Previous Year’s Budget Highlights: From Income Tax Relief to National Digital Library, Major Talking Points From Last Year’s Budget That You Should Know

Mumbai, January 31: The Union Budget for FY24-25 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. The Budget is allotted for a fiscal year which runs from April 1 to March 31 of the next year. This year, it will be an interim Budget as the elections for the Lok Sabha are due this year. An interim budget, also known as a vote-on-account, is presented in an election year when a full-fledged budget cannot be presented due to the upcoming elections. During this time, only essential government expenditures are approved until the new government takes charge and presents a full budget. As we gear up for the Interim Budget, let’s take a look at the key highlight from last year’s budget.

Last year, the government announced income tax relief measures, particularly targeted at the middle class. In the new regime, a citizen earning income up to Rs 7 lakh need not pay any income tax. The infrastructure development capex was hiked by 33% to Rs 10-lakh crore for 2023-24 and will be at 3.3 percent of the GDP. The Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program with an outlay of Rs 2200 crore was launched to boost the availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops. Union Budget 2024-25: What is Vote on Account? How is It Different From Interim Budget? All You Need to Know.

Take a look at some of the key highlights of the budget:

• The seven priorities of the budget ‘Saptarishi’ are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and the financial sector.
• Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) will be established through use of priority Sector Lending shortfall, which will be managed by the National Housing Bank, and will be used by public agencies to create urban infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• Entity DigiLocker to be set up for use by MSMEs, large businesses and charitable trusts to store and share documents online securely.
• 100 labs to be set up for 5G services-based application development to realize a new range of opportunities, business models, and employment potential.
• 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under the GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme to be established to promote a circular economy at a total investment of Rs 10,000 crore. 5 percent compressed biogas mandate to be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and biogas.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, to be launched to skill lakhs of youth within the next three years covering new age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.
• To make India a global hub for ‘Shree Anna’, the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
• A new sub-scheme of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana with a targeted investment of ₹6,000 crore to be launched to further enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies and expand the market.
• Rs 10 lakh crore capital investment, a steep increase of 33% for third year in a row, to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds.
• A National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents to be set-up to facilitate the availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device-agnostic accessibility. Union Budget 2024-25 Live Streaming Online: Date, Time and Where to Watch Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget Speech? All You Need to Know.
• ‘Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions’ to be set up in a digital epigraphy museum, with digitization of one lakh ancient inscriptions in the first stage.
• Three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence to be set-up in top educational institutions to realise the vision of “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”.
• “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth” (PM-PRANAM) to be launched to incentivize States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.
• Green Credit Programme to be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act to incentivize and mobilize additional resources for environmentally sustainable and responsive actions.
• National Financial Information Registry to be set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information for facilitating the efficient flow of credit, promoting financial inclusion, and fostering financial stability. A new legislative framework to be designed in consultation with RBI to govern this credit public infrastructure.

(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Jan 31, 2024 06:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).