Finance and Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a big budget ahead of next year's general elections that included big spending on infrastructure in the agriculture sector and budget cuts to support the middle class.

This is a 2023 cheat sheet with 10 points

The Government has set out seven priorities in its latest budget ahead of next year's general election. The areas, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, are "development including, reaching the last Mile, infrastructure and investment, opening up possibilities, Green Growth, youth empowerment and the financial sector".

Calling it the 'first Amrit Kaal expansion' - 25 years ending India's centenary of independence - Ms Sitharaman said the country's economy had risen from 10th to 5th largest in the world in per capita income. each gets more than double.

In the next financial year, the investment budget will increase by 33% to 10 lakh crore - which will be 3.3% of the GDP in the financial year 2023-2024, the finance minister said.

In a major boost to income tax relief ahead of the election year, the government revised the income tax and new tax regime and said that there will be no tax on income up to ₹ 7 lakh per year - from ₹ 5 lakh.

For the railways, the minister announced an outlay of ₹ 2.4 lakh crore - the highest in almost a decade and four times last year's budget. "That is about nine times what it spent in 2013-14," he said, comparing it to the last year of the Congress-led UPA.

By focusing on switching to greener fuels, the government is targeting 5 MT of green hydrogen production by 2030, Ms Sitharaman said.

Ms. Sitharaman said the fiscal deficit target of 6.4% will be maintained in the revised plan for the current fiscal year. For the next fiscal year 2023-2024, it will be reduced to 5.9%.

To facilitate trade and settle trade disputes, the government will introduce another dispute settlement mechanism under Vivad Se Vishwas-2, Ms Sitharaman said. There will be a one-stop solution for syncing IDs held by various government agencies, the minister said. PAN will be used as an identifier for all digital systems specified by government agencies.

The government will also launch a national digital library for children and teenagers, organize teacher training through various programs and launch new initiatives to promote research and innovation in the field of medicine. In the next three years, the government will employ 38,000 teachers for residential schools in Ekalavya.

In a major move for senior citizens, the investment cap for monthly income plans and senior citizens' savings plans has been raised.