Highlights of India’s Union Budget 2024
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s seventh budget, marking the Modi 3.0 government’s first, sets the stage for transforming India into ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. This budget emphasizes significant reforms and allocations across various sectors to drive economic growth and development.
Contents
Nine Priority Areas
- Agriculture: Enhancing productivity and resilience.
- Employment and Skilling: Significant focus with new initiatives.
- Inclusive HR Development and Social Justice
- Manufacturing & Services
- Urban Development
- Energy Security
- Infrastructure
- Innovation R&D
- Next-Gen Reforms
Employment and Skilling Initiatives
- New Wage Scheme: A new scheme offering one month’s wage of up to ₹15,000 for those joining the formal sector. This initiative aims to benefit 2.1 crore youths.
- Internship Program: Providing internships in the top 500 companies for 1 crore youth over five years, with a monthly stipend of ₹5,000 and a one-time assistance of ₹6,000. This scheme aims to give young individuals exposure to real-life business environments.
- Employment-Linked Incentives: Launch of three new schemes to stimulate job creation.
Agriculture
- Allocation: ₹1.52 lakh crore allocated for agriculture and allied sectors.
- Natural Farming: Aiming for 1 crore farmers to adopt natural farming within two years. Additionally, 109 crop varieties will be released to boost agricultural productivity.
Additional Measures
- FDI Rules: Simplification of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules to encourage more inflows and promote the use of the rupee in international transactions.
- Inflation Target: Maintaining a low inflation rate, moving towards a 4% target.
- Purvodaya Initiative: Comprehensive development plans for Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh under the Purvodaya scheme.
- E-Vouchers for Students: Issuance of loans worth ₹10 lakh to 1 lakh students with an interest subvention of 3% to support higher education.
- Housing: Allocation for the construction of 3 crore additional houses in rural and urban areas to address housing shortages.
- Support for Andhra Pradesh: An initial allocation of ₹15,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh, with additional funds to be provided in subsequent years.
This budget is designed to foster sustainable economic growth, enhance infrastructure, support green initiatives, empower the rural population, and improve overall living standards across India. It reflects the government’s commitment to inclusive development and fiscal responsibility, setting the foundation for India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.
