Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 on Tuesday in Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Budget, saying it will speed up growth and give manufacturing and infrastructure equal weight. The Budget, he continued, will work to empower the emerging middle class and improve the status of Dalits, Adivasis, and lower social classes. The youth will have limitless opportunities with this Budget, and levels of education and skill will rise dramatically. A summary of the key areas of sector-wise expenditure is provided below.
Defence: For FY25, the defence sector will receive an allocation of Rs 6.21 lakh crore, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The amount remained unchanged from the Rs 6.21 lakh crore that had been declared in the interim Budget only five months prior. Sector-wise allocation puts defence at the top.
Education: During the presentation of the Budget 2024 on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared that the central government would allocate Rs 1.48 lakh crore towards education, employment, and skill development. Students enrolled in domestic universities will receive financial assistance for loans up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education. Over a five-year period, about 20 lakh young people will be skilled. The design and content of 1,000 ITIs will be updated to better meet industry skill requirements. The FM went on to say that one crore young people would receive internships from the government. These interns will get Rs 5,000 as a stipend and one-time assistance of Rs 6,000. The companies will bear the cost of their CSR funds and the government’s internship scheme.
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Housing: Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested allocating ₹10 lakh crore, with an emphasis on housing for urban poor and middle-class families. The government will build two crore homes in rural areas over the next five years as part of the PM Awas Yojana (Grameen) and launch a new programme to house the middle class.
Agriculture: The Budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year includes ₹1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and related sectors, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She declared that productivity and resilience would be the main considerations in the formulation of government policies, citing agriculture as a top priority. One crore farmers will be introduced to natural farming in the next two years, she said, adding that the government will help them with branding and certification. Scientific institutions and cooperative gram panchayats will carry out the project, which will result in the establishment of 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres. As many as 109 new seed varieties for 32 field and horticultural crops will soon be made available as part of the 100-day programme.
Railways: A significant 75% increase over the fiscal 2022 allocation was given to Indian Railways, which received Rs 2.40 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2023–2024 and Rs 2.52 lakh crore in the Interim Budget 2024–2025. Three significant economic railway corridor programmes were presented in the Budget as part of the PM Gati Shakti initiative, which aims to lower costs and enhance logistics networks. Forty thousand rail bogies would also be upgraded to Vande Bharat standards.
Infrastructure: The Budget proposed an 11% increase in capital spending on infrastructure and job creation, totalling ₹11.11 trillion for 2024-25.
Women Welfare: The Minister of Finance pledged to increase women's employment rates. The creation of hostels and partnerships to create specialised skill-training programmes for women will support this initiative. Additionally, the Budget includes more than ₹3 lakh crore allotment for programmes that assist women and girls to support women-led development.
Tourism: The Budget estimate for FY25 shows that the government set aside ₹2,479 crore for the tourism industry. However, the government had earlier allotted ₹2,400 crore in FY24. According to the updated estimates, the tourism sector will receive ₹1,692.10 crore in FY24. The Budget called for the complete construction of famous tourist destinations, with state assistance for branding and marketing.
The minister of finance also proposed a new ranking system for tourist destinations based on the quality of their amenities. The government declared in FY25 that the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, and the Vishnupad Temple in Gaya would be developed. The government has also suggested a comprehensive development initiative for Rajgir.
In the meantime, in addition to reviving Nalanda University, the government declared its support for the development of Nalanda as a tourism hub. The government will also support the development of Odisha's scenic beauty, temples, monuments, handicrafts, wildlife sanctuaries, natural landscapes, and clean beaches, making it an ideal travel destination, in an effort to increase tourism in the state.
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Healthcare: The government has allotted ₹89,287 crore, a slight increase from ₹88,956 crore in FY24, for the creation, maintenance, and enhancement of the nation's healthcare system. Additionally, the government has set aside ₹2,143 crore for production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes in the pharmaceutical sector. Nirmala Sitharaman declared that ASHA employees, Anganwadi workers, and helpers would now be covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Green Energy: The government allocated Rs 19,100 crore to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in the Union Budget 2024, up from Rs 12,850 crore in the Interim Budget in February, with the goal of further boosting the renewable sector. The updated estimates for the Budget 2023–2024 came to Rs 7,848 crore. By 2030, the government intends to create a 100 MT coal gasification and liquefaction capacity and implement a phased-in mandatory compressed biogas and compressed natural gas blending program. Funding will also be used to promote the use of e-buses for public transportation and offshore wind energy.
IT and Telecom: The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, proposed spending Rs 1,16,342 crore on telecom and IT in the Union Budget 2024-25. She also announced a reduction in basic customs duty for mobile phones, chargers, and circuit boards to the tune of 15%.
Research and Innovation: The finance minister suggested a new program for deep-tech defence technologies and fostering self-reliance in addition to a ₹1 trillion fund with a 50-year interest-free loan to spur growth, employment, and development.
Free Power and Solarisation: Through a rooftop solarisation scheme, the Budget proposed 300 units of free power per month, benefiting about one crore households under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijlee Yojana. The scheme was launched earlier this year