BUDGET 2024
Last Updated on February 1, 2024 by News Desk
On February 1, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave her sixth budget presentation. This budget served as a stopgap before the year’s general elections. The Interim Budget 2024 prioritised ongoing capital expenditures and fiscal consolidation, with a particular emphasis on youth and women’s empowerment. FM. Sitharaman reduced the projected fiscal deficit for FY25 to 5.1% of GDP. The rates for both direct and indirect taxes remained unchanged.
Crucial takeaways from FM Sitharaman’s press conference after the budget
- On five “Disha Nirdashak” baatein, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized: A focus on the underprivileged, young people, women, and Annadata (farmers) as a viable style of government Attention should be paid to infrastructure, productivity-boosting technologies, and high-power committees to address issues brought on by demographic difficulties.
- As the fastest-growing G20 economy, India’s GDP has grown by 7% annually over the past three years.
- Performance, Development, and Governance make up GDP. We’ve handled the economy more skillfully and delivered on development. In spite of incredibly difficult times, we are reducing the fiscal deficit.
- Government expenditure on capital projects will not stop, FM stated, and it must.
- The Middle East, Europe, and Corridor (IMEC) project will proceed in spite of the Red Sea disruptions.
- According to Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, the exchequer would pay less than ₹3,500 crore for the removal of 1.1 crore pending minor direct tax requests for certain years.
- FM reiterated that there will be no extension of the reduced rate of taxation to new industrial units starting beyond March 2024.
- Disinvestment goals for FY25 are not set in stone, according to DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
- The Finance Minister told credit rating agencies, “We are not only complying with the strategy for fiscal consolidation given earlier, we are bettering it.”
- Prior to the COVID-19 period, the goal of bringing the Center’s debt-to-GDP ratio down to 40% was deemed relevant.
Written by: Nikita Shankar @nikitaashankar