Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first budget in the Lok Sabha today (23.07.2024) after forming the government for the third time by keeping the people’s faith in the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The main features of this budget are as follows:
New Income Tax Rates for Individuals: 2
Depreciation is increased to Rs 75,000 for individuals opting for the new tax rate.
The rate of zero percent up to basic income of Rs.3 lakh will continue unchanged,
Rs 3 lakh to Rs 7 lakh income up to 5 per cent, Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh 10 per cent, Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh 15 per cent, Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh Up to 20 percent, income above Rs.15 lakh is taxed at 30 percent.
This applies only to those who opt for the new income tax regime.
Schemes for Agriculture Sector:
1.52 lakh crore is allocated for agriculture and allied sectors.
32 high yielding, climate change tolerant cultivars will be released in agriculture and horticulture for cultivation by farmers.
1 crore farmers across the country will be certified for organic farming in the next two years. 10,000 demand-based bio-input centers will be created for organic farming.
The digital public infrastructure project involving farmers and their land will be implemented in 3 years.
Tax Exemptions, Tax Reductions:
3 drugs for cancer treatment are exempted from import duty.
Customs duty on mobile phones and chargers is reduced to 15 percent.
Basic customs duty on gold and silver is reduced to 6 percent
Customs duty on platinum will be reduced to 6.4 percent.
25 essential minerals are exempted from import duty.
Lithium, copper, cobalt are exempted from customs duties.
Duty on leather and ready-made garments will be reduced.
Duty exemption is being considered for surplus parts for solar power generation.
Cooperative Sector:
A National Cooperative Policy will be formulated with all round development and proper procedures in the Cooperative sector. The policy will be formulated with goals such as rapid rural economic growth, massive employment generation etc.
Priority Schemes:
The Finance Minister announced 9 priority projects for the development of the country in his budget speech.
The priority projects include increasing productivity in the agricultural sector, inclusive growth, employment, skill development, social justice, urban development, energy security, organic farming and creating awareness among one crore farmers.
Skill development will be provided to 20 lakh youth in five years.
1,000 vocational training institutes will be set up.
There are many schemes in the budget that give priority to women.
Women’s hostels and nurseries will be set up in various parts of the country.
Under the Prime Minister’s Solar Power Scheme, one crore households will get 300 units of free electricity per month.
Soon steps will be taken to set up 12 industrial parks.
500 career centers will be created to provide employment to one crore youth in five years.
Rs.5,000 per month will be given to professionals.
Employment generation, skill development activities will be encouraged.
The scheme of providing houses on rent to factory workers will be implemented with government and private participation.
The ceiling of Mudra loan scheme will be increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
100 Food Standard and Safety Testing Laboratories will be set up.
E-commerce export centers will be established to encourage MSMEs.
More focus will be given to employment generation and skill development.
30 lakh youth will be benefited through the Employment Linked Incentive Scheme.
Additional tribunals will be set up to deal with issues related to insolvency proceedings.
10 crores will be implemented for urban housing projects.
1 crore urban poor people will benefit from the housing scheme.
States will be forced to revise bond registration fees
Investment in infrastructure will increase
Domestic power projects will be encouraged
3.4 percent of GDP will be earmarked for infrastructure development
Policies related to energy security will be developed soon.
Steps will be taken to increase the use of solar energy
300 units of free electricity will be implemented for 1 crore households under the Surya Shakti scheme.
Allocation of funds for construction of small scale nuclear reactors for nuclear power program research and development work
Encouragement to set up domestic thermal power plants.
An allocation of Rs 11 lakh crore will be made for infrastructure development.
Tourism, Infrastructure Development:
Steps will be taken to make India a global tourism hub.
The temples at Gaya and Bodhgaya will be upgraded.
Allocation of funds for renovation of monuments and temples in Odisha
The site of Nalanda University will be developed as a tourist hub.
Tax Reforms:
The TDS tax rate for e-commerce will be reduced from the current 1 percent to 0.1 percent.
The tax rate on short-term capital gains has been increased to 20 percent.
Long-term capital gains tax rate of 12.5 percent Angel tax for industrial companies is waived for all investment categories.
Space Economy:
Encouraging private participation in space research and innovation
1000 crore capital fund to undertake space economic activities.
Special Fund for Andhra Pradesh:
As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, Rs 15,000 crore will be allocated through various development agencies as special financial assistance in the current financial year to build the new capital of the state.
The entrepreneurship will be set up at Goparthi on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor
Bihar Development Schemes:
New airports, medical colleges, sports centers will be established in Bihar
26,000 crore will be allocated to improve highways in Bihar.
11,500 crores in funding for flood relief in Bihar.
Budget allocation for flood relief works for Bihar and Assam
Budget Estimates 2024-25
Total revenue excluding loans is estimated at Rs 32.07 lakh crore.
The total expenditure is Rs.48.21 lakh crore.
Net tax revenue is Rs.25.83 lakh crore.
Fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.9 percent of GDP.
