Highlights Of The Union Budget 2024-25

Context

The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament.

About 

Budget Estimates of 2024-25 are

Total receipts other than borrowings: `32.07 lakh crore.

Total expenditure: `48.21 lakh crore.

Net tax receipt: `25.83 lakh crore.

Fiscal deficit: 4.9 percent of GDP.

Government aims to reach a deficit below 4.5 percent next year.

Inflation continues to be low, stable and moving towards the 4% target; Core inflation (non-food, non-fuel) at 3.1%.

The focus of the budget is on Employment, Skilling, MSMEs, and the Middle  Class.

Package of PM’s five schemes for Employment and Skilling

Prime Minister’s Package of 5 Schemes and Initiatives for employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period.

Scheme A – First Timers: One-month salary of up to `15,000 to be provided in 3 installments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO.

Scheme B – Job Creation in manufacturing: Incentive to be provided at specified scale directly, both employee and employer, with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first 4 years of employment.

Scheme C – Support to employers: Government to reimburse up to `3,000 per month for 2 years towards EPFO contribution of employers, for each additional employee.

New centrally sponsored scheme for Skilling: 20 lakh youth to be skilled over a 5-year period and 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes to be upgraded in hub and spoke arrangements.

New Scheme for Internship in 500 Top Companies  to 1 crore youth in 5 years.

Nine Budget Priorities in pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’

Productivity and resilience in Agriculture

Employment & Skilling

Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice

Manufacturing & Services

Urban Development 

Energy Security

Infrastructure

Innovation, Research & Development and

Next Generation Reforms

Priority 1: Productivity and resilience in Agriculture

Allocation of  1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors.

New 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops to be released for cultivation by farmers.

10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres to be established for natural farming.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture to be implemented for coverage of farmers and their lands in 3 years.

Priority 2: Employment & Skilling

As part of the Prime Minister’s package, 3 schemes for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’ to be implemented – Scheme A – First Timers; Scheme B – Job Creation in manufacturing;  Scheme C – Support to employers.

To facilitate higher participation of women in the workforce;

Working women hostels and crèches to be established with industrial collaboration

Women-specific skilling programmes to be organized

Market access for women SHG enterprises to be promoted.

Skill Development: New centrally sponsored scheme for Skilling under Prime Minister’s Package for 20 lakh youth over a 5-year period.

Model Skill Loan Scheme to be revised to facilitate loans up to 7.5 lakh.

Financial support for loans upto `10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions to be provided to youth who have not been eligible for any benefit under government schemes and policies.

Priority 3: Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice

Purvodaya: Industrial node at Gaya to be developed along the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor.

Power projects, including a new 2400 MW power plant at Pirpainti, to be taken up at a cost of  `21,400 crore.

Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act: Special financial support through multilateral development agencies of `15,000 crore in the current financial year.

Industrial nodes at Kopparthy along Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and at Orvakal along Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

Women-led development: Total allocation of more than `3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls.

Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan: Socio-economic development of tribal families in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts, covering 63,000 villages benefitting 5 crore tribal people.

100 branches of India Post Payment Bank to be set up in the NorthEast region.

Priority 4: Manufacturing & Services

Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs in the Manufacturing Sector: A credit guarantee scheme without collateral or third-party guarantee in term loans to MSMEs for purchase of machinery and equipment.

Credit Support to MSMEs during Stress Period: New mechanism to facilitate continuation of bank credit to MSMEs during their stress period.

Mudra Loans: The limit of Mudra loans under ‘Tarun’ category to be enhanced to `20 lakh from `10 lakh for those who have successfully repaid previous loans.

E-Commerce Export Hubs: E-Commerce Export Hubs to be set up under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode for MSMEs and traditional artisans to sell their products in international markets.

Critical Mineral Mission: Critical Mineral Mission to be set up for domestic production, recycling of critical minerals, and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Applications: Development of DPI applications in the areas of credit, e-commerce, education, health, law and justice, logistics, MSME, services delivery, and urban governance.

Priority 5: Urban Development

Formulation of Transit Oriented Development plans and strategies to implement and finance 14 large cities above 30 lakh population.

Street Markets: New scheme to support the development of 100 weekly ‘haats’ or street food hubs every year for the next 5 years in select cities.

Priority 6: Energy Security

Government to partner with the private sector for R&D of Bharat Small Modular Reactor and newer technologies for nuclear energy, and to set up Bharat Small Reactors.

Advanced Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plants: Joint venture proposed between NTPC and BHEL to set up a full scale 800 MW commercial plant using Advanced Ultra SuperCritical (AUSC) technology.

Priority 7: Infrastructure

Infrastructure investment by Central Government: `11,11,111 crore (3.4 % of GDP) to be provided for capital expenditure.

Infrastructure investment by state governments: Provision of `1.5 lakh crore for long-term interest free loans to support states in infrastructure investment.

Tourism: Comprehensive development of Vishnupad Temple Corridor, Mahabodhi Temple Corridor and Rajgir.

Priority 8: Innovation, Research & Development

Anusandhan National Research Fund for basic research and prototype development to be operationalised.

Financing pool of  `1 lakh crore for spurring private sector-driven research and innovation at commercial scale.

Space Economy:  Venture capital fund of  `1,000 crore to be set up for expanding the space economy by 5 times in the next 10 years.

Priority 9: Next Generation Reforms

Rural Land Related Actions: Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar for all lands, Digitization of cadastral maps etc.

NPS Vatsalya: NPS-Vatsalya as a plan for contribution by parents and guardians for minors.

Changes in Personal Income Tax under new tax regime.

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