An Observation Budget for Vikshit Bharat 2047

Today, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman broke the record by presenting the budget for the seventh year in a row in Parliament, introducing the first complete budget of the NDA 3.0 government. This budget represents a significant milestone for "Amrit Kaal" and the first observation budget towards achieving Vikshit Bharat 2047. The minister of finance announced that there will be a theme for this year's budget and that the government will still prioritize the needs of the poor, women, youth, and farmers. The majority of societal groups and the nation as a whole will profit from this budget, making it firmly growth-oriented and balanced. Certain advantages of this budget, like creating jobs, will become apparent in a few years.

The budget contains certain political considerations because some critics claim it is primarily centric to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Special packages for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, however, are highly justified to preserve political stability in the nation. These two underdeveloped and impoverished states require development funds to fight poverty, improve infrastructure, and embrace digitalization. Since the implementation of government programs and goals is based on digitization, this is necessary.

For the country as a whole, the Budget 2024–25 is very important in several sectors, including manufacturing, semiconductors, consumer products, technology, hospitality, and other areas.

Features and positive points in the budget:

1. The budget prioritizes nine areas: manufacturing and services; inclusive human development; energy security; productivity and resilience in agriculture; innovation, research, and development; infrastructure; and next-generation reforms.
2. The budget includes unexpected work opportunities. In five years, there will probably be more than 4 crore new jobs produced. Three job-linked programs will be introduced by the government. The proposed budget allots Rs 2 lakh crore over five years for the development of jobs. In five years, a new employment skilling program will train 20 lakh youth. For the first time, this provision is made even for the corporate sector.
3. Over the course of five years, one million youngsters will have the opportunity to intern at 500 of the best companies. This involves providing young people with a one-time grant of Rs. 6,000 and a monthly internship payment of Rs. 5,000. Additionally, 20 lakh women will receive skill development training in five years.
4. NDA allies Nitish and Naidu made a big impression, as Bihar will receive a special package worth Rs. 58,900 crore, and Andhra Pradesh will receive a package worth Rs. 15,000 crore.
5. The budget proposal highlights the government's commitment to improving educational opportunities and fostering employment through industry-specific skills training by allocating a sizeable sum of Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment, and skilling initiatives.
6. Fast-tracking rural economic growth is the focus of the budget.
7. Industries will receive huge financial assistance.
8. It’s a budget for poor and tribal people's development. The government intends to add 3 crore more houses to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) program, which will hugely benefit them.?
9. The salaried class and the middle class got good benefits from this budget. The government wants that tax-payers should quickly move from the old tax regime. In the new tax regime, there is no tax up to Rs3 lakhs and the standard deduction amount is raised to ?75,000. The short-term capital gain tax on certain financial assets has been revised to 20%. The long-term capital gain tax has been revised to 12.5% on financial assets. The budget proposes to abolish the angel tax for all classes of investors. This may boost the IT sector.
10. Under the new tax regime, the adjustments in tax rates are expected to save individual taxpayers up to ?17,500 in taxes annually.
11. The TDS rate on e-commerce operators is to be cut to 0.1% from 1%.
12. A comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act to improve its clarity and readability to reduce litigation cases.
13. Spending on infrastructure rose to a historical high of ?11.1 lakh crore. An economic hub would be established in eastern India. Significant announcements regarding Bihar and Andhra Pradesh were also made by the FM, including additional funding for infrastructure and specific financial support. The statement covers the development of human resources, infrastructure, and economic opportunities to turn Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, as well as the eastern part of the country, into a driving force behind the realization of Viksit Bharat.
14. In FY25, Rs1.52 lakh crore has been allocated for the agricultural and related industries. The Minister of Finance went on to say that one crore farmers would be introduced to natural farming within the next two years. Furthermore, 109 new, high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and cultivated crops will be available to farmers this fiscal year.
15. The Model Skill Loan Scheme would be revised in Budget 2024–2025 to assist 25,000 students annually. Each year, 1 lakh students would receive e-vouchers for loans up to Rs. 10 lakh for higher education at domestic institutions, with an annual interest subsidy of 3% of the loan amount.
16. For the MSME sector, the loan guarantee program is a bright move that should have a major positive influence on business growth and sustainability nationwide.
17. The maximum loan amount available under Mudra (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd) would increase from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
18. PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna is extended for 5 years, benefiting 80 crore people.
19. Financial support for loans up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education
20. The budget proposes building working women's hostels to encourage more women to enter the workforce.
21. A sum of Rs 3,442.32 crore is allocated to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, while Rs 900 crore is provided for the "Khelo India" programme to promote sports in the country.
22. The budget suggests eliminating customs charges on three cancer medications. The government has suggested reducing the customs tariff from 10% to 0% on Durvalumab, Osimertinib, and Trastuzumab Deruxtecan.
23. A 5.1% GDP fiscal deficit target has been set for FY25.
24. Projected total revenues are ?30.80 lakh crore, whereas total expenses are ?47.66 lakh crore.
25. The ?14.13 lakh crore market borrowing amount is proposed in the budget.

Some negative points in the budget:

1. The growth of smart cities was not addressed.
2. No incentives are provided to the taxpayers in the old regime. Furthermore, there is no incentive for taxpayers to save money. Taxpayers are not encouraged to save money by the budget. However, the government eliminated the savings incentives earlier and left it up to the taxpayers to determine how much money they would save.
3. Working women may be pleased with the budget incentives, but housewives, who manage the kitchen cabinets, may be a little let down because many of them feel that there isn't much money set aside for them. Only when inflation is under control, can they possibly gain some advantages. Even though things like gold, silver, cell phones, chargers, etc. will get cheaper, edibles still cost more. The GST will soon be rationalized, potentially resulting in lower rates. Women might also benefit from this.
4. The market is responding negatively to the budget. According to reports, the rupee hits a record low and stock markets decline when the government raises taxes on capital gains and derivative trading in the budget. The experts do believe that this could just be a transitory situation and that the stock market will soon rebound.

It is concluded that everyone in the country is anxious and full of expectations during budget season. The first budget for the NDA 3.0 term is this one. I believe that this balanced budget, which is progressive rather than populist, lays out a fast-track development plan for the five years of the NDA administration. Former governments modeled their budgets on revenue, while the current budget is focused on capital expenditures, making it a budget for the future.

We must commend FM Sitaraman for this creative budget, which receives an 8.7 grade from me as she has done her job excellently.