Key Takeaways from Budget 2024

The Indian Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, presented the Interim Union Budget for the 2024-25 financial year, the last of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term. The budget focuses on fiscal consolidation, infra, agri, green growth, and railways. However, no changes were made in tax rates, disappointing salaried individuals. The Fiscal Deficit target for FY25 was set at 5.1% of the GDP, better than expected, while the FY24 target was revised down to 5.8%. The capex target for FY25 was increased by 11.1% to ₹11.1 lakh crore. The budget aims to achieve a developed country by 2047, focusing on democracy, demography, and diversity. Experts believe the budget fulfilled expectations, with a focus on domestic macro factors, sustained investments in infrastructure, agriculture, and domestic tourism. Key features of the budget include infrastructure, tourism, logistics, and research innovation, aiming for continuous sustainable growth.

Top 10 Key Takeaways from Budget 2024 

From income tax to green energy and tourism, these are the ten important elements of the 2024 Budget:

Income Tax

The Finance Minister, Sitharaman, announced that tax collections have more than doubled over the past decade, with the average processing time of tax returns reduced to 10 days this year. The current budget maintains the status quo in both direct and indirect taxation, including import duties. This predictability may benefit companies in financial planning and fostering a more secure and sustainable business environment, according to Siddhesh Mehta, Research Analyst at Samco Securities.

Infrastructure Development

Building on the significant doubling of capital expenditure outlays over the last four years, which has resulted in a huge multiplier impact on economic development and job creation, the outlay for the next year has been increased by 11.1 percent to 11.11 lakh crore, the FM revealed. This represents 3.4% of the GDP.

Railways 

FM Sitharaman has announced plans to convert 40,000 regular rail bogies to Vande Bharat trains to enhance passenger safety, convenience, and comfort. Key rail infrastructure projects, such as Metro Rail and Namo Bharat, will be expanded to new cities. Three major railway corridors have been announced: the port connectivity corridor, the energy, mineral, and cement corridor, and the high traffic density corridor. These decongestants will improve passenger train operations, safety, and travel speed. The development of commodity-specific economic rail corridors will accelerate India's GDP growth and reduce logistic costs, improving competitiveness, particularly in manufacturing.

'Lakhpati Didi' Scheme

FM announced that 83 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) with nine crore women are transforming rural socio-economic landscapes through empowerment and self-reliance. The success has helped nearly one crore women become 'Lakhpati Didi'. The target for 'Lakhpati Didi' has been increased from 2 crore to 3 crore. The initiative, which aims to empower two crore women in villages, has reached 83 lakh SHGs and benefitted 9 crore women. With a financial injection of ₹1 lakh per household for one crore beneficiaries, the initiative is expected to significantly uplift rural women's economic status.

Electricity

Roof-top solarisation will enable 10 million families to get up to 300 units of free power each month. FM Nirmala Sitharaman stated that this scheme is following the Prime Minister's decision on the historic day of the dedication of the Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. According to Sitharaman, homeowners may save up to ₹15,000-18,000 a year by receiving free solar power and selling the surplus to distribution firms.

Green Energy

The following actions were announced to help accomplish the goal of reaching 'net zero' by 2070.

• Viability gap financing will be granted for capturing offshore wind energy potential with an initial capacity of one gigawatt.
• Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT will be established by 2030. This will also assist to reduce imports of natural gas, methanol, and ammonia.
• Compressed biogas (CBG) will be gradually blended into compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation and piped natural gas (PNG) for home use.
• Financial help will be offered for the purchase of biomass aggregation gear to support collecting.

Electric vehicles

The Indian government plans to strengthen the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Payment security mechanisms will encourage the adoption of e-buses for public transport networks. The 2024-25 Union Budget aims to incentivize and expand the EV ecosystem, focusing on boosting the number of charging stations. This initiative is a key step in transforming India's EV landscape, overcoming range anxiety, and promoting electric vehicles as a sustainable transport solution for the future. The budget also addresses the shortage of public charging stations.

Tourism

FM said that states will be urged to invest in worldwide branding and marketing for key tourism destinations. A ranking system based on the quality of facilities and services will be implemented. States will get long-term interest-free loans to fund these initiatives. Projects for port access, tourism infrastructure, and amenities will be undertaken on our islands, including Lakshadweep. According to FM Sitharaman, this would also assist in providing job opportunities.

Technology

New-age technologies and data are revolutionizing the lives of people and businesses, creating new economic opportunities and enabling high-quality services at affordable prices. The Indian government has announced a corpus of rupees one lakh crore, which will be established with a fifty-year interest-free loan. This corpus will provide long-term financing or refinancing with low or nil interest rates, encouraging the private sector to scale up research and innovation in sunrise domains. A new scheme will be launched to strengthen deep-tech technologies for defence purposes and expedite 'atmanirbharta'. The 50-year interest-free loan is expected to bolster research and innovations, improving India's position as a global technology leader in the coming decade.

PM Awas Yojana 

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen) is nearing its target of constructing three crore pucca houses by March 2024, despite challenges posed by COVID. The government plans to build two crore more houses over the next five years to meet the increased number of families. The PMAY, launched in 2015, aims to ensure housing for all and is expected to trigger increased investments and activity in the construction sector. This intensified focus on PMAY is expected to have a positive impact across various sectors, including Housing Finance, Cement, Steel, and Paints.

Fiscal deficit and other key numbers 

• The fiscal deficit target for FY25 is set at 5.1 percent of GDP.
• The fiscal deficit target for FY24 was revised downward to 5.8 percent of GDP from its earlier estimate of 5.9 percent.
• For the first nine months of FY24 until December, the fiscal deficit amounted to ₹9.82 lakh crore, which is 55 percent of the annual estimates.
• FY25's capital expenditure is marked at ₹11.1 lakh crore, showing an 11.1 percent increase.
• The expected total expenditure for FY25 is ₹30.80 lakh crore, while the revised estimate for FY24 is ₹44.90 lakh crore.
• Revenue receipts for FY24 are projected to reach ₹30.03 lakh crore, surpassing the Budget estimate due to robust growth and formalization in the economy.
• Gross market borrowing for FY25 is targeted at ₹14.13 lakh crore, with net borrowing set at ₹11.75 lakh crore.
• The gross tax receipt target for FY25 is ₹26.02 lakh crore.

Conclusion

The Interim Union Budget for 2024-25, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, aims to promote fiscal prudence, infrastructure development, green energy, and social welfare in India. It includes initiatives like tax policies, infrastructure investments, tourism, and technology, aiming to address challenges and foster inclusive development. As the Indian economy progresses, BlinkX remains committed to facilitating seamless and accessible financial services for all.