BUDGET 2024
Feb 1, 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
