Highlights and Announcements of Union budget 2024

 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh consecutive budget in Parliament with focus on four major castes: Garib (Poor), Mahilayen (Women), Yuva (Youth), and Annadata (Farmer). The package of five schemes and initiatives introduced in this budget aims to facilitate employment, producing skilling labor force and providing opportunities for countries youth over coming years, focusing on nation energy security and measured for supporting and boosting MSMEs. The government has pledged to present a detailed roadmap for the pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’, focusing on nine priorities: productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment and skilling, inclusive human resource development and social justice, manufacturing & services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation, research & development, and next-generation reforms. Following are highlights of Union Budget 2024–25.

Highlights of Union budget 2024.

For farming

For agriculture sector and allied sectors the Finance Minister has announced a substantial allocation of Rs 1.52 lakh crore in the 2024 Union Budget.

The minister also announced the government’s plan to promote large-scale vegetable production clusters to boost production and ensure a steady vegetable supply across the country.

The government will focus on developing climate-resilient varieties in agriculture. Furthermore, new 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties will be released to farmers, and 10,000 need-based bio-input centers will be established to strengthen the production, storage, and marketing of oilseeds.

The government will also promote digital public infrastructure in partnership with state governments, providing farmers with access to vital information needed from sowing to harvesting such as weather forecasts, crop advisory services, and market prices.

A digital crop survey for Kharif will be conducted in 400 districts in FY25, and Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards will be enabled in five states. Financing for shrimp farming, processing, and export will be facilitated through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.

For Employment Linked Incentive

This project is an important step forward in empowering youngsters and assuring a trained workforce for the future.

Governments A scheme will provide one-month wage to those entering the workforce in all formal sectors. The direct benefit transfer of one-month salary in 3 installments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO, will be up to Rs. 15,000. The eligibility limit will be a salary of ` 1 lakh per month.

The scheme B will incentivise additional employment into the manufacturing sector linked to the employment of first-time employees. An incentive will be provided at specified scale directly both to the employee and the employer with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first 4 years of employment.

Scheme C pertains to support to employers. It is to be an employer- focused scheme which will focus on additional employment in all sectors for those earning within a salary of 1 lakh. The government will reimburse employers up to Rs. 3000 per month for two years towards EPFO contribution for each additional employee. This scene is expected to incentivise additional employment of 50 lakh persons.

4th scheme is focused on skilling with focus on skilling 20 lakh youth over 5-year period. 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes will be upgraded in hub and spoke arrangements with outcome orientation. So promote skilling, the government has announced a revision to the model skill loan scheme, allowing loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh, backed by a government-promoted fund, move expected to benefit 25,000 students every year.

The Indian government plans to launch a comprehensive scheme providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to 1 crore youth over 5 years, offering 12 months of exposure to real-life business environments and varied professions.

For those youth, who couldn’t benefit from current government schemes and policies. The FM announced a financial support for loans up to Rs. 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions. The government will directly provide E-vouchers to 1 lakh students every year for annual interest subvention of 3 per cent of the loan amount. The budget allocation for education, employment, and skilling initiatives increased from Rs 1.48 trillion in the Interim Budget presented before the Lok Sabha elections.

Projects for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh

Modi government has allocated special financial assistance to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, despite rising demand and political clamour for ‘special status’. The FM has allocated Rs 37,500 crores in special funds for states, appeasing and pleasing alliance partners.

Bihar being alliance partner, the government has announced development projects, namely Patna-Purnea Expressway, Buxar-Bhagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga spurs, and additional 2-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs. 26,000 crore. The finance minister has announced construction of new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure, power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 MW power plant at Pirpaint at a cost of Rs. 21,400 cr.

The Finance Minister announced several projects for alliance in Andhra Pradesh during the Union Budget 2024 presentation in Lok Sabha. For current fiscal Rs. 15,000 crore will be arranged for the construction of Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. Sitaraman also announced financial assistance for the completion of the Polavaram irrigation project on the Godavari river, as well as funds for the development of backward areas in Rayalaseema and north Andhra districts. She also announced special incentives for the establishment of industries in Andhra Pradesh and funds for the development of the Visakhapatnam-Chennai and Hyderabad-Bengaluru industrial corridors.

For Women’s

For promoting women-led development, the budget carries an allocation of more than Rs. 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls.

For MSME

The government will introduce a credit guarantee scheme for facilitating term loans to MSMEs for purchase of machinery and equipment without collateral or third-party guarantee. The government has also increase the limit of Mudra loans to Rs. 20 lakh from the current Rs. 10 lakh. Public sector banks will build their own in-house capability to assess MSMEs for credit, and will also take a lead in developing a new credit assessment model based on the scoring of digital footprints of MSMEs in the economy.

A new mechanism for facilitating bank credit continuation for MSMEs during stress periods will be announced, providing a government-promoted fund guarantee to support their business and prevent NPA stage entry.

The turnover threshold of buyers for mandatory onboarding on the TReDS platform will be slashed from ₹ 500 crore to ₹ 250 crore. The Budget also has provisions for financial supporting 50 multi-product irradiation units in the MSME sector.

For infrastructure

India’s federal government has set a record 11.11 trillion rupees ($132.85 billion) spending target for infrastructure. The plan is unchanged from the interim budget presented in February before the national elections. The government has doubled spending on infrastructure over the past three years to boost the economy, with longer-term capital expenditure rising to 3.4% in the current year from 1.7% in 2019–20. The union govt has encouraged state governments to invest in infrastructure, with a provision of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore for long-term interest-free loans. Private sector investment in infrastructure is promoted through viability gap funding and market-based financing framework.

The finance minister has made provision for providing financial support for projects to build flood control structures in various states like Himachal, Uttarakhand, Assam etc.