Union Budget 2024-2025:
The focus of the budget remains on four major groups: ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth), and ‘Annadata’ (Farmers) .
- The Union Budget 2024-25 emphasises employment, skilling, support for MSMEs, and the middle class. A significant allocation of Rs 1.48 lakh crore is earmarked for education, employment, and skilling.
- The budget prioritizes nine areas including agriculture, employment, human resource development, manufacturing, services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation, research & development, and next-generation reforms.
- Measures include releasing new 109 high-yielding crop varieties, promoting natural farming among 1 crore farmers, establishing 10,000 need-based bio-input bio-input centres, and enhancing production, storage, and marketing of pulses and oilseeds (achieve‘atmanirbharta’ for oil seeds).
- A provision of Rs 1.52 lakh crore has been announced for agriculture and allied sectors this year.
- Government along with the states, will facilitate the implementation of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture for coverage of farmers and their lands in 3 years.
- The budget introduces schemes like Employment Linked Incentive and initiatives to boost skilling with a focus on skilling 20 lakh youth over a 5-year period and upgrading 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes.
- Financial support for higher education and loans for skilling are also announced.
- The Model Skill Loan Scheme will be revised to facilitate loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh with a guarantee from a government promoted fund, which is expected to help 25,000 students every year.
- Enhanced support for economic activities among marginalised groups, including tribal communities and women entrepreneurs, is emphasized.
- The government’s Purvodaya initiative aims to comprehensively develop the eastern region of India- including Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, focusing on human resource development, infrastructure enhancement, and economic growth to advance towards a developed nation.
- The Finance Minister announced the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan to enhance the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities, covering 63,000 villages in tribal-majority areas and aspirational districts, benefiting approximately 5 crore tribal people.
- Over 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank will be established in the North East region to enhance banking services, alongside a provision of Rs 2.66 lakh crore allocated for rural development and infrastructure this year.
- The budget emphasises support for MSMEs, focusing on labour-intensive manufacturing, with a new self-financing guarantee fund offering up to Rs 100 crore per applicant.
- Public sector banks will enhance their internal assessment capabilities for MSME credit. Additionally, Mudra loan limits will increase to Rs 20 lakh for previous ‘Tarun’ category borrowers.
- The budget also includes initiatives like setting up 50 food irradiation units, establishing 100 food quality labs, and creating E-Commerce Export Hubs.
- Furthermore, a scheme for internships in 500 top companies aims to benefit 1 crore youth over 5 years.
- PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0, has been allocated Rs 10 lakh crore to address housing needs of 1 crore urban poor and middle-class families, with Rs 2.2 lakh crore in central assistance over 5 years.
- The government will also collaborate with State Governments and Multilateral Development Banks to promote water supply, sewage treatment, and solid waste management in 100 large cities through bankable projects.
- Additionally, building on the success of PM SVANidhi, the government plans to establish 100 weekly street food hubs (haats) annually over the next five years.
- PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana aims to install rooftop solar plants for free electricity to 1 crore households (up to 300 units every month).
- Nuclear energy is highlighted as a significant part of India’s energy mix.
- Government will try to maintain strong fiscal support for infrastructure over the next 5 years on this line Rs 11,11,111 crore for capital expenditure has been allocated this year, which is 3.4% of our GDP.
- Phase IV of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to connect 25,000 rural habitations with all-weather roads due to population growth has been announced.
- For Bihar, under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme and other sources, the government will allocate Rs 11,500 crore for projects like the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link and 20 other schemes including barrages, river pollution abatement, and irrigation.
- Additionally, financial assistance will be provided to Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim for flood management, landslides, and related projects.
- The government will establish the Anusandhan National Research Fund to support basic research and prototype development, allocating Rs 1 lakh crore to spur private sector-driven research and innovation at a commercial scale.
- To expand the space economy fivefold in the next decade, a venture capital fund of Rs 1,000 crore will be established.
- Plans for an Economic Policy Framework, labour reforms, and simplification of FDI regulations are outlined to spur economic growth.
- Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 to improve Ease of Doing Business will be introduced by the government.
