Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament.
Here are the main highlights:
Budget Estimates 2024-25
-Total receipts (excluding borrowings): ₹32.07 lakh crore
-Total expenditure: ₹48.21 lakh crore
-Net tax receipts: ₹25.83 lakh crore
-Fiscal deficit: 4.9% of GDP, with a target to reduce below 4.5% next year
-Inflation: Low and stable, moving towards a 4% target; Core inflation at 3.1%
Focus Areas: Employment, Skilling, MSMEs, and the Middle Class
Prime Minister’s Package of 5 Schemes for Employment and Skilling
-Impact: Aimed at 4.1 crore youth over five years
– Scheme A – First Timers: Up to ₹15,000 as a one-month salary in three installments to first-time employees registered with EPFO
-Scheme B – Job Creation in Manufacturing: Incentives for both employees and employers regarding EPFO contributions for the first four years
-Scheme C – Support to Employers: Government reimbursement of up to ₹3,000 per month for two years towards EPFO contributions for each additional employee
Skilling Initiatives
-New centrally sponsored scheme: Skilling 20 lakh youth over five years
-Industrial Training Institutes: 1,000 ITIs to be upgraded in a hub-and-spoke arrangement
-Internship Program: Internships in 500 top companies for 1 crore youth over five years
Nine Budget Priorities for ‘Viksit Bharat’
- Agriculture: Allocation of ₹1.52 lakh crore, with new high-yield, climate-resilient crop varieties, natural farming initiatives, and Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture
- Employment & Skilling: Implementation of PM’s employment schemes, establishment of working women hostels, crèches, and market access for women SHGs
- Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice: Development of industrial nodes, power projects, financial support under Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, and significant allocation for women and tribal development
- Manufacturing & Services: New credit schemes, enhanced Mudra loans, and MSME support during stress periods
- Urban Development: Transit Oriented Development, investment in urban housing, and support for street markets
- Energy Security: Policies for energy transition, pumped storage, small modular reactors, and advanced ultra supercritical thermal power plants
- Infrastructure: Central and state investments, new phase of PMGSY, and support for irrigation and flood mitigation projects
- Innovation, Research & Development: National Research Fund, financing pool for private sector-driven R&D, and a venture capital fund for expanding the space economy
- Next Generation Reforms: Digitalization of land records, integration of e-shram portal, and the introduction of NPS Vatsalya for minors
Part B: Taxation and Financial Reforms
Indirect Taxes
-GST: Simplification and rationalization to expand coverage
-Sector-specific Customs Duty Proposals: Reductions for medicines, medical equipment, mobile phones, precious metals, and electronics, among others
-Solar Energy: Exemptions for capital goods used in manufacturing solar cells and panels
-Marine Products: Reduced duties on broodstock and fish feed
Direct Taxes
-Charity and TDS Simplification: Merging of tax exemption regimes for charities and rationalization of TDS rates
-Capital Gains Taxation: Uniform tax rates for short and long-term gains, increased exemption limits
-Employment and Investment: Abolition of angel tax for all investors, simplified tax regime for foreign shipping companies, and reduced corporate tax rates for foreign companies
-Deepening Tax Base: Increased security transaction tax on futures and options, taxation of buyback income
-Social Security Benefits: Increased NPS deductions for employers and de-penalization for small foreign asset non-reporting
Changes in Personal Income Tax under New Regime
-Standard Deduction: Increased from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000 for salaried employees
-Family Pension Deduction: Enhanced from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000
-Revised Tax Rate Structure: Simplified for better compliance and ease
This comprehensive budget aims to drive economic growth, enhance employment and skilling opportunities, support MSMEs, and ensure social justice, while maintaining fiscal prudence and stability.
