The budget has not provided for any capital infusion in public sector banks in 2022-23.  

“This is in line with our expectations. The government has also scaled down the provision for capital infusion in the current year (2021-22) to Rs 15,000 crore from the earlier budgeted Rs 20,000 crore, given the comfortable capital position of public banks,” said Anil Gupta, vice president & sector head – Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA.

Affordable Housing

The affordable housing projects have got a boost. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget, said that the housing projects have been allotted Rs 48,000 crore for FY23.

The government plans to prod the financial sector regulators to enable expansion in access to capital for affordable housing for the middle class and the economically weaker sections in urban areas. It will also work with the state governments to reduce the time require for all land and construction related approvals.

Kajal Gandhi, analyst at ICICI Direct, said the focus on affordable housing segment continues with allocation of Rs 48,000 crore for PM housing scheme. It bodes well for growth in secured portfolio of large banks and housing finance companies.

The government will be constituting an expert committee to examine and suggest measures to facilitate scaling up of venture capital and private equity investments. In 2021, Rs 5.5 lakh crore of investments by venture capital and private equity firms enabled one of the largest start-up and growth ecosystems to emerge.

IFSC

Taking forward the government’s efforts to further promote the Ahmedabad-based IFSC, the Finance Minister proposed to provide that income of a non-resident from offshore derivative instruments, or over the counter derivatives issued by an offshore banking unit, income from royalty and interest on account of lease of ship and income received from portfolio management services in the IFSC will be exempt from tax.