ANS: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha today at 11 AM. This marks the first budget of Narendra Modi’s third term.
The budget outlines nine key priorities aimed at creating opportunities across sectors, including agriculture, employment, skilling, human resource development, social justice, manufacturing, services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation, and next-generation reforms.
Key announcements include measures to boost agriculture, MSMEs, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Sitharaman emphasized support for the poor, women, youth, and farmers, introducing the Prime Minister’s Package for employment and skilling. This package features three schemes:
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- Scheme A provides one month’s wage to new entrants in the workforce.
- Scheme B focuses on job creation in manufacturing.
- Scheme C supports employers.
The budget allocates over ₹11 lakh crore for capital expenditure in infrastructure and more than ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls. Special financial support of ₹15,000 crore will be provided to Andhra Pradesh, with new infrastructure projects announced for Bihar.
Mudra Loans will be increased to ₹20 lakh for entrepreneurs who have successfully repaid their loans. An e-commerce export hub will be set up in PPP mode, and a comprehensive internship scheme will offer opportunities to one crore youth. Rental housing for industrial workers will also be facilitated in PPP mode.
The budget introduces a Critical Mineral Mission for domestic production and recycling of critical minerals and Transit Oriented Development Plans for large cities. PM Awas Yojana (Urban) 2.0 will address housing needs with an allocation of ₹10 lakh crore, and the fourth phase of Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana will be launched. A new scheme, NPS (Vatsalya), will provide economic security for minors.
Custom duties on three cancer medicines will be exempted, while duties on gold and silver are reduced to 6%, and platinum to 6.4%. The limit for capital gains exemption on certain financial assets will increase to ₹1.25 lakh per year. The Angel Tax for investors will be abolished to support the startup ecosystem.
For personal income tax, the standard deduction in the New Tax Regime is raised from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000, with revised tax slabs:
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- 0-3 lakh: Nil
- 3-7 lakh: 5%
- 7-10 lakh: 10%
- 10-12 lakh: 15%
- 12-15 lakh: 20%
- Above 15 lakh: 30%