- Date : 02/02/2023
- Read: 6 mins
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called the Union Budget 2023 as the budget that will lay the foundation of a developed India. It will initiate “Amrit Kaal”, a new and developed India. For the financial year 2023-24, outlay for capital expenditure has been increased by 33% to Rs. 10 lakh crore (Rs. 10 trillion). Sectors that are given maximum impetus include infrastructure, manufacturing, defence, education, skill development, tourism, health, and many more. Learn more in detail.

Top 10 Sectors to Make Maximum Benefit from Union Budget 2023
On February 1, 2023, the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced the proposals for Union Budget 2023. Before the 2024 general election, this is the last full budget of the incumbent Modi government.
During her speech, the Finance Minister called it the first budget of a new era of the Indian economy. While stressing the "Amrit Kaal" of a new and developed India, Sitharaman said that this budget would lay the foundation of a developed India.
To fire up economic activities, the Union Budget 2023 has focused on capital expenditure. The outlay for capital expenditure has been increased to a whopping Rs. 10 lakh crore (Rs. 10 trillion), which is a jump of 33 percent. To boost domestic consumption, Sitharaman has also made proposals for significant investments.
Budget 2023: 10 Sectoral Allocation Highlights in FY-2023-24
Adequate attention and financial backup have also been given to key sectors such as:
- Infrastructure
- Manufacturing
- Tourism
- Fintech
- Education and Skill-Development
- Health
- Defence
- Sports
- Space
- Agri Sector
Let’s check the sectoral allocations and other details in Union Budget 2023:
Infrastructure Sector
The Modi government has increased the outlay for the highway sector from Rs. 1.42 lakh crore last fiscal to Rs 1.62 lakh crore for FY24. The capital outlay for the Indian Railways, Urban Infrastructure Development Fund, and fifty new airports has been increased to a whopping Rs. 2.40 lakh crore. It is the highest-ever allocation. The total allocation for the infrastructure sector in the 2024 financial year is Rs. 10 lakh crore, accounting for 3.3 percent of GDP. It is an increase of 33%. The companies in the steel, cement, electricity, wagons and PSP projects will gain maximum from this infra push.
Manufacturing Sector
To boost the manufacturing sector (especially in the electronics, semiconductor, and mobile manufacturing sectors), Sitharaman has allocated Rs. 16,549 crores for the electronics and IT ministry. Compared to FY2023, the allocation for FY2024 has increased by around 40%.
Rs. 3,000 crore has been earmarked out of this total allocation to boost the semiconductor industry. For large-scale manufacturing electronics, Rs. 4,499 crores have been allocated for PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme.
Tourism Sector
The tourism sector has the potential to contribute 9.9% of the country's GDP by the end of this decade. Keeping these estimates in mind, the Indian finance minister has increased the allocation for the tourism sector by 18.42% to Rs. 2,400 crores.
The different allocations within tourism are:
- Rs. 1,644 crores have been allocated to infrastructural development
- Rs. 421.50 crores for publicity and promotion
- Rs. 75 crores for domestic publicity and promotion
The government has decided to create prominent centres to boost tourism. They will be known as "Unity Mall." Promoting the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme has been stressed for promoting local products. It'll help in promoting local handicrafts and tourism.
Fintech Sector
Union Budget 2023 has stressed the National data governance policy. This will help in accessing anonymised data. With a vision to elevate the country as a Digi-first nation, this budget has focused on expanding Digilocker integration for:
- MSMEs
- Fintech companies
In addition to 5G technology, this push will boost the following:
- India stack
- JAM
Education and Skill-Development
Union Budget 2023 has increased allocation for education by around 8% to Rs. 1.12 lakh crore. The allocations for different departments of the education ministry are likely to be:
- Rs. 68,804 crores for school education
- Rs. 44,094 crores for higher education
Rs. 37,453 crore has been allocated for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the biggest school education scheme of the education ministry.
Top priorities have been given to:
- Eklavya Model Residential Schools: In the next 3 years, 38,800 teachers and support staff will be recruited by the education ministry to uplift the tribal students.
- Centers of Excellence for artificial intelligence: 3 such centers will be set up for:
- Developing advanced applications
- Scaling solutions to problems in various sectors, including:
- Sustainable city projects
- Health
- Agriculture
Health Sector
Medical education, as well as research promotion in the pharmaceutical sectors have been prioritised in this budget. The health sector allocation has been increased by 2.71% to Rs. 88,956 crores in the Union Budget 2023.
By 2047, the central government wants to do away with sickle cell anaemia completely. For improving the nurse-patient ratio, the finance minister has announced to establish 157 new nursing colleges across India.
Defence
Nirmala Sitharaman has increased the total allocation for the defence sector to Rs. 6 lakh crore, which is 8% of the total budgetary allocation. It includes Rs 1.62 lakh crore capital outlay, an increase of around 12% over last year. 68% of the budget's defence capital procurement has only been safeguarded for the domestic industry.
Sports
The sports sector's budgetary allocation has been increased from the last budget's Rs. 3,062 crores to Rs. 3,397.32 crores in Budget 2023. The different allocations include:
- Khelo India: Rs 1,045 crore
- Sports Authority of India (SAI): Rs. 785.52 crore
- National Sports Federations: Rs. 325 crore
- National Service Scheme: Rs. 325 crore
- National Sports Development Fund: Rs. 15 crore
Since 2017, Khelo India's allocation has increased by around 200%.
Space
The Modi government has allocated Rs. 12,543.91 crores in Budget 2023 for the space department (including ISRO). In comparison to last year, the capital outlay has increased from Rs. 4,553.15 crores last year to 6,356.81 crores this year.
Agri Sector
To create huge opportunities in the agri sector, Sitharaman has stressed on open source digital public infrastructure for:
- Farm Inputs
- Agri Sector
- Agri Start-Up
- Agri Accelerator Fund
- Crop Protection
- Insurance
- Credit
The total allocation for the industry is Rs. 1,15,531.79 crore.