New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh consecutive Budget in Parliament today – Tuesday, July 23. Nirmala Sitharaman announced key employment schemes and also revised the tax structure in the new tax regime, while the slabs in old tax regime remain unchanged.
The Finance Minister informed that for the year 2024-25, the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at ₹32.07 lakh crore and ₹48.21 lakh crore respectively. The net tax receipts are estimated at ₹25.83 lakh crore and the fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.9 per cent of GDP.
She said, the gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at ₹14.01 lakh crore and ₹11.63 lakh crore respectively. Sitharaman emphasised that the fiscal consolidation path announced by her in 2021 has served economy very well, and the government will aim to reach a deficit below 4.5 per cent next year.
The Finance Minister said that as mentioned in the interim budget, the focus is on 4 major castes, namely ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’ (Farmer).
Dwelling on the Budget theme, Sitharaman said, “Turning attention to the full year and beyond, in this budget, we particularly focus on employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class.” She announced the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a central outlay of ₹2 lakh crore. This year, ₹1.48 lakh crore has been allocated for education, employment and skilling.
The Finance Minister announced a major reduction in customs duty on cancer medicines and mobile phones. Imported gold, silver, leather goods and seafood will also get cheaper.
The Budget for 2024-25 is being considered the action plan for the Modi 3.0 government to outline a roadmap towards India’s development in the next five years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Union Budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman. He said the Budget 2024 will benefit all sections of society and lay the foundation for a developed India.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.