New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech on Wednesday said that States would be encouraged to set up a Unity Mall in their state capital or most prominent tourism centre or financial capital.

The Unity Mall will be set up for promoting and selling their own ODOPs (one district, one product), Geographical Indication products and other handicraft products, and for providing space for such products from all other states.

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On Wednesday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament on Wednesday, unveiling one of its biggest jumps in capital spending in the past decade and said the fiscal deficit would fall next year.

Notably, this was the last full-fledged Budget of the Modi government in its second term as the country is scheduled to have the next Lok Sabha elections in April-May 2024.

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During her nearly one-and-a-half-hour-long speech, the Finance Minister announced that the government proposes to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which would be 3.3 per cent of the GDP.

She announced an increase in the income tax rebate limit from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh stating that the new tax regime will now be the default tax regime.

The Finance Minister also proposed to change the tax structure in this regime by reducing the number of tax slabs to 5 and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh.

On personal income tax, the FM announced that "Tax for income of Rs 0-Rs 3 lakh is nil, for income above Rs 3 lakh and up to Rs 5 lakh will be taxed at 5 per cent, for income of above Rs 6 lakh and up to Rs 9 lakh will be taxed at 10 per cent and for income above Rs 12 lakh and up to Rs 15 lakh to be taxed at 20 per cent and above 15 lakhs at Rs 30 per cent."Meanwhile, opposition parties criticized the Union Budget. (ANI)

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