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Budget 2024-25: Major Takeaways and Financial Projections
Introduction
The Union Budget 2024-25, presented by the finance minister, has set a comprehensive agenda aimed at steering the nation towards sustainable economic growth and fiscal stability. Amidst global economic uncertainties and domestic challenges, the budget outlines a robust framework to bolster infrastructure development, enhance social welfare, and drive technological innovation. With a strong emphasis on fiscal discipline, the budget aims to balance revenue generation and expenditure rationalization, ensuring targeted benefits and inclusive growth. Key highlights include significant investments in healthcare, education, and rural development, alongside strategic initiatives to promote green energy, digital transformation, and public-private partnerships. This budget underscores the government's commitment to fostering an environment conducive to economic resilience and long-term prosperity.
Key takeaways from the budget Part A
Total bills other than borrowings32.07 lakh crore.
Total expenditure48.21 lakh crore.
Net duty damage 25.83 lakh crore.
financial deficiency4.9 per cent of GDP.
Budget Theme
- Focus Areas: Employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class.
- Prime Minister’s Package: Introduction of 5 schemes and initiatives to promote employment, skilling, and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over 5 years, with a central outlay of ? 2 lakh crore.
- Funding for Education and Employment: Allocation of? 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment, and skilling initiatives.
- Productivity and Resilience in Agriculture: Highlights
- Agriculture Research: Comprehensive review and funding for climate-resilient and high-yielding crop varieties, with oversight from domain experts.
- New Varieties: Release of 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties of 32 crops for cultivation.
- Natural Farming: Initiation of 1 crore farmers into natural farming with certification and branding; establishment of 10,000 bio-input resource centres.
- Pulses and Oilseeds: Strengthening production, storage, and marketing to achieve self-sufficiency in oilseeds; strategy development for oilseed 'atmanirbharta'.
- Vegetable Production: Development of large-scale vegetable production clusters and promotion of supply chains through cooperatives and start-ups.
- Digital Infrastructure: Implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture, including digital crop surveys and farmer registries.
- Employment & Skilling: Highlights
- Employment Linked Incentives:
- Scheme A: Provides one-month wage (up to ? 15,000) for first-time workforce entrants with a salary cap of? 1 lakh per month.
- Scheme B: Incentivizes additional employment in manufacturing linked to first-time hires.
- Scheme C: Reimburses employers up to? 3,000 per month for EPFO contributions for each new employee for 2 years.
- Women's Workforce Participation: Establishment of working women hostels and organization of women-specific skilling programs, with support for women SHG enterprises.
- Skilling Programs:
- Skill training for 20 lakh youth over 5 years.
- Upgradation of 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes with industry-aligned courses.
- Skilling Loans: Revised Model Skill Loan Scheme to provide up to? 7.5 lakh loans with a government guarantee for 25,000 students annually.
- Education Loans: Financial support for loans up to? 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions for youth not covered by other schemes.
- Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice: Highlights
- Saturation Approach: Comprehensive coverage of all eligible individuals through education, health, and economic support programs, including schemes for artisans, self-help groups, and women entrepreneurs.
- Purvodaya Plan: Focused development of the eastern region (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh) with investments in human resources, infrastructure, and economic opportunities, including an industrial node at Gaya.
- Women-led Development: Over? 3 lakh crore allocated to schemes benefiting women and girls.
- Manufacturing & Services: Highlights
- Support for MSMEs:
- Introduction of a Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSME machinery and equipment purchases, with guarantees up to? 100 crore.
- New credit assessment model for MSMEs based on digital footprints.
- Enhanced Mudra loan limit to? 20 lakh for successful borrowers.
- New mechanism to maintain credit flow to MSMEs during stress periods.
- Industrial Parks and Infrastructure:
- Development of plug-and-play industrial parks in 100 cities and 12 parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme.
- Facilitation of rental housing for industrial workers in PPP mode.
- E-Commerce and Export Hubs:
- Establishment of E-Commerce Export Hubs to help MSMEs and artisans access international markets.
- Digital Public Infrastructure:
- Development of DPI applications for improved productivity and services across sectors including credit, e-commerce, and logistics.
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Reforms:
- Integrated Technology Platform for the IBC ecosystem, additional National Company Law Tribunals, and strengthened debt recovery mechanisms.
- Urban Development: Highlights
- Cities as Growth Hubs:
- Development of cities through economic and transit planning, and orderly peri-urban growth with town planning schemes.
- Creative Redevelopment:
- Formulation of a framework for brownfield redevelopment with enabling policies and market-based mechanisms.
- Urban Housing:
- Under PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0, an investment of? 10 lakh crore was to address the housing needs of 1 crore urban poor and middle-class families, including? 2.2 lakh crore central assistance over 5 years.
- Water Supply and Sanitation:
- Promotion of water supply, sewage treatment, and solid waste management projects for 100 large cities, with the use of treated water for irrigation.
- Energy Security: Highlights
- Energy Transition: Drafting a policy for energy transition balancing employment, growth, and environmental sustainability.
- PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana: Continued encouragement of the scheme with over 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications.
- Pumped Storage Policy: Development of a policy to promote pumped storage projects for better integration of renewable energy.
- Advanced Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plants: NTPC and BHEL to set up an 800 MW commercial plant using new AUSC technology, supported by fiscal incentives.
- Infrastructure: Highlights
- Central Government Investment: Allocation of? 11.11 lakh crore for capital expenditure, representing 3.4% of GDP, with continued strong fiscal support over the next 5 years.
- Tourism Development: Initiatives to enhance India’s global tourism appeal, including the development of key pilgrimage corridors, Rajgir, Nalanda, and Odisha’s scenic and cultural sites.
- Innovation, Research & Development: Highlights
- Anusandhan National Research Fund: Operationalization of a fund for basic research and prototype development, with a ? 1 lakh crore financing pool to spur private sector innovation.
- Space Economy: Establishment of a ? 1,000 crore venture capital fund to expand the space economy by five times over the next decade.
9. Next Generation Reforms: Highlights
Economic Policy Framework: Development of a framework to guide reforms aimed at improving productivity, efficiency, and employment, focusing on land, labour, capital, entrepreneurship, and technology.
- Land-Related Reforms: Incentives for state governments to implement land administration reforms, including digitization of land records and creation of IT-based systems for property management.
- Labour and Financial Sector Reforms: Integration of e-ashram and other portals for comprehensive labour services, and formulation of a financial sector strategy document to enhance sector size, capacity, and skills.
- Taxonomy for Climate Finance: Development of a taxonomy to boost capital availability for climate adaptation and mitigation, supporting India’s climate goals and green transition.
Conclusion
The Union Budget 2024-25 demonstrates the government's commitment to balancing economic growth with fiscal discipline. By prioritizing infrastructure, social welfare, and technological innovation, the budget aims to foster sustainable and inclusive development. Key investments in healthcare, education, green energy, and digital transformation reflect a vision for a resilient and modern economy. As the nation moves forward, the measures outlined in this budget are set to address current challenges and pave the way for future prosperity, positioning India for economic excellence and social well-being.
