Drafted by Rohit Kashyap, Founder Maytree School & Akhilendra Sahu, Founder QuickPR

Explore a consolidated summary of the crucial points from the interim budget 2024, encompassing significant announcements in sectors such as health, agriculture, housing, tourism, energy, and more. Additionally, discover potentially positive developments for individuals with unresolved tax issues. Continue reading for further details.

The concluding budget of the current government was delivered in Parliament by the honorable Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, on February 1, 2024. This marked the sixth consecutive budget presentation for India’s first full-time female finance minister, a distinction shared only with former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Noteworthy brevity was maintained by the FM, with the presentation lasting 58 minutes. As anticipated, a primary focus was on reducing the fiscal deficit, with the interim budget carefully steering clear of excessive populist expenditures.

Following the typical trend of interim budgets, Budget 2024 provided a roadmap for the future, outlining the government’s priorities for the forthcoming years.

the Key Highlights from the Interim Budget 2024:

From a closer look at theinterim budgetspeech, these are some of the important highlights –

The government’s concentration and outlook.

• The Finance Minister underscored the government’s emphasis on achieving a developed India by 2047.
• She emphasized that the Prime Minister has identified four developmental pillars, namely Garib (the poor), Yuva (youth), Annadata (farmers), and Narishakti (women power), collectively known as GYAN.
• The government is also dedicated to a holistic GDP, articulated as their vision in the domains of Governance, Development, and Performance.

Residential Accommodation:

• The PM Awas Yojana Grameen has initiated the building of three crore houses, with an additional goal of finishing two crore more residences within the upcoming five years.
• A new initiative will assist eligible segments of the middle class residing in rented accommodations, chawls, or unauthorized colonies to construct or purchase homes.

Energy and electricity:

• India is striving to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, implementing measures in domains such as offshore wind energy generation, coal gasification and liquefaction, compressed biogas, CNG, piped natural gas, and more.
• The infrastructure for electric vehicles will undergo expansion, and an increased number of electric buses will be introduced.
• A The Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana aims to encompass 1 crore households, empowering them to produce 300 units per month. This has the potential to result in an annual savings ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 per household, which can be supplied to distribution companies.novel initiative for bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry is set to be inaugurated.

Medical Care:

• Promotion of cervical cancer prevention vaccinations will be encouraged for girls aged 9 to 14.
• A comprehensive program will be implemented to encompass a range of maternal and childcare initiatives.
• The enhancement of Anganwadi facilities will be accelerated to provide improved nutrition and early childhood care.
• The acceleration of immunization management will occur through the U-Win platform and Mission Indradhanush.
• The Ayushman Bharat Health Care scheme will undergo expansion to encompass all Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers, Anganwadi workers, and helpers.

Farming and related industries:

• The promotion of private and public investment in post-harvest activities, encompassing storage, supply chain, processing, marketing, and branding, is a priority for the government.
• The application of Nano-DAP on crops will see an expansion across all agro-climatic zones.
• The Aatmanirbhar Oilseeds Abhiyan will be devised to attain self-reliance in oilseeds such as mustard, soybean, sesame, and sunflower.
• An all-encompassing initiative for dairy farmers will also be launched.
• The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana aims to boost productivity, double exports, create 55 lakh job opportunities, and establish five aquaparks.

Development of Infrastructure and Industries

• Railways, metros, power, and capital goods are recognized as crucial infrastructure sectors slated to receive government backing.
• Under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, three significant economic railway corridors will be introduced.
• Indian Railways will upgrade 40,000 regular railway bogies to meet Vande Bharat standards, enhancing safety and the quality of railway travel.
• The expansion of metro rail and NaMo Bharat is planned for major cities.
• The expansion of current airports and the comprehensive development of new airports under the UDAAN scheme were also declared.
• States will receive long-term, interest-free loans for the development of iconic tourist destinations.
• Island tourism development will be facilitated through infrastructural projects.

Tax Policies:

• Consistent with tradition, the finance minister refrained from making alterations to the existing direct and indirect tax structures.
• Tax advantages for startups, investments from sovereign wealth or pension funds, and specific incomes of IFSC units, set to expire on March 31, 2024, have been extended for an additional year.
• She further declared the dismissal of contested direct tax claims, up to Rs 25,000 for the year 2009-10 or earlier, and those less than Rs 10,000 for the years 2010-11 to 2014-15.

For Startups World: 

• On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the extension of tax benefits for startups, specific investments by sovereign wealth funds, and exemptions for businesses located in the International Financial Services Centre in GIFT City. This extension is applicable for another year, now lasting until March 31, 2025.
• Startups eligible for the tax benefit schemes are entitled to a 100 percent tax rebate on profits earned for a period of three years within a total operational timeframe of ten years. This benefit is subject to the condition that the overall annual turnover does not exceed Rs 25 crore in any financial year.

Interim budgets typically refrain from significant alterations, populist mega-schemes, or tax adjustments. Despite this, they serve to articulate the government’s broader vision for the future. As Rohit Kashyap, Founder of Maytree School & Akhilendra Sahu, Founder QuickPR, describes it, the interim budget is deemed as “prudent and growth-oriented.”