Key highlights of India's Union Budget 2024

Today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament. This is a big moment as it’s her 7th budget in a row, breaking Morarji Desai's record of six consecutive budgets.

Nirmala Sitharaman is the first woman to be a full-time finance minister in India. Since she started in July 2019, she has presented five full budgets and one interim budget on February 1, 2024.

In this blog, we will go over the main points of Budget 2024 and what they mean for us. Keep reading to find out about the new changes and exciting plans the government has for the upcoming year!

What Are The 9 Priorities For “Viksit Bharat” Presented In Budget 2024?

Key Factors Of Budget 2024

It has been highlighted that Budget 2024 will focus on 4 key factors, mentioned below:

Major Focuses Of Budget 2024

The 4 major castes that Budget 2024 will focus on, are the:

What is the budget of India from 2024 to 2025?

In an effort to advance welfare, development, and growth, the Union Budget 2024 proposes large investments and programs in a number of areas. Here's a breakdown of the key highlights:

Agriculture/ Farmers

• ₹1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and related sectors.

• ₹2.66 lakh crore for rural development.

• Focus on productivity and climate-resilient crops.

• 1 crore farmers to start natural farming over 2 years.

• 109 new high-yielding, climate-resilient crop varieties.

• Higher Minimum Support Prices for major crops.

• Extension of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for 5 years, benefiting 80 crore people.

• Kisan credit cards in 5 states.

Healthcare

• 3 more cancer treatment medicines are now free from customs duty.

Education

• ₹1.54 lakh crore for education, employment, and skilling.

• Loans up to ₹10 lakh for higher education.

• Updated Model Skill Loan Scheme for 25,000 students annually.

• E-vouchers for higher education loans with a 3% interest discount.

• 20 lakh youth to be skilled over 5 years.

Income Tax

• Comparison of pre-budget and post-budget tax slab: 

NOTE: Salaried employees will save up to ₹17,500 in income tax under the new tax regime.

• The standard deduction is proposed to increase from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.

Tax

• Announces the removal of Angel tax for all taxpayers.

• Review of the Income Tax Act 1961 to reduce disputes.

• TDS rate on e-commerce cut to 0.1% - Government to partner with private sector to set up ‘Bharat Small Nuclear Reactors’

• Long-term capital gains tax increased from 10% to 12.5%. Short-term gains on some financial assets to attract 20%

• STT on F&Os proposed to be increased to 0.02% and 0.01%, respectively

• Unlisted bonds, debentures, debt mutual funds, and market-linked debentures will be taxed according to the applicable income tax slab rates.

• Corporate tax rate on foreign companies reduced to 35% from 40%.

Banking/ Insurance

• New credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs.

• Mudra loan limits raised from Rs. 10 lakh to ₹20 lakh.

• Digital records for loan eligibility.

• SIDBI to open new branches to serve MSMEs.

Housing

• ₹10 lakh crore budget for PMAY Urban Housing 2.0.

• Central government to contribute ₹2 lakh crore.

• 3 crore additional houses in rural and urban areas.

• Rental housing for industrial workers.

• Extension of PMGKAY (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) for five years, benefiting over 80 crore people 

What gets Costlier and Cheaper after Budget 2024?

Infrastructure

• New airports and medical colleges will be built in Bihar.

• ₹15,000 crore has been allocated for Andhra Pradesh in FY25 for the development of its capital.

• Bihar will see four expressway and bridge projects worth ₹26,000 crore.

• ₹2.66 lakh crore is set aside for rural development.

• Plans include building an industrial hub at Gaya in Bihar, improving roads with projects like the Patna-Purnea expressway, and constructing a new bridge over the Ganga in Buxar. The total investment for these projects will be ₹26,000 crore.

• Infrastructure spending for the Modi 3.0 government remains at ₹11.1 trillion, the same as the interim budget, which is 3.4% of GDP. The allocation for interest-free loans to states for infrastructure has been increased to ₹1.5 trillion, encouraging higher state investment in infrastructure.

• Rental housing projects for industrial workers will be developed in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

Excise/ Custom Duty

• Mobile phones and accessories duty reduced to 15%.

• Customs duty on gold and silver reduced from 10% to 6%, platinum to 6.5%.

• Review of customs duties within 6 months.

• Customs duty exemptions for 25 critical minerals.

Economy

• ₹11.11 lakh crore has been allocated for capital expenditure, which is 3.4% of India's GDP.

• The plan includes expanding the space economy five times over the next 10 years, supported by a new venture capital fund of ₹1,000 crore.

• The fiscal deficit for FY25 is estimated to be 4.9% of GDP, up from 4.5% in FY24.

• Total receipts for Fiscal 2025, excluding borrowings, are projected at ₹32.07 lakh crore.

• Net tax receipts are expected to be ₹25.83 lakh crore, with total expenditure at ₹48.21 lakh crore.

Land Reforms

• Unique land parcel identification numbers for rural areas.

• Digitization of urban land records with GIS mapping.

Employment

• ₹2 lakh crore allocated for 5 schemes to boost employment and skilling.

• ₹1.54 lakh crore allocated for education, employment, and skilling.

• Three new hiring schemes announced for first-time employees and EPFO-registered workers.

• Scheme A: Direct benefit transfer of up to ₹15,000 in three installments for first-time employees.

• Scheme B: Incentives for both employees and employers based on EPFO contributions for the first 4 years of employment.

• Scheme C: Employers reimbursed up to ₹3,000 per month for two years for each new employee's EPFO contributions.

• One-month wage support for new formal sector employees.

• New scheme for job creation in manufacturing, benefiting 3 million young people.

• Rs 5,000 internship allowance and one-time aid of Rs 6,000.

• Comprehensive internship scheme for 1 crore youth in top companies over five years.

• Employment-linked incentives, including one month's wage support for first-time employees.

• Women-specific skilling programs to increase workforce participation.

• Mudra loan limit increased to ₹20 lakh for previous borrowers.

• Financial support for higher education loans up to ₹10 lakhs in domestic institutions.

• New tech platform for the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to improve consistency and transparency.

• IBC has resolved over 1,000 companies, recovering ₹3.3 lakh crore for creditors.

Women's Development

• ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls.

• Increased workforce participation through hostels and training programs.

Water Management

• Treated water facilities in 100 large cities.

Prepaid Power

•  Carbon Emission- announces major nuclear energy initiatives. The government plans to work with the private sector to set up Bharat Small Reactors and develop small modular reactors and new nuclear technologies. This shift aims to make nuclear energy a bigger part of India's power supply, with small and modular reactors offering more flexible and cost-effective solutions compared to traditional large plants. 

• PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli scheme for rooftop solar panels in 1 crore houses

• Government to partner with private sector to set up ‘Bharat Small Nuclear Reactors

• Announces a critical mineral mission will also be set up for the recycling of critical minerals and overseas acquisition. The government will also launch the first tranche of offshore blocks of mining.

• PM Suryaghar Muft Bijli Yojana: Install rooftop solar panels to enable 1 crore households to obtain free electricity up to 300 units each month. This scheme will further encourage it

• Government to partner with private sector to set up ‘Bharat Small Nuclear Reactors’

Tourism

• Development of Nalanda, Vishnupad, and Mahabodhi temple corridors.

• Support for tourism in Odisha.

Read more about: How is the Union Budget Prepared?