India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the union budget 2022 on Tuesday with some measures that may benefit the Indian diaspora worldwide.
India will roll out E-passports in 2022-23 to enhance convenience for citizens, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech on Tuesday.
The e-Passport, also known as ‘electronic passport’ or ‘biometric passport’, combines an electronic chip with a biometric identifier. In addition, the new chip-embedded e-passports will have security elements to prevent unauthorised reading of data stored on the chip.
Currently, India issues passports in printed booklets. Earlier last month Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar had said that the ministry had initiated discussions with the ‘India Security Press’ regarding the project for issuing chip-enabled e-passports to citizens.
“We propose to pursue the manufacture of e-passports on priority so that a new passport booklet with advanced security features can be rolled out in the near future,” the minister had said.
Another announcement that may help people living abroad is about the updated tax returns. Those who want to file updated tax returns can do it for 2 years from the end of the assessment year.
Additionally, India has introduced a scheme for the taxation of Virtual/Digital Assets. Any income from the transfer of virtual digital assets will be taxed at 30 per cent.
The country will also launch its own digital currency before March next year.
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