Budget 2023 may announce benefits for central govt — Key expectations

Budget 2023 is expected to announce some benefits for Central Government Employees under 7th Pay Commission. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamam will present the Budget Speech 2023 at 11 am in the parliament today. The Union Budget, also comprising the Railway Budget, will be the last full Budget of the Modi-led central government as the next Lok Sabha election is due in April-May of 2024.

Prominent economists have written to Sitharaman seeking an increase in social security pensions and adequate provision for maternity benefits. This letter is a follow-up to their letters dated December 20, 2017, and December 21, 2018, which was addressed to the former Finance Minister late Arun Jaitley, according to news agency PTI.

As per this letter, the Central government’s contribution to old-age pensions under the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) has remained at Rs 200 per person per month since 2006. It added that this contribution should be raised to at least Rs 500 or more immediately. This would require an additional budgetary allocation of Rs 7,560 crore to cover 2.1 NOAPS beneficiaries.