Union Budget 2024-25: Highlights –Interim Budget

Union Budget 2024-25: Highlights –Interim Budget

A budget is a forecast of the government’s revenue and expenses for a future period, typically the upcoming financial year. The Union Budget gives a detailed account of the government's finances over the previous fiscal year, summarises new tax proposals for the upcoming fiscal year, and estimates revenue and expenditure for the next fiscal year.

The Union Budget accounts for the government's finances during the fiscal year from April 1 to March 31. The first Budget in pre-independent India was presented in 1860 by James Wilson of the British Indian Government. After independence, India's first Budget was presented in 1947 by Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty.

• The budget for 2024-25 was the final budget of the NDA government’s second term. 
• The budget this year was interim, as the government will be facing a general election in April-May this year. The full budget will be presented in July by the new government.

Union Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman presented the budget for Financial Year 2024-25 on February 1.

Interim Budget An interim budget is a type of temporary financial plan for the government, which will replace a full budget in case Parliament is short on time or general elections are approaching. The interim budget ensures that the government keeps essential services running and covers expenditures for the first few months of the fiscal year.

Full Budget and Interim Budget

Full Budget	Interim Budget
A full-length budget is a comprehensive financial plan that covers all aspects of government spending, revenue generation, and policy reforms for an entire fiscal year.	An interim budget is a temporary plan that authorises the government to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet expenditure for the April-July period.
The full budget is presented by the government that is going to continue into the next fiscal year.	An interim budget is presented by the outgoing government before general elections or a new government is set to come to power.
There is scope for major policy changes and new schemes.	It does not introduce major policy changes or new schemes.
A full union budget is presented annually.	An interim budget is presented during election year.
It involves detailed discussion on schemes, policies and allocations.	An interim budget is devoid of the usual scrutiny and debate in Parliament.
A full-length budget provides a long-term vision for economic growth, capital investment, and social welfare initiatives.	An interim budget ensures continuity and prevents financial disruption during political transitions.

 

Union Budget?

The Union Budget is the annual financial statement of the Union Government of India that is presented every year on the 1st of February by the Finance Minister (FM) in the Lok Sabha.

• Budget preparation: The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, is the nodal body responsible for preparing the Budget document.
• Budget classification: The Union Budget is classified into the Revenue Budget and the Capital Budget.
  • Revenue Budget: This is the part of the budget that deals with the money the government expects to receive and spend within a year. It includes income from taxes and other regular sources.
  • Capital Budget: This is the part of the budget that deals with the government’s assets and liabilities. It includes big expenses like building infrastructure or buying equipment.
• Budget Parts:
  • Part A: This is the macroeconomic part of the budget where various schemes and priorities of the government are announced, and allocations are made to several sectors.
  • Part B: This part deals with the Finance Bill, which contains taxation proposals such as income tax revisions and indirect taxes. 
    • A Finance Bill is a Money Bill as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution.
    • The Speaker has the final authority to determine whether a bill is a Money Bill.

Constitutional Provisions Related to India's Union Budget

• Constitutional provision: As per Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget is a statement of the government's estimated receipts and expenditures. 
  • It is also known as the Annual Financial Statement of the Government; however, the term "budget" is not mentioned in the Constitution.
• Key Budget documents: Apart from Budget Speech, other major documents include:
  • Annual Financial Statement (Article 112)
  • Demands for Grants (Article 113)
  • Finance Bill (Article 110)
  • Fiscal Policy Statements mandated under the FRBM Act, 2003, including 
  • The Macro-Economic Framework Statement and 
  • The Medium-Term Fiscal Policy cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement.

Article 266      All revenue receipts generated by the Government of India shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.

Revenue raised through provident fund, Postal insurance, etc, shall be credited to the Public Account of India.

Article 267      A Contingency Fund of India has to be set up by the Parliament to meet unexpected or unforeseen expenditures.

 

Objectives of Union Budget

The Union Budget lies at the foundation of India's economic system and is extremely crucial for the economy's functioning. The Union Budget aims to achieve several key objectives:

• Economic growth: The budget aims to stimulate rapid and balanced economic growth in the country.
• Social Justice and Equality: It seeks to promote social justice and equality, ensuring benefits are distributed across all sections of society.
• Resource allocation: The budget ensures the effective allocation of resources to minimise unemployment and poverty.
• Fiscal stability: It aims to maintain fiscal stability by controlling prices, reducing wealth and income disparities, and reforming the tax system.

 

History and Evolution of Budget in India

• Pre-independence: The first-ever budget in India was presented on April 7, 1860, by Scottish economist James Wilson from the East India Company.
  • It was in this budget that ‘income tax’ was introduced for the first time.
• Post-independence: Independent India’s first budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by R K Shanmukham Chetty, the finance minister at the time.
  • The first budget was supposed to last for seven and a half months, following which the next budget was to be implemented from April 1, 1948. 
  • John Mathai, who became the finance minister after the resignation of Mr Chetty, presented the Union Budgets of 1949-50 and 1950-51. This was the first time a budget was prepared for a United India, including all princely states.
  • Until 2017, the Railway Budget of the country was separately introduced in the parliament. Currently, it has been merged with the Union Budget.

Process of Union Budget

• Announcement of Date: The government will announce the budget presentation day beforehand. It will also announce whether it will be a full-length budget or interim budget.
• The Halwa Ceremony: The Halwa ceremony marks the beginning of budget documents printing. It usually takes place five days before the presentation of the budget.
• Printing the Budget Document: The officials and staff of the Finance Ministry, involved in budget printing, will have to follow a lock-in period.
• During the lock-in period, they are not allowed to have contact with the outside world.
• Meeting the President: The finance minister has to take the President’s approval before presenting the budget in the Parliament.
• The Cabinet Meeting: A Union Cabinet meeting is held at 10a.m on the budget day. After getting the approval from the cabinet, the Finance Minister presents the Union Budget in Parliament of India.
• The Finance Minister’s Speech: The Union Finance Minister will give a speech in the Lok Sabha to provide the direction in which the government wishes to move in the coming financial year, the growth targets and the major thrust areas. 
  • The speech also contains a financial statement that gives estimated receipts and expenditures of the central government for the forthcoming fiscal year and a review of the current fiscal year.
• Discussion on the Budget: After the speech by the finance minister, a general discussion is held to discuss the budget document.
• Departmental Scrutiny: After general discussions, the departmental standing committee of the Parliament examines the demands for grants.
• Voting on Demand for Grants: Every member of Lok Sabha has to vote on each demand for grants. Voting is allowed on only demand for grants, and no voting is allowed on the expenditure charged on the consolidated fund of India. 
• Passing an Appropriation Bill: Since no money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India without an appropriation made by law, a bill in this regard is introduced to provide for the appropriation out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Passing of Finance Bill: Finally, a Finance Bill is introduced in the house to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India for the following year.

 

 Types of Budgets

Governments have three main types of budgets - balanced, surplus and deficit. A few other types of budgets exist, as explained below:

Type of Budget	Description
Balanced Budget	- A budget where the government’s expected revenue for the financial year equals its expended expenditure.
Deficit Budget	- A budget where the government’s expected spending exceeds expected revenue for the financial year. - The deficit is usually covered by borrowing or using a reserve surplus.
Surplus Budget	- A budget where the government’s predicted income or revenue exceeds planned expenditures. - It can be used to lower aggregate demand and reduce inflation.
Zero-Based Budget	- An approach to planning and preparing the budget from scratch, or 'zero bases’. - It is a systematic cost management process that considers the efficient allocation of income to fixed expenditures, variable expenses, and savings.
Gender Budget	- A process of examining the budget of a government or other organisation to assess the extent to which it promotes gender equality. - It is used to identify and track the allocation of resources for women, men, and gender-related issues.

Iconic Budgets

Over the years, budgets have been crucial in catalysing structural reforms and shaping India's economic progress. Some iconic budgets that significantly impacted India are:

• Black Budget (1973-74): Presented by Y B Chavan, it was called the ‘Black Budget’ due to a fiscal deficit of Rs 550 crore during a period of financial distress.
• Carrot & Stick Budget (1986): VP Singh’s budget was a step towards ending the licence raj in India.
  • It introduced the Modified Value Added Tax (MODVAT) to reduce tax cascading and launched a drive against economic offenders.
• Epochal Budget (1991): Manmohan Singh’s budget marked the beginning of economic liberalisation in India, reducing customs duty and promoting exports.
• Dream Budget (1997-98): P Chidambaram used the Laffer Curve principle to lower tax rates and increase collections.
  • It also introduced major tax reforms and simplified the excise duty structure.
• Millennium Budget (2000): Yashwant Sinha’s budget laid the roadmap for the growth of India’s IT industry by phasing out software export incentives and reducing customs duty on computer-related items.
• Rollback Budget (2002-03): Also presented by Yashwant Sinha, this budget is remembered for the withdrawal or rollback of several proposals.
• Once-in-a-Century Budget (2021): Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget aimed to revive the economy through infrastructure and healthcare investments, privatisation, and robust tax collections.

 

2024 – Interim Budget highlight

With the ‘mantra’ of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas’ and the whole of nation approach of “Sabka Prayas”, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament. The key highlights of the Budget are as follows: Part A

Social Justice

· Prime Minister to focus on upliftment of four major castes, that is, ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’(Farmer). ‘Garib Kalyan, Desh ka Kalyan’

· Government assisted 25 crore people out of multi-dimensional poverty in last 10 years.

· DBT of Rs. 34 lakh crore using PM-Jan Dhan accounts led to savings of Rs. 2.7 lakh crore for the Government.

· PM-SVANidhi provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors. 2.3 lakh have received credit for the third time.

· PM-JANMAN Yojana to aid the development of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG).

· PM-Vishwakarma Yojana provides end-to-end support to artisans and crafts people engaged in 18 trades.

 

Welfare of ‘Annadata’

 · PM-KISAN SAMMAN Yojana provided financial assistance to 11.8 crore farmers.

· Under PM Fasal BimaYojana, crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers

· Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) integrated 1361 mandis, providing services to 1.8 crore farmers with trading volume of Rs. 3 lakh crore.

 

Momentum for Nari Shakti

· 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans given to women entrepreneurs.

· Female enrolment in higher education gone up by 28%.

· In STEM courses, girls and women constitute 43% of enrolment, one of the highest in the world.

· Over 70% houses under PM Awas Yojana given to women from rural areas. PM Awas Yojana (Grameen) · Despite COVID challenges, the target of three crore houses under PM Awas Yojana (Grameen) will be achieved soon.

· Two crore more houses to be taken up in the next five years.

Rooftop solarization and muft bijli

· 1 crore households to obtain 300 units free electricity every month through rooftop solarization.

· Each household is expected to save Rs.15000 to Rs.18000 annually.

 

Ayushman Bharat

· Healthcare cover under Ayushman Bharat scheme to be extended to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers.

 

Agriculture and food processing

· Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. · Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and 60000 individuals with credit linkages.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. 

Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and sixty thousand individuals with credit linkages. Other schemes are complementing the efforts for reducing postharvest losses, and improving productivity and incomes. 

For ensuring faster growth of the sector, Government will further promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding, said Sitharaman.

 

Research and Innovation for catalyzing growth, employment and development

· A corpus of Rs.1 lakh crore to be established with fifty-year interest free loan to provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates.

· A new scheme to be launched for strengthening deep-tech technologies for defence purposes and expediting ‘atmanirbharta’.

 

Infrastructure

· Capital expenditure outlay for Infrastructure development and employment generation to be increased by 11.1 per cent to Rs.11,11,111 crore, that will be 3.4 per cent of the GDP.

 

Railways

· 3 major economic railway corridor programmes identified under the PM Gati Shakti to be implemented to improve logistics efficiency and reduce cost o Energy, mineral and cement corridors o Port connectivity corridors o High traffic density corridors

· Forty thousand normal rail bogies to be converted to Vande Bharat standards.

 

Aviation Sector

· Number of airports in the country doubled to 149.

 · Five hundred and seventeen new routes are carrying 1.3 crore passengers.

· Indian carriers have placed orders for over 1000 new aircrafts.

 

Green Energy

· Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT to be set up by 2030.

· Phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes to be mandated.

 

Tourism sector

· States to be encouraged to take up comprehensive development of iconic tourist centres including their branding and marketing at global scale.

· Framework for rating of the tourist centres based on quality of facilities and services to be established.

· Long-term interest free loans to be provided to States for financing such development on matching basis.

 

Investments

· FDI inflow during 2014-23 of USD 596 billion was twice of the inflow during 2005-14. Reforms in the States for ‘Viksit Bharat’

· A provision of Rs.75,000 crore rupees as fifty-year interest free loan is proposed to support milestone-linked reforms by the State Governments.

 

Revised Estimates (RE) 2023-24

· RE of the total receipts other than borrowings is Rs.27.56 lakh crore, of which the tax receipts are Rs.23.24 lakh crore.

· RE of the total expenditure is Rs.44.90 lakh crore.

· Revenue receipts at Rs.30.03 lakh crore are expected to be higher than the Budget Estimate, reflecting strong growth momentum and formalization in the economy.

· RE of the fiscal deficit is 5.8 per cent of GDP for 2023-24.

 

Budget Estimates 2024-25

· Total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at Rs.30.80 and Rs.47.66 lakh crore respectively.

· Tax receipts are estimated at Rs.26.02 lakh crore.

· Scheme of fifty-year interest free loan for capital expenditure to states to be continued this year with total outlay of Rs.1.3 lakh crore.

· Fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is estimated to be 5.1 per cent of GDP

· Gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs.14.13 and Rs.11.75 lakh crore respectively.

 

It has provisions for a huge capital expenditure of ?11.11 lakh crore while keeping the fiscal deficit under control. Macroeconomic takeaways from Interim Budget FY25 Fiscal Deficit target at 5.1% of GDP FY24 Fiscal Deficit seen at 5.8% of GDP Govt aims to reduce fiscal deficit to below 4.5% by FY26 FY25 Capex outlay at 3.4% of GDP FY25 Net market borrowing seen at ?11.75 lakh crore FY24 Gross Market Borrowing seen at ?14.1 lakh crore FY24 Total Expenditure Revised Estimates at ?44.90 lakh crore FY25 divestment target at ?50,000 crore FY24 divestment target cut to ?30,000 crore

 

Here’s a list of money allocated to specific ministries: Ministry of Defence: ?6.2 lakh crore Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: ?2.78 lakh crore Ministry of Railways: ?2.55 lakh crore Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution: ?2.13 lakh crore Ministry of Home Affairs: ?2.03 lakh crore Ministry of Rural Development: ?1.77 lakh crore Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers: ?1.68 lakh crore Ministry of Communications: ?1.37 lakh crore Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare: ?1.27 lakh crore

 

Towards meeting the commitment for ‘net-zero’ by 2070, the following measures will be taken: 

• Viability gap funding will be provided for harnessing offshore wind energy potential for initial capacity of one giga-watt. 
• Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT will be set up by 2030. This will also help in reducing imports of natural gas, methanol, and ammonia. 
• Phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes will be mandated. 
• Financial assistance will be provided for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collection

 

Here are key announcements made in the Budget speech by FM Nirmala Sitharman on infrastructure development.

- Infrastructure outlay increased by 11.1% to ?11.11 lakh crore

- 50-year interest-free loans to state governments extended for another year under Gati Shakti master plan

- Three major economic railway corridor programmes will be implemented. These are: (1) energy, mineral and cement corridors, (2) port connectivity corridors, and (3) high traffic density corridors. 

- 40,000 normal rail bogies will be converted to the Vande Bharat standards to enhance safety, convenience and comfort of passengers.

- NAMO trains and metro rail services will be added in more cities

 

The government will formulate a comprehensive programme for supporting dairy farmers.

Efforts are already on to control foot and mouth disease, said FM Sitharaman.

The programme will be built on the success of existing schemes such Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, and Infrastructure Development Funds for dairy processing and animal husbandry. 

Matsya Sampada 

• Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) will be stepped up to

(1) enhance aquaculture productivity from existing 3 to 5 tons per hectare

(2) double exports to ?1 lakh crore and 

(3) generate 55 lakh employment opportunities in the near future

Five integrated aquaparks will be setup

 

Social sector

Here are some of these announcements:

PM Awas Yojana (Grameen): 2 crore more houses will be taken up in the next five years to meet the requirement arising from increase in the number of families. 

Rooftop solarization and muft bijli: Through rooftop solarization, one crore households will be enabled to obtain up to 300 units free electricity every month.

Housing for middle class: Government will launch a scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class “living in rented houses, or slums, or chawls and unauthorized colonies" to buy or build their own houses.

Medical Colleges: Government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilizing the existing hospital infrastructure under various departments. A committee for this purpose will be set-up to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations. 

Cervical Cancer Vaccination: Government will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of 9 to 14 years for prevention of cervical cancer.

Maternal and child health care: Upgradation of anganwadi centres under “Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0" will be expedited for 14 improved nutrition delivery, early childhood care and development

Ayushman Bharat: Healthcare cover under Ayushman Bharat scheme will be extended to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers. 

 

Quick Highlight Here are highlights: FM Sitharaman said that the Government pulled 25 crore people out of poverty in ten years. She noted that government provided free food for 80 crore people through various schemes. Direct Benefit Transfers of Rs. 34 lakh crore through PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts has led to savings of ?2.7 lakh crore. The PM Vishwakarma Yojana scheme provides end-to-end support to artisans. The government provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors under the PM-SVANidhi scheme. 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans disbursed to women entrepreneurs. Upskilling and reskilling was a focus for the government, and over 1.4 crore youth were trained under the Skill India Mission. 43 crore loans sanctioned under PM Mudra Yojana. The Government will also expand the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme to empower rural women and boost the rural economy. The Government highlighted the role of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor can play in world trade. The Government will pay more attention to developing the East to fuel India’s growth. Inflation has moderated an is within the target band (2%-6%). Economic growth has picked up and the average real income of people increased by 50%. The Government will subsidise the construction of 30 million affordable houses in rural areas. The Centre will encourage cervical cancer vaccination and combine maternal and child health care schemes into one comprehensive programme. The Ayushman Bharat scheme will be expanded to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and helpers. Government to encourage ‘Nano DAP’ for various crops and to expand its use for all agro-climactic zones. It will also formulate policies to support dairy farmers and defeat the Foot and Mouth Disease. The government will formulate a strategy achieve AtmaNirbharta (self-reliance) for oilseeds. This will cover research for high-yielding varieties, procurement, value addition and crop insurance. A new department — Matsya Sampada — to be set up to address the needs of fishermen.  40,000 normal rail bogeys will be converted to Vande Bharat standards. Government to enhance safety, convenience and safety of passengers. Government to focus on metros in a bid to provide transit-oriented development The Government has announced several schemes to turn Net Zero by 2070. This includes providing funding to harness offshore wind energy generation for an initial capacity of 1 Giga Watt, procuring biomass aggregation machinery and expanding the e-vehicle sector by encouraging more manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Spends on capital expenditure have been increased to ?11.11 lakh crore for 2024-25. The Government will continue on path of fiscal consolidation to reduce fiscal deficit to 4.5% in 2025-26. The Government proposed to maintain the same tax rates for direct and indirect taxes, including import duties. The Government borrowings on a gross and net basis for 2024-25, at Rs. 14.13 lakh crore and Rs. 11.75 lakh crore, respectively, lower than 2023-24.

 

 

Part B

Direct taxes

• FM proposes to retain same tax rates for direct taxes
• Direct tax collection tripled, return filers increased to 2.4 times, in the last 10 years
• Government to improve tax payer services
• Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 25000 pertaining to the period upto FY 2009-10 withdrawn
• Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 10000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15 withdrawn
• This will benefit one crore tax payers
• Tax benefits to Start-Ups, investments made by Sovereign wealth funds or pension funds extended to 31.03.2025
• Tax exemption on certain income of IFSC units extended by a year to 31.03.2025 from 31.03.2024

 

Indirect taxes

• FM proposes to retain same tax rates for indirect taxes and import duties
• GST unified the highly fragmented indirect tax regime in India
• Average monthly gross GST collection doubled to Rs 1.66 lakh crore this year
• GST tax base has doubled
• State SGST revenue buoyancy (including compensation released to states)
• increased to 1.22 in post-GST period(2017-18 to 2022-23) from 0.72 in the preGST period (2012-13 to 2015-16)
• 94% of industry leaders view transition to GST as largely positive
• GST led to supply chain optimization
• GST reduced the compliance burden on trade and industry
• Lower logistics cost and taxes helped reduce prices of goods and services, benefiting the consumers

 

Tax rationalization efforts over the years

• No tax liability for income upto Rs 7 lakh, up from Rs 2.2 lakh in FY 2013-14
• Presumptive taxation threshold for retail businesses increased to Rs 3 crore from Rs 2 crore
• Presumptive taxation threshold for professionals increased to Rs 75 lakh from Rs 50 lakh
• Corporate income tax decreased to 22% from 30% for existing domestic companies
• Corporate income tax rate at 15% for new manufacturing companies

 

Achievements in tax-payer services

• Average processing time of tax returns has reduced to 10 days from 93 days in 2013-14
• Faceless Assessment and Appeal introduced for greater efficiency
• Updated income tax returns, new form 26AS and prefilled tax returns for simplified return filing
• Reforms in customs leading to reduced Import release time
• Reduction by 47% to 71 hours at Inland Container Depots
• Reduction by 28% to 44 hours at Air Cargo complexes
• Reduction by 27% to 85 hours at Sea Ports

 

Economy-then and now

• In 2014 there was a responsibility to mend the economy and put governance systems in order. The need of the hour was to:
• Attract investments
• Build support to the much-needed reforms
• Give hope to the people
• The government succeeded with a strong belief of ‘nation-first’
• “It is now appropriate to look at where we were till 2014 and where we are now”: FM
• The Government will lay a White Paper on the table of the house.