The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, presented the Interim Union Budget 2024–25 in Parliament on February 1, 2024. The key highlights of the budget are as follows:
India’s real GDP is projected to grow 7.3% in FY 2023–24.
The capital expenditure outlay for the next year is being increased by 11.1 percent to Rs 11,11,111 crore, which would be 3.4 percent of the GDP.
The fiscal deficit in 2024–25 is estimated to be 5.1 percent of GDP.
FDI inflow during 2014–23 was USD 596 billion, which is twice the inflow during 2005-14.
The upliftment of ‘garib’ (poor), ‘mahilayen’ (women), ‘yuva’ (youth) and ‘annadata’(farmer) is the highest priority of the government.
A corpus of rupees one lakh crore will be established with a fifty-year interest-free loan for youth.
The scheme of 50-year interest-free loans for capex to states will be continued this year with a total outlay of Rs 1.3 lakh crore.
The government is working with an approach to development that is all-round, all-pervasive, and all-inclusive (सर्वांगीण, सर्वस्पर्शी और सर्वसमावेशी).
The budget contains many announcements and strategies indicating directions and development approaches for making India Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The government will pay utmost attention to making the eastern region and its people a powerful driver of India’s growth.
The government will form a high-powered committee to consider extensively the challenges arising from fast population growth and demographic changes.
No change is proposed in tax rates in the interim budget.
About one crore taxpayers are expected to benefit from the withdrawal of certain petty and disputed direct tax demands.
The government will lay a white paper on the Indian economy now and then.
