In the Regular Union Budget of Financial Year (FY) 2024-25, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been allocated Rs 6,21,940.85 crore (approx. US $75 Billion), the highest among the Ministries. While maintaining the allocation made to MoD during the interim budget, the Government has made an additional allocation to the tune of Rs 400 crore on innovation in defence,
through the Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI) scheme. Through this scheme, MoD is engaging with start-ups/MSMEs and innovators to develop Def-Tech solutions and supply the Indian military with innovative and indigenous technological solutions.
A grant of up to 50% of the Product Development Budget with an enhanced limit (Max) of Rs 25 crore per applicant will be awarded as per extant iDEX guidelines. The allocation is aimed to promote ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence technology & manufacturing and equipping the Armed Forces with modern weapons/platforms along with the creation of job opportunities for the youth.
Modernisation of the forces at the centre- Budgetary allocation under capital head to the Defence Forces for FY 2024-25 is Rs1.72 lakh crore, which is 20.33% higher than the actual expenditure of FY 2022-23 and 9.40% more than the Revised Allocation of FY 2023-24.
Strengthening domestic capacity- MoD has earmarked 75% of modernisation budget amounting Rs 1,05,518.43 crore
Enhanced allocation for sustenance & operational readiness- The Government has allocated Rs 92,088 crore during the current FY under this head, which is 48% higher than the budgetary allocation of FY 2022-23.
Ensuring better healthcare facilities for veterans- In the regular budget for FY 2024-25, Rs 6,968 crore has been allotted to ECHS which is 28% higher than the PY.
The budgetary allocation to Border Roads Organisations (BRO) under capital for Budget Estimates (BE) 2024-25 has been made as Rs 6,500 crore, which is 30% higher than the allocation for FY 2023-24.The allocation to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) for this FY 2024-25 is Rs 7,651.80 crore, which is 6.31% higher over the allocation of FY 2023-24.
Total budgetary allocation on account of defence pensions is Rs 1,41,205 crore which is 2.17% higher than the allocation made during 2023-24.
The Government has increased the allocation on innovation in defence through iDEX from Rs 115 crore during FY 2023-24 to Rs 518 crore in the current fiscal year, which will boost start-ups/MSMEs/innovators.
“In this Budget, we particularly focus on employment, skilling, MSMEs and the middle class”, stated Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament.
Taking forward the theme of the first full-year Budget of the newly elected government, the Finance Minister announced the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes and initiatives. The package aims to facilitate employment, skilling, and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a central outlay of Rs. 2 lakh crores.
Smt. Sitharaman stated that the government will implement the following three schemes for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’, as part of the Prime Minister’s package. These will be based on enrolment in the EPFO, and focus on recognition of first-time employees, and support to employees and employers, Finance Minister added.
Scheme A: First Timers- This scheme, which is expected to benefit 2.1 crore youth over 2 years, will provide one-month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors. The eligibility limit will be a salary of Rs. 1 lakh per month. Direct benefit transfer of one-month salary will be up to Rs. 15,000 in 3 installments to first-time employees, as EPFO.
The employee, in turn, must undergo compulsory online financial literacy course before claiming the second installment. Further, the subsidy would have to be refunded by the employer if the employment to the first timer ends within 12 months of recruitment.
Scheme B: Job Creation in Manufacturing - Aiming at substantial hiring of first time employees in manufacturing, this scheme will incentivize additional employment in the sector, thereby is expected to benefit 30 lakh youth entering employment and their employers.The subsidy would have to be refunded by the employer if the employment to the first timer ends within 12 month.
An incentive will be provided at a specified scale directly both to the employee and the employer for their EPFO contribution in the first 4 years of employment.
Scheme C: Support to Employers- This employer-focussed scheme will cover all additional employment within a salary of Rs. 1 lakh per month in all sectors.
New employees under this Part need not be new entrants to EPFO. The government will reimburse employers up to Rs. 3,000 per month for 2 years towards their EPFO contribution for each additional employee. The scheme is expected to incentivize additional employment of 50 lakh persons.
The 4th scheme mentioned in the Budget Speech under the Prime Minister’s package is a new centrally sponsored scheme, for skilling in collaboration with State governments and Industry. The scheme, with a total outlay of Rs. 60,000 crore, aims at skilling 20 lakh youth over 5 years.
To achieve this target, 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will be upgraded in a hub and spoke arrangements with outcome orientation. Further, the course content and design will be aligned to the skill needs of the industry and new courses will be introduced for emerging needs.
Talking about 5th scheme under the Prime Minister’s package, the Finance Minister stated, “Our government will launch a comprehensive scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years (participation of companies is voluntary). They will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environment, and employment opportunities.
An internship allowance of Rs. 5,000 per month, along with a one-time assistance of Rs. 6,000 will be provided. Companies will be expected to bear the training cost and 10 percent of the internship cost from their CSR funds, Smt. Sitharaman added. Youth aged between 21 and 24, who are not employed and not engaged in full-time education, will be eligible to apply.
The Union Budget 2024-25 reaffirms its commitment to empowering citizens, especially the poor and marginalized. Building on the foundation laid since 2014, this budget focuses on strengthening the abilities of all Indians to seize opportunities in the journey towards a 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India).
This year’s budget demonstrates a strong resolve to boost employment, enhance skilling initiatives,support MSMEs,and uplift the middle class. Furthermore,it also outlines nine key priorities that encompass critical areas from agriculture to next-generation reforms.These priorities reflect a holistic approach to development, ensuring that growth is inclusive and sustainable.
As India moves towards its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, Priority 3 of the union budget focuses on "Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice," outlining several key initiatives aimed at uplifting marginalized communities and promoting balanced regional development.
PM Vishwakarma: As of July 2024, the PM Vishwakarma Yojana continues to make significant strides in uplifting artisans and craftspeople across India. A total of 5,03,161 candidates have been certified after completing basic training nationwide, with 46,726 artisans certified specifically in Andhra Pradesh.
SVANidhi: The PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbharNidhi (SVANidhi) scheme, launched on June 1, 2020, is a pivotal central sector initiative aimed at supporting urban street vendors in India and provides collateral-free working capital loans, initially upto 80,000, incentivizing regular repayment with a 7% interest subsidy and offering cashback upto ₹1,200 per yr for transection.
It extends its benefits not only to urban areas but also to vendors from surrounding rural and peri-urban areas, facilitating inclusive growth. The scheme utilizes Aadhaar-based e-KYC for streamlined processes and employs an end-to-end IT platform with SMS-based notifications for real-time application status updates.
As of July 17, 2024[5], the PM SVANidhi scheme has disbursed more than 86 lakh loans, totaling over ₹11,680 crores, benefiting nearly 65 lakh street vendors nationwide. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)[6] aims to alleviate rural poverty by organizing households into self-help groups (SHGs), facilitating access to credit,
Promoting skill development, and empowering women through sustainable livelihood initiatives across India. Stand-Up India: Stand Up India Scheme was launched on April 05, 2016, to promote entrepreneurship at the grassroots level focusing on economic empowerment and job creation. The scheme has been extended till 2025.
Purvodaya: Development of the Eastern Region-Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced to formulation of a 'Purvodaya' plan, targeted at five states - Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. Purvodaya: Industrial node in Gaya and worth ₹21,400 crore power projects for development of Eastern India.
Significant investments will be made in power projects, including a new 2400 MW power plant at Pirpainti. Andhra Pradesh Reorganization-The government remains committed to fulfilling the commitments made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act. Key initiatives include:
Special financial support for capital development through multilateral development agencies (₹15,000 crore in the CFY)
Polavaram Irrigation Project: Ensuring the timely completion of this vital project to support the state's farmers and enhance food security.
Investments in infrastructure for Kopparthy node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor,
Orvakal node on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. Grants for backward regions of Rayalaseema,Prakasam, and North Coastal Andhra. Special support of ₹15,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh,new industrial nodes in Kopparthy and Orvakal.
PM Awas Yojana:-The government has announced the construction of 3 crore additional houses under the PM Awas Yojana rural and urban areas
Women-Led Development- A significant allocation of over ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls underscores the government's commitment to enhancing women's role in economic development.
To improve the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities, the government will launch the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan. This initiative will adopt:
Saturation coverage for tribal families in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts. Coverage of 63,000 villages. Benefiting 5 crore tribal people. The budget proposes setting up more than 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank in the North-East region to expand banking services which aims to provide accessible, affordable, and trusted banking services.
This initiative supports the vision of a Digital India, promoting a less cash economy and empowering citizens.
The budget provides an allocation of ₹2.66 lakh crore for rural development,including rural infrastructure projects.This allocation aims to enhance the quality of life in rural areas through improved connectivity, healthcare,education, and economic opportunities.
Union Budget 2024-25: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to abolish the angel tax for all investor classes while presenting the Union Budget for 2024–25. There were expectations that the removal of the angel tax for startups might be announced in the budget.
The impact of this move is expected to be substantial, potentially adding 30 to 40% more capital from angel investors into the startup ecosystem in the near term. Sitharaman also proposed to thoroughly simplify the I-T provisions for reopening and reassessment to reduce uncertainty and disputes.
While presenting the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said land-related reforms and actions, both in rural and urban areas, will be incentivized for completion within the next 3 years through appropriate fiscal support.
Smt. Sitharaman elaborated that rural land-related actions will include the assignment of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar for all lands, digitization of cadastral maps, survey of map sub-divisions as per current ownership, establishment of land registry and linking to the farmers registry.
These actions will also facilitate credit flow and other agricultural services. Regarding urban land-related actions, the Finance Minister said that land records in urban areas will be digitized with GIS mapping. An IT-based system for property record administration, updating, and tax administration will be established.
“Our government will facilitate the development of investment-ready “plug and play” industrial parks with complete infrastructure in or near 100 cities, in partnership with the states and private sector, by better using town planning schemes.” proposed the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024-25.
Towards fulfillment of the priority of ‘Manufacturing & Services’. The Budget proposes that the creation of Twelve industrial parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme will also be
sanctioned. Prioritizing further the ‘Manufacturing & Services’ sector, the Union Budget 2024-25 proposes to set up a Critical Mineral Mission for domestic production,
With a focus on offshore mining of minerals, the Union Finance Minister proposed to launch the auction of the first tranche of offshore blocks for mining, building on the exploration already carried out. Union Budget 2024-25 also proposes to facilitate the provision of a wide array of services to labour, including those for employment and skilling.
“A comprehensive integration of e-shram portal with other portals will facilitate such one-stop solution.” proposed the Finance Minister. Open architecture databases for the rapidly changing labour market, skill requirements and available job roles, and a mechanism to connect job aspirants with potential employers and skill providers will be covered in these services.
Focusing on ‘Next Gen Reforms’ the Union Budget 2024-25 proposes to revamp ShramSuvidha and Samadhan portals to enhance ease of compliance for industry and trade, with intent to strengthen them and step up their implementation for expediting our journey towards the goal of Viksit Bharat.
As part of the detailed roadmap for the pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and to generate ample opportunities for all, the Union Budget 2024-25,tabled in Parliament by Union Minister for Finance Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman envisages sustained efforts on the 9 priorities with a special focus on ensuring ‘ease of doing business’ and strengthening the Insolvency and Bankruptcy ecosystem.
“For enhancing ‘Ease of Doing Business’, we are already working on the Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0.”, the Union Minister of Finance announced, while proposing that states be incentivized for implementation of their Business Reforms Action Plans and digitalization.
The Finance Minister also proposed that an Integrated Technology Platform will be set up to improve the outcomes under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), thereby ensuring consistency, transparency, timely processing, and better oversight for all stakeholders.
Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that IBC has resolved more than 1,000 companies, resulting in direct recovery of over 3.3 lakh crore to creditors. Also, 28,000 cases involving over 10 lakh crore have been disposed of,even before admission. She proposed the establishment of additional tribunals out of which, some will be notified to decide cases exclusively under Company act.
The services of the Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE) have also been proposed to be extended for voluntary closure of Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), thereby reducing the closure time.It is also proposed that steps for reforming and strengthening debt recovery tribunals be taken and additional tribunals be established to speed up the recovery.
The government will provide financial support for loans up to ₹10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced. Presenting the budget for 2024-25, she said e-vouchers for this purpose will be given directly to one lakh students every year with interest subvention of 3 percent of the loan amount.
Upgrading 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in a hub and spoke model, aligning course content with the skill needs of industry and revision of model skill loan scheme, are among the measures announced by the Finance Minister for Skill Development sector. The Union Budget for 2024-25 will provide ₹1.48 lakh crore for education, employment and skills in the country.
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. This measure is expected to help 25,000 students every year.
The Union Budget 2024, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the parliament announced a new pension scheme for minors, called the NPS Vatsalya. This makes it possible for parents or guardians to plan a pension for their children. The scheme will get converted to regular NPS once the child attains the age of 18.
The National Pension Scheme (NPS) is a voluntary pension system for all citizens, including both residents and NRIs between the ages of 18 and 70 years. It is a market-linked contribution scheme that allows an Indian citizen to systematically save for their retirement and also derives tax benefits from it.
Tax deduction up to 10% of salary (Basic + DA) under section 80 CCD(1) within the overall ceiling of Rs. 1.50 lakh under Sec 80 CCE. Tax deduction up to ₹50,000 under section 80 CCD(1B) over and above the overall ceiling of ₹1.50 lakh under Sec 80 CCE.
The Union Budget 2024 has increased the deduction possible from the employer’s contribution to the NPS for private sector employees from 10% to 14% of the salary in the new tax regime. Tax benefits for the self-employed, - Tax deduction up to 20% of gross income under section 80 CCD (1) with in the overall ceiling of Rs. 1.50 lakh under Sec 80 CCE.
Tax deduction up to ₹50,000 under section 80 CCD(1B) over and above the overall ceiling of Rs. 1.50 lakh under Sec 80 CCE.
Up to 3.72 lakh electric vehicles will be supported under the four-month Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme(EMPS) being implemented between April and July with an outlay of Rs493.55 crore, the government said. Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 will provide further impetus to the green mobility and development of electric vehicle (EV)manufacturing ecosystem in Country.
The maximum number of electric vehicles to be supported under the scheme stands at 3,72,215, including 3,33,387 electric two-wheelers, 13,590 e-rickshaws or e-carts, and 25,238 electric three-wheelers in the L5 category, according to figures shared by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced changes to the new income tax regime in her Union Budget 2024 speech. These changes included new income tax slabs for FY 2024-25 and a hike in the standard deduction. The standard deduction was hiked from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000. Also, the tax slab limit for 5% tax rate was changed from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.
New income tax regime tax slabs are:
Up to Rs 3 lakh the tax is NIL
From Rs 3 lakh to Rs 7 lakh the tax rate is 5%
From Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh the tax rate is 10%
From Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh the tax rate is 15%
From Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh the tax rate is 20%
Above Rs 15 lakh income the tax rate is 30%
As a result of these proposals, revenue of about Rs 37,000 crore – Rs 29,000 crore in direct taxes and Rs 8,000 crore in indirect taxes – will be forgone while revenue of about Rs 30,000 crore rupees will be additionally mobilized. Thus, the total revenue forgone is about Rs 7,000 crore annually.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament. For this FY 2024-25, the government has allocated record Capex to Rs. 2,62,200 Crores for Railways. The Gross Budgetary support is Rs 2,52,200 Crores for Railways during 2024-25.
Earlier, the Gross Budgetary Support to Rs. 2,40,200 cr. in 2023-24 which was only Rs. 28,174 cr. in 2013-14. The result of an infusion of Capex is visible as IR has achieved an all-time high freight loading of 1588 MT in FY 2023-24 up from 1095 MT in 2014-15 and Railway is inching towards the goal of 3,000 MT by 2030.
Railways have adopted a new approach to infrastructure development. Three Economic Railway Corridors- Energy, Mineral, and Cement corridors (192 Projects); Port connectivity corridors (42 Projects), and High Traffic Density corridors (200 Projects) have been identified under the PM Gati Shakti Mission for enabling Multi-Modal connectivity.
Capacity enhancement, decongestion of high-density networks, achieving a reduction in logistics cost in the country, and enhancing Passenger experience and their Safety remain the priority areas for the government. Railways have also achieved several milestones in Infrastructure. In the past 10 years, Railways commissioned 31,180 track kms.
The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Budget 2024-25 in Parliament announced the provisioning of ₹ 11,11,111 crore for capital expenditure. It will be 3.4 percent of country’s GDP. The Finance Minister said that the Government will endeavour to maintain strong fiscal support for infrastructure over the next 5 years.
To encourage the states to provide support of similar scale for infrastructure, Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman announced a provision of ₹ 1.5 lakh crore for long-term interest-free loans this year. This will support the states in their resource allocation for infrastructure.
To provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations which have become eligible in view of their population increase, the Finance Minister proposed the launch of Phase IV of Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY). the Finance Minister announced the financial support for projects with estimated cost of 11,500 crore such as the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link,
And 20 other ongoing and new schemes including barrages, river pollution abatement, and irrigation projects. In addition, she said, a survey and investigation of Kosi-related flood mitigation and irrigation projects will be undertaken.
