Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh consecutive Union Budget 2024-25 during the Budget Session of Parliament, becoming the first finance minister to present seven consecutive budget speeches. She introduced increased standard deduction and revised tax rates for salaried individuals under the new tax regime, cutting customs duty on gold, silver, mobile phones, and other goods. The Centre’s FY25 Capex spend is expected to be ₹11.1 lakh crore, with infrastructure spending at 3.4% of GDP.
Highlights from the budget include five schemes focusing on 4.1 crore youth over five years, a comprehensive internship scheme for one crore youth in top companies, employment-linked incentives, women-specific skilling programs, MSME and manufacturing support, credit guarantee scheme and term loans for machinery purchase, and technology support package for MSMEs. Financial initiatives include an increase in Mudra loan limit, financial support for higher education loans, and an integrated technology system for Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
The budget also includes a 2.66 lakh crore provision for rural development, transformation of agricultural research to focus on productivity and climate-resilient crop varieties, and an initiative to introduce 1 crore farmers to natural farming over two years. Infrastructure and regional development include rental housing in PPP mode for industrial workers, special financial support for Andhra Pradesh, and new airports, medical facilities, and sports infrastructure for Bihar.
India’s economic outlook is expected to move towards a 4% target, with a focus on job creation and boosting consumption. Nine priority areas include agriculture, employment, inclusive development, manufacturing and services, urban development, energy, infrastructure, innovation and R&D, and next-generation reforms.
