Introduction
The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, proposed the 2024-25 Union Budget in the Parliament, seventh delivered successively by her, which will turn out to be a gigantic task for the BJP-led NDA government. This budget becomes extraordinarily special as the first since the re-election of the government in June. The focus of Budget 2024 is basically reflected on all the areas related to employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class, duly supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Areas of Main Focus
The budget, as alluded to by the Finance Minister, is going to be primarily focusing on the following areas:
- Employment and Skilling
- MSMEs
- The Middle Class
The allocation in the area of education, employment, and skill development is tentatively set at a whopping ₹1.48 lakh crore, indicating, among other things, the commitment of the government to enhancing human capital in the country and the future resilience of the economy.
Nine Budget Priorities
Ms. Sitharaman also articulated the following nine priorities that the budget would stand to back:
- Agricultural productivity and resilience
- Employment and skilling
- Inclusive human resource development and social justice
- Manufacturing and services
- Support for MSMEs
- Urban development
- Energy security
- Infrastructure
- Innovation, research, and development
Agricultural Sector Initiatives
Changes in the agricultural sector have been announced in the following areas:
- Promotion of natural farming by farmers
- Atmanirbhar in Nutri sector
- Developing digital public infrastructure for agriculture
Job And Education Initiatives
The employee-linked incentive schemes have been rationalised and new initiatives taken to provide more support to the employees, thereby increasing job opportunities and also providing assistance for the employers. The following initiatives are:
Three new employee-linked incentive schemes under the Prime Minister’s package, dovetailing enrollments in the Employee Provident Fund Organisation
Support loans to the tune of ₹10 lakh for students from institutions within the country with e-vouchers being provided for interest subvention to 1 lakh students each year
Holistic internship programme with exposure to actual work exeee up to 1 crore young people for 5 years
Making a difference in the region: Bihar and Andhra Pradesh
It also spoke about the developmental needs of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh through the “Purvodaya” plan, which hinted at the overall development of the eastern states. Some highlights:
An expressway to be constructed in Bihar with ₹26,000 crore
Construction in the nature of new power projects, new airports, and new medical and sports infrastructure
To support the industrial development and infrastructure in the state of Andhra Pradesh under the AP Reorganization Act
Women’s Development
A clear indicator that the government is all-inclusive in terms of gender empowerment is the fact that over ₹3 lakh crore have been provided for schemes benefiting women and girls for women-led development.
Support to MSMEs
The budget has majorly focused on MSMEs and labor-intensive manufacturing. To support this, there is a new model that will also be launched with regard to the assessment of credit in MSMEs by public sector banks. The digital footprint of an MSME will also be used as compared to the model that is currently being used such as asset and turnover-based.
Changes in Personal Income Tax
In the most important changes of this new regime has been the most substantive revisions which were supposed to enable the department to back the salaried employees with some form of relief that they have been clamoring for. These changes are as mentioned here below:
The ₹3 lakh to ₹6 lakh slab has been expanded to ₹3 lakh to ₹7 lakh. The same retains a 5% tax slab.
The other slabs have been modified to benefit the taxpayers and enable their savings. Up to ₹17,500 can be saved.
Conclusion
The Union Budget 2024-25 is woven around this balanced approach and makes sure that important areas such as employment, skilling, MSMEs and middle-class concerns are addressed. It has huge outlays on education, infrastructure, and regional development to drive sustainable growth and inclusiveness. These strategic initiatives will now go much further in sculpting the economic landscape and enhancing the quality of life of all citizens.