Union Budget 2024-25

Syllabus:

Source: PIB

What is Budget?

The Union Budget is the annual financial statement of the Indian government, presented by the Finance Minister on February 1st. It consists of the Revenue Budget and Capital Budget, covering expected income and expenditures. The budget includes macroeconomic details in Part A and taxation proposals in Part B, presented as a Money Bill defined in Article 110 of the Constitution. After independence, India’s first Budget was presented in 1947 by Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty.

Article 112 of the Indian Constitution mandates the Union Budget as the government’s estimated receipts and expenditures.

Key Budget documents include:

Annual Financial Statement (Article 112)
Demands for Grants (Article 113)
Finance Bill (Article 110)
Fiscal Policy Statements mandated under the FRBM Act, 2003, including
The Macro-Economic Framework Statement and
The Medium-Term Fiscal Policy cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement.

Objectives of budget:

The Union Budget focuses on objectives such as stimulating economic growth, promoting social justice and equality, ensuring effective resource allocation, and maintaining fiscal stability.

Stages of Budget presentation:

Stage	Description
President’s Address	Joint address by the President of India to both Houses of Parliament, outlining government policy priorities, achievements, and legislative agenda.
Economic Survey Presentation	Prepared by the Economics Division of the Department of Economic Affairs under the Chief Economic Advisor’s guidance. Tabled in Lok Sabha a day before the Union Budget presentation.
Railway Budget (Till 2016)	Presented separately until 2016, merged with the General Budget in 2017.
Union Budget Presentation	Presented by the Finance Minister on February 1st.
General Budget Discussion	After the Budget presentation, discussed in both Houses of Parliament. Allows critique and debate on the Budget.
Voting on Demands for Grants	Parliament approves Demand for Grants for ministries and departments, authorizing proposed expenditures.
The passing of Finance Bill	Finance Bill, containing taxation proposals, passed by both Houses of Parliament and enacted. The budget comes into effect after Presidential assent.

Union Budget 2024-25 Highlights

Aspect	Details
Economic Growth	India’s economic growth remains strong despite global uncertainties.
Focus	Focus is on 4 major castes, namely ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’ (Farmer) (similar to Interim Budget)
Budget Theme	The budget focuses on employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class.
Budget Estimates 2024-25	Total receipts other than borrowings: 32.07 lakh crore
	Total expenditure: 48.21 lakh crore
	Net tax receipt: 25.83 lakh crore
	Fiscal deficit: 4.9 per cent of GDP
	Government aims to reach a deficit below 4.5 per cent next year
	Inflation is low and stable, moving towards the 4% target; core inflation is at 3.1%.
	Union Budget 2024-25
Nine Budget Priorities in pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’ Union Budget 2024-25
Priority 1: Productivity and resilience in Agriculture	An allocation of ₹1.52 lakh crore has been made for agriculture and allied sectors. This includes the release of 109 new high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops for cultivation by farmers.
	Natural Farming: In the next two years, 1 crore farmers across the country will be initiated into natural farming with certification and branding.
	Bio-input Centres: 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres will be established to support natural farming.
	Digital Public Infrastructure: To further enhance agricultural efficiency, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture will be implemented, covering farmers and their lands within three years..


Priority 2: Employment & Skilling	Package of PM’s five schemes for Employment and Skilling
	Prime Minister’s Package of 5 Schemes and Initiatives for employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period. This year, ₹1.48 lakh crore is allocated for education, employment, and skilling.
	Scheme A – First Timers: One-month salary of up to `15,000 to be provided in 3 installments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO
	Scheme B – Job Creation in manufacturing: Incentive to be provided at specified scale directly, both employee and employer, with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first 4 years of employment
	Scheme C – Support to employers: Government to reimburse up to `3,000 per month for 2 years towards EPFO contribution of employers, for each additional employee
	New centrally sponsored scheme for Skilling: 20 lakh youth to be skilled over a 5-year period.; 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes to be upgraded in hub and spoke arrangements.
	New Scheme for Internship in 500 Top Companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years
	To facilitate higher participation of women in the workforce, working women hostels and crèches will be established in collaboration with industry.
	Women-specific skilling programmes will be organized, and market access for women Self-Help Group (SHG) enterprises will be promoted

Priority 3: Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice	Purvodaya Initiative: Develop a plan for the eastern region, including Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, focusing on human resource development, infrastructure, and economic opportunities to drive Viksit Bharat.
	Develop industrial node at Gaya along the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor. Launch power projects, including a 2400 MW power plant at Pirpainti (Bhagalpur, Bihar), with a total investment of ₹21,400 crore
	Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act: Special financial support of ₹15,000 crore through multilateral development agencies
	Develop industrial nodes at Kopparthy along the Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and at Orvakal along the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor
	Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan: Improve socio-economic conditions of tribal families in 63,000 villages, benefiting 5 crore people
	Bank Branches in North-Eastern Region: Establish 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank

Priority 4: Manufacturing & Services	Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs in the Manufacturing Sector: A scheme providing collateral-free credit guarantees for term loans to MSMEs for machinery and equipment purchases.
	Credit Support to MSMEs during Stress Period: A new mechanism to ensure continued bank credit support to MSMEs during periods of financial stress.
	Mudra Loans: Increase the limit of Mudra loans under the ‘Tarun’ category to ₹20 lakh from ₹10 lakh for those with successful repayment histories.
	Enhanced Scope for Mandatory Onboarding in TReDS: Reduce the turnover threshold for mandatory onboarding on the TReDS platform from ₹500 crore to ₹250 crore.
	MSME Units for Food Irradiation, Quality & Safety Testing: Provide financial support to establish 50 multi-product food irradiation units in the MSME sector.
	E-Commerce Export Hubs: Set up E-Commerce Export Hubs through public-private partnerships to help MSMEs and traditional artisans sell products internationally.
	Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Applications: Develop DPI applications for credit, e-commerce, education, health, law and justice, logistics, MSME, service delivery, and urban governance.

Priority 5: Urban Development	Transit Oriented Development: Develop and finance Transit Oriented Development plans for 14 large cities with populations over 30 lakh.
	Urban Housing: Invest ₹10 lakh crore, including central assistance of ₹2.2 lakh crore over the next 5 years, under PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0 to address housing needs of 1 crore urban poor and middle-class families.
	Street Markets: Launch a new scheme to support the development of 100 weekly ‘haats’ or street food hubs annually for the next 5 years in select cities. (building on the success of PM SVANidhi Scheme in transforming the lives of street vendors)

Priority 6: Energy Security	Energy Transition: Introduce a policy document on ‘Energy Transition Pathways’ to balance employment, growth, and environmental sustainability.
	Pumped Storage Policy: Develop a policy to promote pumped storage projects for electricity storage.
	Research and Development of Small and Modular Nuclear Reactors: Partner with the private sector to research and develop Bharat Small Modular Reactors and newer nuclear technologies
	Advanced Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plants: Propose a joint venture between NTPC and BHEL to establish an 800 MW commercial plant using Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) technology
	Roadmap for ‘Hard to Abate’ Industries: Implement regulations to transition ‘hard to abate’ industries from the ‘Perform, Achieve and Trade’ mode to the ‘Indian Carbon Market’ mode
	PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana has been launched to install rooftop solar plants to enable 1 crore households obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month. The scheme has generated remarkable response with more than 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications

Priority 7: Infrastructure	Central Government Infrastructure Investment: Allocate ₹11,11,111 crore (3.4% of GDP) for capital expenditure.
	State Governments Infrastructure Investment: Provide ₹1.5 lakh crore in long-term interest-free loans for state infrastructure projects.
	Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY): Launch Phase IV to ensure all-weather connectivity for 25,000 rural habitations.
	Irrigation and Flood Mitigation: Offer ₹11,500 crore for projects like the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link and assist states like Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim with flood and landslide management.
	Tourism: Develop Vishnupad Temple Corridor, Mahabodhi Temple Corridor, Rajgir, and assist in enhancing temples, monuments, wildlife sanctuaries, natural landscapes, and beaches in Odisha.

Priority 8: Innovation, Research & Development	Anusandhan National Research Fund: Operationalize fund for basic research and prototype development.
	Financing Pool: Establish a ₹1 lakh crore pool to support private sector-driven research and innovation at a commercial scale.
	Space Economy: Create a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund to expand the space economy fivefold over the next 10 years.

Priority 9: Next Generation Reforms	Rural Land Related Actions: Implement Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar for all lands; Digitize cadastral maps and survey map sub-divisions based on current ownership; Establish a land registry and link it to the farmers registry.
	Urban Land Related Actions: Digitize land records in urban areas using GIS mapping.
	Services to Labour: Integrate the e-shram portal with other platforms for a one-stop solution; Develop open architecture databases to keep up with labour market changes and skill requirements.
	NPS Vatsalya: Introduce NPS-Vatsalya for contributions by parents and guardians for minors.