India Budget 2024: Key Points and Resources

Since today is February 1st, 2024, it’s important to clarify that India presented an interim budget on February 1st, 2024, instead of a full budget. This interim budget covers spending for the remaining months of the current fiscal year (2023-24) and provides an estimate for the upcoming fiscal year (2024-25).

Here are some key points about the India Budget 2024:

Overall:

• No changes in income tax rates for individuals or corporations.
• Increased focus on infrastructure spending, with a 16.9% rise in capital expenditure compared to the revised estimate for 2023-24.
• Continued commitment to fiscal consolidation, aiming to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26.
• Focus on social welfare schemes like affordable housing and healthcare.

Specific highlights:

• Infrastructure: ₹11.11 lakh crore allocated for capital expenditure in 2024-25, focusing on railways, roads,and urban infrastructure.
• Social welfare: 2 crore more houses under PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) in the next 5 years, increased target for creating “Lakhpati Didis” (women entrepreneurs) from 2 crore to 3 crore.
• Healthcare: Vaccination program for cervical cancer prevention, combined maternal and child health care scheme.
• Other: Emphasis on developing the eastern part of India, subsidy for construction of affordable houses in rural areas.

Resources:

• Official Budget Website:https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/
• Budget Speech:https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/budget_speech.pdf
• Budget at a Glance:https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Budget_at_Glance/bag1.pdf
• News Articles:
  • https://www.livemint.com/economy/budget-2024-25-key-highlights-live-updates-interim-budget-agriculture-infra-fiscal-deficit-nirmala-sitharaman-11706695416199.html
  • https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/2/1/indias-2024-budget-what-does-it-say-about-the-economy-elections
  • https://www.thehindu.com/business/budget/interim-budget-2024-highlights/article67799651.ece