With the ‘mantra’ of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas’ and the whole of nation approach of “Sabka Prayas”, Interim Union Budget 2024-25 was presented in Parliament.

The key highlights of the Budget are as follows:

Part A

Social Justice

Prime Minister to focus on upliftment of four major castes, that is, ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’(Farmer).

‘Garib Kalyan, Desh ka Kalyan’

Government assisted 25 crore people out of multi-dimensional poverty in last 10 years.
DBT of Rs. 34 lakh crore using PM-Jan Dhan accounts led to savings of Rs. 2.7 lakh crore for the Government.
- The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a scheme launched in 2014 to provide basic banking services to all unbanked households in the country. The scheme offers a basic savings bank deposit account with RuPay debit card, accidental insurance cover and overdraft facility. Unlike regular savings accounts, PMJDY accounts do not require any minimum balance to be maintained.
- As of August 16, 2023, over 50.09 crore PMJDY accounts have been opened in India.
PM-SVANidhi provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors
- PM SVANidhi (PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi) is a special micro-credit facility launched by the Government of India in 2020 to provide collateral-free working capital loans of up to ₹10,000 to street vendors to help them resume their businesses post the COVID-19 pandemic.
PM-JANMAN Yojana to aid the development of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG).
PM-Vishwakarma Yojana provides end-to-end support to artisans and crafts people engaged in 18 trades.

Welfare of ‘Annadata’

PM-KISAN SAMMAN Yojana provided financial assistance to 11.8 crore farmers.
- The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, often shortened to PM Kisan Yojana, launched in 2018 to provide income support to eligible small and marginal landholding farmers across India. Landholding farmers with less than 2 hectares of land are eligible.The definition of “farmer” includes husband, wife, and minor children.Some exclusion categories apply, such as institutional farmers, government officials, etc.
- Eligible farmers receive an annual income support of ₹6,000, disbursed in three equal installments of ₹2,000 each.
Under PM Fasal BimaYojana, crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers
- The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a government-sponsored crop insurance scheme that aims to provide financial support to farmers in the event of crop failure due to natural calamities. It was launched in February 2016 and is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) integrated 1361 mandis, providing services to 1.8 crore farmers with trading volume of Rs. 3 lakh crore.
- E-NAM, which stands for National Agriculture Market, is a pan-India electronic trading platform that aims to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. Launched in 2016 by the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, it networks existing Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) to facilitate online trading between farmers and buyers across the country.

Momentum for Nari Shakti

30 crore Mudra Yojana loans given to women entrepreneurs.
- Mudra Yojana is a government-sponsored scheme launched in 2015 to provide financial assistance to micro and small businesses in India. A refinancing agency that channels funds to last-mile financiers like banks, NBFCs, and MFIs. It enables them to offer loans up to ₹10 lakh to non-farm, income-generating micro and small enterprises (MSEs).
- Types of loans under Mudra Yojana:
  - Shishu: Loans up to ₹50,000 for new or existing small businesses.
  - Kishore: Loans between ₹50,000 and ₹5 lakh for growing businesses.
  - Tarun: Loans between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh for businesses requiring higher capital.
Female enrolment in higher education gone up by 28%.
In STEM courses, girls and women constitute 43% of enrolment, one of the highest in the world.
Over 70% houses under PM Awas Yojana given to women from rural areas.

PM Awas Yojana (Grameen)

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G), is a flagship initiative of the Government of India that aims to provide pucca houses (permanent houses made with durable materials) to all eligible rural households by the year 2024.
Launched in 2016, the scheme focuses on improving the living conditions of rural families by providing them with safe, secure, and affordable housing.

Health care sector

Encourage Cervical Cancer Vaccination for girls (9-14 years)
Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 to be expedited for improved nutrition delivery, early childhood care and development
U-WIN platform for immunisation efforts of Mission Indradhanush to be rolled out
Ayushman Bharat: Healthcare cover under Ayushman Bharat scheme to be extended to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme aims to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in the country. It has two main components:
- Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY): This health insurance scheme provides cashless cover of up to ₹5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 50 crore (approximately 10 crores) poor and vulnerable families.
- Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs): These are community-level centres delivering comprehensive primary healthcare services closer to home, focusing on wellness and prevention.

Agriculture and food processing

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment.
- PMKSY is an umbrella scheme launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) in 2017 to create a modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet for the food processing sector in India. This scheme provides financial assistance for setting up cold storages, pre-cooling units, sorting and grading lines, processing facilities, etc.
Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and 60000 individuals with credit linkages.
- The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana (PMFME) is a centrally sponsored scheme launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) in 2020. It aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and promote the formalization of the sector.
Government will promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities.
Application of Nano-DAP to be expanded in all agro-climatic zones
Atmanirbhar Oilseeds Abhiyaan-Strategy to be formulated to achieve atmanirbharta for oilseeds.

Research and Innovation for catalyzing growth, employment and development

A corpus of Rs.1 lakh crore to be established with fifty-year interest free loan to provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates.
A new scheme to be launched for strengthening deep-tech technologies for defence purposes and expediting ‘atmanirbharta’.

Infrastructure

Capital expenditure outlay for Infrastructure development and employment generation to be increased by 11.1 per cent to Rs.11,11,111 crore, that will be 3.4 per cent of the GDP.
- Capital expenditure refers to the money spent by the government on acquiring or upgrading physical assets like infrastructure, machinery, buildings, and technology. These investments are expected to have benefits for several years in the future.

Railways

3 major economic railway corridor programmes identified under the PM Gati Shakti to be implemented to improve logistics efficiency and reduce cost
- Energy, mineral and cement corridors
- Port connectivity corridors
- High traffic density corridors
PM Gati Shakti is a transformative national master plan launched in October 2021. Its ambitious goal is to create a multimodal (including roads, railways, waterways, airports, etc.) connectivity infrastructure across the country to boost economic growth and sustainable development
Forty thousand normal rail bogies to be converted to Vande Bharat standards.

Aviation Sector

Number of airports in the country doubled to 149.
Five hundred and seventeen new routes are carrying 1.3 crore passengers.
Indian carriers have placed orders for over 1000 new aircrafts.
Expansion of existing airports and comprehensive development of new airports under UDAN scheme.
- The UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, also known as the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), is a government-sponsored initiative launched in 2017 to promote regional air connectivity and make flying affordable for the common citizen.

Green Energy

Rooftop solarization and muft bijli
- 1 crore households to obtain 300 units free electricity every month through rooftop solarization.
- Each household is expected to save Rs.15000 to Rs.18000 annually
Adoption of e-buses for public transport network
Strengthening e-vehicle ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging
New scheme of biomanufacturing and bio-foundry to be launched to support environment friendly alternatives
Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT to be set up by 2030.
Phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes to be mandated.

Tourism sector

States to be encouraged to take up comprehensive development of iconic tourist centres including their branding and marketing at global scale.
Framework for rating of the tourist centres based on quality of facilities and services to be established.
Long-term interest free loans to be provided to States for financing such development on matching basis.

Investments

FDI inflow during 2014-23 of USD 596 billion was twice of the inflow during 2005-14.

Reforms in the States for ‘Viksit Bharat’

A provision of Rs.75,000 crore rupees as fifty-year interest free loan is proposed to support milestone-linked reforms by the State Governments.

Revised Estimates (RE) 2023-24

Revenue receipts at Rs.30.03 lakh crore are expected to be higher than the Budget Estimate, reflecting strong growth momentum and formalization in the economy.
- Revenue receipts refer to the income earned by the government through various sources like taxes, duties, fees, fines, and profits from public sector enterprises. These receipts fund the government’s day-to-day expenses like salaries, social programs, and public services
A current account deficit (CAD) occurs when a country imports more goods and services than it exports, resulting in a negative net flow of money. It is one of the two main components of a country’s balance of payments, the other being the capital account.

RE of the fiscal deficit is 5.8 per cent of GDP for 2023-24.

Budget Estimates 2024-25

Total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at Rs.30.80 and Rs.47.66 lakh crore respectively.
Tax receipts are estimated at Rs.26.02 lakh crore.
Fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is estimated to be 5.1 per cent of GDP
- Fiscal deficit refers to the gap between the government’s total revenue and its total expenditure.
Gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs.14.13 and Rs.11.75 lakh crore respectively.

Part B

Receipts and Expenditure

Effective capital expenditure, refers to the total capital expenditure undertaken by the government plus grants-in-aid provided for creating capital assets. While the regular capital expenditure only considers direct government spending on infrastructure, buildings, and other physical assets, the “effective capital expenditure” takes into account the indirect contribution of grants provided to other bodies like states or local governments for similar purposes. This broader figure provides a more complete picture of the government’s overall investment in building or upgrading national infrastructure.

Direct taxes

FM proposes to retain same tax rates for direct taxes
Direct tax collection tripled, return filers increased to 2.4 times, in the last 10 years
Government to improve tax payer services
- Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 25000 pertaining to the period upto FY 2009-10 withdrawn.
- Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 10000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15 withdrawn.
- This will benefit one crore tax payers.

Indirect taxes

FM proposes to retain same tax rates forindirect taxes and import duties
GST unified the highly fragmented indirect tax regime in India
- Average monthly gross GST collection doubled to Rs 1.66 lakh crore this year
- GST tax base has doubled
- 94% of industry leaders view transition to GST as largely positive
- GST led to supply chain optimization
- GST reduced the compliance burden on trade and industry
- Lower logistics cost and taxes helped reduce prices of goods and services, benefiting the consumers

Tax rationalization efforts over the years

No tax liability for income upto Rs 7 lakh, up from Rs 2.2 lakh in FY 2013-14
Presumptive taxation threshold for retail businesses increased to Rs 3 crore from Rs 2 crore
Presumptive taxation threshold for professionals increased to Rs 75 lakh from Rs 50 lakh
Corporate income tax decreased to 22% from 30% for existing domestic companies
Corporate income tax rate at 15% for new manufacturing companies

Achievements in tax-payer services

Average processing time of tax returns has reduced to 10 days from 93 days in 2013-14
Faceless Assessment and Appeal introduced for greater efficiency
Updated income tax returns, new form 26AS and prefilled tax returns for simplified return filing
Reforms in customs leading to reduced Import release time
- Reduction by 47% to 71 hours at Inland Container Depots
- Reduction by 28% to 44 hours at Air Cargo complexes
- Reduction by 27% to 85 hours at Sea Ports