology. Therefore, it is expected that an amazing starting budget of Rs. 527.68 crores would be allocated for the “Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme to Promote Telecom and Networking Products Manufacturing in India.”Join the best financial courses now to know more.
Mission for National Digital Health
Another encouraging development is the consistent increase in funding for NDHM under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare since 2020–2021. The allocation increased from Rs. 30 crores in the Budget Estimate 2021–2022 to Rs. 75 crores in the Revised.
