The Hon. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the current government’s maiden budget earlier today. In particular, the budget prioritizes employment, skill development, MSMEs, the middle class, and overall prosperity. The budget also outlines nine priorities for creating plenty of chances for everyone and makes detailed recommendations for the reforms and activities needed to achieve Viksit Bharat.
Theme of Budget
- Emphasize the middle class, MSMEs, employment, and skill development.
- Announcement of the Prime Minister’s package of five programs and initiatives, with a total budget of INR two lakh crore, to help 4.1 crore youngsters have access to work, skill development, and other opportunities during a five-year period.
- INR 1.48 Lakh Cr is made available for employment, skill development, and education.
Priorities for the Budget
According to the interim budget’s Viksit Bharat plan, the following nine areas will be the focus of ongoing efforts to create plenty of possibilities for everyone.
- In agriculture, productivity and adaptability
- Employment and Proficiency
- Social justice and inclusive human resource development.
- Production and Provident Services
- City Development
- Infrastructure Innovation, Research & Development, and Next Generation Reforms in Energy Security
- These will be expanded upon in later budgets with additional objectives and initiatives.
Priority 1: Agricultural Productivity and Resilience
Research on agriculture is being transformed. The agriculture research setup will be thoroughly reviewed in order to shift the emphasis to cultivating climate-resilient cultivars and increasing productivity. Challenge mode funding will be made available, including to the private sector. Such research will be overseen by subject matter experts from both the government and the private sector.
Introduction of fresh types
Farmers will be able to cultivate 32 field and horticultural crops from 109 new, high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties.
Organic Agriculture
One million farmers will be introduced to natural farming over the course of the next two years with the help of branding and certification. Implementation will be carried out by gram panchayats that are willing and scientific institutions.
Ten thousand bio-input resource centres based on need will be set up.
Priority 2: Work and Skills
Three programs will be put into place as part of the Prime Minister’s proposal for the “Employment Linked Incentive”: In the 2024 budget, winnings from any lottery, including the dhan kesari or any other Nagaland state lottery, are subject to a flat tax rate of 30%.
Plan A: Initial Timers
To pay everyone starting a new job in all official sectors a month’s salary, up to INR 15,000. The monthly salary cap of INR 1 Lakh will be the eligibility threshold.
Plan B: Creating Jobs in Manufacturing
to provide incentives for more manufacturing jobs that are correlated with hiring first-time workers.
Plan C: Assistance to employers
To cover the growth in employment across all industries. For a period of two years, the government will repay employers for their EPFO contribution up to INR 3,000 per month for each additional employee.
Priority 3: Social justice and inclusive human resource development
The saturation strategy, which covers all eligible individuals through a variety of programs, including those for health and education, will be used to achieve social justice completely. Programs that assist self-help organizations, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, women entrepreneurs, and street vendors in their economic endeavours will be fortified.
Priority 4: Production and Services
MSMEs and manufacturing, especially labour-intensive manufacturing, deserve special attention. For MSMEs, the government has developed a package that includes funding, revisions to regulations, and technological help. The precise actions listed below were declared:
Credit Guarantee Program for Manufacturing-Related MSMEs
A credit guarantee system will be implemented to enable MSMEs to obtain term loans for the purchase of machinery and equipment without the need for collateral or a third-party guarantee. These MSMEs’ credit risks would be pooled to execute the scheme. Each applicant will receive a guarantee covering up to INR 100 Cr from a separately established self-financing guarantee fund, albeit the loan amount may be greater.
Priority 5: Urban Development Cities as Growth Hubs
The government will assist in the establishment of cities as Growth Hubs by collaborating with the states. This will be accomplished by using town planning plans to facilitate the orderly development of peri-urban areas and by implementing economic and transit planning.
Cities can be creatively redeveloped
The government will build a framework for enabling policies, market-based procedures, and legislation to facilitate innovative brownfield redevelopment of existing cities that have the potential to bring about revolutionary effects.
Development Focused on Transit
Plans for 14 sizable cities with a population of more than 30 lakh will be developed, including an implementation and funding strategy for transit-oriented development.
Priority 6: Energy Security and Energy Transition
There will be a draft policy statement on suitable energy transition pathways that strikes a balance between the demands of growth, employment, and environmental sustainability.
PM Muft Bijli Yojana, Surya Ghar
With over 1.28 Cr registrations and 14 Lakh applications, the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana has received a fantastic response, and the government will continue to support it.
Pumped Storage Policy: A policy will be established to support pumped storage projects to store power and enable the seamless integration of renewable energy, which is becoming more and more variable and intermittent in the energy mix overall.
Priority 7: Infrastructure
Central Government investment in infrastructure
Over the next five years, infrastructure will continue to receive strong budgetary assistance, in addition to the demands of other objectives and fiscal reduction. INR 11,11,111 Cr has been set aside for capital expenses this year. This amounts to 3.4% of GDP.
State governments’ investments in infrastructure
states are urged, subject to their development priorities, to support infrastructure on a comparable scale. To assist the states in allocating their resources, a 1.5 Lakh Cr. provision has been provided for long-term, interest-free loans.
Infrastructure funded by private sources
Private sector infrastructure investment will be encouraged by viability gap funding as well as supportive laws and regulations. There will be the release of a framework for market-based finance.