Priorities in the Union Budget 2024

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. During her budget speech, the FM announced the priorities of the government.

Sitharaman highlighted nine priority areas for the Modi 3.0 government. These are: productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment and skilling, improved human resources, social justice, manufacturing and services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation, research and development, and next-generation reforms.

Priority 1 -Productivity and Resilience in Agriculture

• Raising Productivity and Climate Resilient Varieties

• Thrust on Natural Farming: 2 crore farmers to be supported in next 2 years(certificates)

• Atma Nirbharta in Oil Seeds

• Vegetable Production: Large Scale Clusters

• DPI in Agri Infrastructure: Coverage of Farmers and their Land in three years. Digital Crop Survey in 400 districts this year only. Issuance of Jan Samarth based certificates.

• Shrimp Brood Stocks. Shrimp Farming.

• National Co-operation Policy for Co-operative Sector.

Priority 2 – Skilling

• First Timers Scheme – 1 month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors will be provided by the government in 3 installments. Direct benefit transfer to employees upto Rs 15,000 will be done. This will be applicable to those getting salary upto Rs 1 lakh per month. 2.1 crore youth to be benefitted

• Manufacturing Jobs Assistance- Incentive of specified scale directly to employee and employer in first 4 years of employment will be provided to employees entering manufacturing jobs. This will benefit 30 lakh youth and employers.

• Support to employers- Additional employment in all sectors within a salary of 1 lakh/month will be provided Rs 3,000 per month for 2 years to cover EPFO charges. This will incentivise additional employment of upto 50 lakh persons.

• 20 lakh youth will be skilled over 5 years.

• Education Loans: Financial Support up to 10 lakhs for higher education in domestic institutions. Annual Interest Subvention for 3 percent

Priority 3 -Inclusive Development

• Towards achieving saturation of Social Justice

• PM Vishwakarma, Swanidhi, NRLM.

• Purvodaya: A plan for all round development for eastern region of country covering br,jh,od,ap. This will cover human resource development.

• Amritsar-Kolkata Corridor. It will catalyze industrial development for eastern region particularly Gaya. Vikas Bhi Virasat Bhi

• Patna Purniya , Buxar Bhagalpur, Bodhygaya-Rajgir-Dharbhnaga Expressways to be Developed and Bridge over Ganga in Buxar at Rs.2600 crore.

• New Medical Colleges and Sports Infra in Bihar will be constructed.

• Multilateral Bank Support to Bihar.

• AP Reorganisation act: Recoginizing state’s need for capital a financial support will be provided through multilateral agencies. Rs.15,000 crore will be arranged in future years.

• PMAY: 3 crore additional houses in rural and urban areas in the country

• Women Led Development: Budget carries an allocation more than Rs.3 lakh crore.

• PM Jan Jatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan: Adopting saturation coverage in tribal families and aspirational districts.

Priority 4 – Manufacturing and Services

• Will make MSME to compete globally

• Credit Guarantee for MSME.

• Build In House capability for MSMEs.

• Paradigm change in New Credit assessment model for MSME for credit eligibility.

• SMA Accounts for MSME in Stress.

• MUDRA Loans: limit enhanced to 20 lakhs from 10 lakhs in Tarun category.

• Converting trade receivables to cash: turnover brought down from Rs.500 to Rs.250 crore

• SIDBI branches in MSME Cluster: new branches to be opened in 3 years in MSME clusters over 3 years

• E-commerce export hubs: to enable traditional artisans and MSME to launch their product in international markets

• A scheme to provide internship in top 500 companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years. They will gain exposure to real life business. Interns will be given Rs.5,000 per month along with one time assistance of Rs.6,000.

• 12 industrial parks under National Industrial Corridor Program will be Sanctioned.

• Rental housing for industrial workers will be facilitated in PPP Mode.

• Shipping: Ownership leasing and flagging reforms will be initiated.

• Critical Minerals Mission: mandate will include tech development, skilled workforce and suitable financing mechanism.

• DPI Applications: Development of DPI applications.

• Integrated tech platform for IBC services: consistency, transparency and better oversight.

• Voluntary closure for LLPS.

• IBC has resolved more than 1, 000 companies- giving Rs.3.3 lakh crore to creditors

• Debt Recovery: Additional tribunals to be established

Priority 5 – Urban Development

• Urban Housing: Urban 2.0. one crore houses for urban poor, allocation of ten lakh crore rupees.

• Enabling policies and regulations for transparent renting house markets

• Services for 100 large cities for urban development

• Street Markets: Svanidhi has transformed lives of street vendors. Support for urban haats

• Stamp Duty: Encourage states to charge high stamp duty to moderate the rates for all. Slashing of duties for women

Priority 6 – Energy Security

• A policy document for energy pathways

• PM Suryaghar Muft Bijli Yojana: launched to install rooftop solar plants to enable one crore households to obtain free electricity for 300 units every month. Remarkable response from the public.

• Pump Storage Policy

• Newer tech for nuclear technology.

• Advanced ultra super critical thermal power plants. 800 mw plants will be set up.

• Dev of indigenous capacity

• Support to micro and small industries.

Priority 7 – Infrastructure

• Strong fiscal support to Infra over next 5 years

• This Year’s CAPEX allocation: Rs. Eleven Lakh Eleven Thousand One Hundred and Eleven Crore Rupees. 3.4 percent of GDP.

• Private Investment in INFRA: Have to be Promoted through VGF

• PMGSY 4.0 will be launched: 25,000 new rural habitations.

• Irrigation and Flood: Plans to build flood control structure through financial support of Rs.11,500 crore. Kosi related flood mitigation will be taken

• ASSAM: Assistance to assam for flood management.

• HP: assistance to state for reconstruction ravaged with floods

• Uttarakhand: Assistance to states

• Sikkim: Assistance to state

• Tourism: Vishnupath temple at Gaya and Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya will be constructed like Kashi Vishwanath corridor. Rajgir: preservation of hot springs. Development of NALANDA.

• Support for development of Odisha’s temples, scenic beauties, natural landscapes and pristine beaches;

 Priority 8 – Innovation, R&D

• A mechanism will be established to spur private-driven research at a commercial scale, supported by a financial pool of Rs 1 lakh crore

• The govt will partner with the private sector for setting up Bharat small reactors, research and development of Bharat small modular reactors & research and development of newer technologies for nuclear energy.

Priority 9 – Next Gen Reforms

• Next Gen reforms for high growth and employment

• Improving productivity of factors of development.

• Facilitating market and sectors.

• Effective implementation require building consensus between states and center.

• 50 year interest free loan to states who undertake reforms.

• Land reforms in rural areas and urban areas.

• Rural land related action: Bhu AADHAR (ULPIN) for all lands, digitization of terrestrial maps, sub divisions survey of maps as per current ownership, establishment of land registry, linking to farmers registry.

• Land records in urban areas to be digitized.

• Ease of Compliance for trade.

• Taxonomy for Climate Finance

• Rules for FDI will be simplified. Using Indian Rupee for overseas trade.

• EODB: Jan Vishwas Bill.

• Data and Stats: different sectoral databases under Digital India Mission will be established.