Budget 2024 Key Highlights: Jobs Boost, Fiscal Consolidation, and Revised Tax Slabs

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha today, outlining nine priorities for India’s economic opportunities. This budget, the first of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term, focuses on job creation, fiscal consolidation, revised tax slabs, and a hike in long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax.

Key Highlights from Budget 2024-2025

Budget Theme:

Employment

Skilling

MSMEs

Middle Class

Productivity and resilience in Agriculture

Agriculture:

Comprehensive review of agriculture research to boost productivity and develop climate-resilient varieties.

National Cooperation Policy for the cooperative sector's development.

Atmanirbharta initiative for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soyabean, and sunflower.

Release of 109 new high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops.

Natural Farming:

1 crore farmers to be initiated into natural farming with support for certification and branding within 2 years.

Establishment of 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres.

Shrimp Production & Export:

Financing through NABARD for shrimp farming, processing, and export.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI):

DPI to cover farmers and their lands in 3 years.

Digital crop survey in 400 districts.

Issuance of Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards.

Employment and Skilling:

Five schemes targeting 4.1 crore youth over 5 years with a central outlay of ₹2 lakh crore.

Comprehensive internship scheme for 1 crore youth in top companies over 5 years.

Employment-linked incentives, including one month’s wage support for first-time employees.

Women-specific skilling programs and increased workforce participation.

MSME and Manufacturing Support:

Special attention to MSMEs and the manufacturing sector.

Credit guarantee scheme and term loans for machinery purchase.

Technology support package for MSMEs.

SIDBI to open 24 new branches to serve MSME clusters.

Financial Initiatives:

Mudra loan limit increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh for previous borrowers.

Financial support for higher education loans up to ₹10 lakhs in domestic institutions.

Infrastructure and Regional Development:

Rental housing in PPP mode for industrial workers.

Special financial support of ₹15,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh.

New airports, medical facilities, and sports infrastructure for Bihar.

Economic Outlook:

Inflation moving towards the 4% target.

India's economic growth described as a “shining exception.”

Focus on job creation and boosting consumption, benefiting the consumer goods, real estate, and auto sectors.

Social Welfare:

Extension of PMGKAY (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) for five years.

Over ₹3 lakh crore allocated for schemes benefiting women and girls.

Budget Estimates 2024-25:

FY25 Total Receipts estimated at ₹32.07 lakh crore.

FY25 Total Expenditure estimated at ₹48.21 lakh crore.

Net tax receipts estimated at ₹25.83 lakh crore.

FY25 Fiscal deficit estimated at 4.9% of GDP.

Gross market borrowings estimated at ₹14.01 lakh crore.

Net market borrowings estimated at ₹11.63 lakh crore.

Revised Tax Rate Structure in the New Regime:

₹0-3 lakh: Nil

₹3-7 lakh: 5%

₹7-10 lakh: 10%

₹10-12 lakh: 15%

₹12-15 lakh: 20%

More than ₹15 lakh: 30%

Standard Deduction amount raised to ₹75,000.

Capital Gains Tax:

Short-term capital gains tax revised to 20%.

Long-term capital gains tax raised to 12.5% on financial assets.

Security Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives increased to 0.02%.

Stay tuned to our live coverage for more updates on the Income Tax Slab, Impact on the Share Market, Corporate Reactions, and other Budget 2024 Key Highlights.