Budget 2024 Highlights: New Tax Rates & More

Budget 2024 Highlights: Today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2024-25 in Parliament. This is her seventh consecutive budget speech, setting a new record. She surpassed former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who gave six consecutive budget speeches from 1959 to 1964.

Key Announcements:

New Tax Rates: The tax rates for salaried people have been changed under the new tax system. The tax rates are now:
– Income up to ₹3 lakh: No tax
– ₹3 lakh to ₹7 lakh: 5%
– ₹7 lakh to ₹10 lakh: 10%
– ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh: 15%
– ₹12 lakh to ₹15 lakh: 20%
– Above ₹15 lakh: 30%

Standard Deduction: An increase in the standard deduction was announced.

Customs Duty: Changes were made to the customs duty on items like gold, silver, mobile phones, and other goods.

Infrastructure Spending: The government plans to spend ₹11.1 lakh crore on capital expenditures, keeping it the same as the interim budget. Infrastructure spending will be 3.4% of the GDP.

Main Focus Areas:

Employment and Skilling:
– Five new schemes will target 4.1 crore young people over five years with a budget of ₹2 lakh crore.
– A large internship program for one crore young people in top companies over five years.
– Incentives for employment, including one month of wage support for new employees.
– Special programs to improve women’s skills and increase their participation in the workforce.

Support for MSMEs and Manufacturing:
– Emphasis on helping MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) and the manufacturing sector.
– Credit guarantee scheme and loans for buying machinery.
– A technology support package for MSMEs.
– SIDBI will open 24 new branches to support MSME clusters.

Financial Initiatives:
– The Mudra loan limit has been increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh for previous borrowers.
– Financial support for higher education loans up to ₹10 lakh for studying in India.
– A new technology system for the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Agriculture and Rural Development:
– A budget of ₹2.66 lakh crore for rural development.
– Transforming agricultural research to focus on productivity and climate-resilient crops.
– An initiative to introduce one crore farmers to natural farming over two years.

Infrastructure and Regional Development:
– Rental housing in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode for industrial workers.
– Special financial support of ₹15,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh.
– New airports, medical facilities, and sports infrastructure for Bihar.

Economic Outlook:
– Inflation is moving towards the target of 4%.
– India’s economic growth is seen as an exception and is doing well.
– Focus on creating jobs and boosting consumption, benefiting sectors like consumer goods, real estate, and autos.

Nine Priority Areas: Agriculture, Employment, Inclusive Development, Manufacturing and Services, Urban Development, Energy, Infrastructure, Innovation and R&D, and Next Generation Reforms.

Women-Led Development: Over ₹3 lakh crore is allocated for schemes benefiting women and girls.

Social Welfare: The PMGKAY (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) will be extended for five years, helping over 80 crore people.

Digital and Technological Advancements: Development of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) applications for credit, e-commerce, law and justice, and corporate governance.