Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented India’s Budget for 2023 last week announcing that India’s government will raise its capital expenditure by 33% with the aim of creating jobs across various sectors including infrastructure, manufacturing, tourism, retail, consumer goods, renewable energy, healthcare, artificial intelligence and green jobs.

The INR 45 trillion (USD 545.1 billion) also aims to boost economic growth, while aiming to lower fiscal deficit before elections due next year, according to Reuters.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the aim is to have ‘strong public finances and a robust financial sector for the benefit of all sections of society’.

The education budget was raised to INR 1.13 trillion (USD 13.7 billion) for 2023/24 while the health budget was raised to INR 889.5 billion (USD 10.77 billion) for 2023/24.

The Budget 2023 presentation also revealed that allocations for the rural job guarantee programme will be cut to INR 600 billion (USD 7.2 billion). There will also be INR 350 billion (USD 4.2 billion) provided to invest in the country’s energy and green transition.

Staffing firms and economists told The Economic Times that while the proposals outlined will boost positive sentiment in a hiring market that has seen a coming-off of post-Covid highs in recent months amid a slowing global economy, companies will continue to remain cautious and hire on the basis of individual requirements and existing bench size.

Ajit Isaac, chairperson of business services provider Quess Corp, said among other areas, the capital expenditure may lead to an appoximate 10% increase in the demand for construction workers, currently pegged at 60 million-plus, over the next 18-24 months.

Meanwhile, Viswanath PS, managing director at Randstad India said that while infrastructure investments will prove to be a huge boost to employment, investments in new-age technology domains such as 5G and AI will unleash new potential job opportunities in these areas.

Viswanath added that several announcements have been made to fuel the growth of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and start-ups which were adversely impacted by the pandemic. Announcements such as an INR 90 billion (USD 1.08 billion) amount for revamped credit guarantee scheme and setting up an agriculture accelerator fund would help revive these sectors and create new job opportunities.

India is expecting 6.0% to 6.8% economic growth in 2023/24, slightly lower than the 7% expected in the current fiscal year.