Union Budget 2024 : Nirmala Sitharaman Shares Important Plans in the Interim Budget

Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman Shares Important Plans in the Interim Budget

Today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament. It was a temporary budget because it happened right before the Lok Sabha Elections. There weren't any adjustments made to the tax rates in both the old and new systems. Prime Minister Narendra Modi liked how Nirmala Sitharaman presented a fair budget.

Nirmala Sitharaman just shared her sixth Union Budget. The complete budget with all the details will be presented by the new government after the elections.

The interim budget, a temporary financial plan, is asking Parliament for approval to receive funds in advance. This is to cover the government's necessary expenses for the first four months of the new financial year.

The Parliament's Budget Session started yesterday, and President Droupadi Murmu spoke at the joint meeting of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. The session will end on February 9.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman kept the tax structure unchanged, providing relief to taxpayers.

Nirmala Sitharaman also suggested a plan that lets people purchase or construct their own homes, offers free electricity through a new rooftop solar program and provides expanded medical coverage for certain government employees.

Nirmala Sitharaman also revealed intentions to boost milk and dairy production in the country. Although India is the biggest milk producer globally, Sitharaman noted there's room for productivity improvement. The finance minister also mentioned the development of a strategy for self-reliance in oilseed production. She emphasized increasing farmers' income by enhancing value addition in the agriculture sector.

Following tradition, I don't suggest altering any taxation aspects and suggest keeping the existing tax rates for both direct and indirect taxes, including import duties. However, specific tax advantages for startups and investments from sovereign wealth or pension funds, along with tax exemptions for certain income from some IFSC units, are set to end on March 31, 2024. To ensure continuity, I suggest extending the deadline to March 31, 2025," she explained.

Budget 2024: Here are six important points to remember

Nirmala Sitharaman adhered to careful financial management, showing a fiscal deficit of 5.8 percent (of GDP) for the fiscal year 2024, and she expects it to be around 5.1 percent next year, which is less than what was predicted.

There aren't any special benefits or significant financial aid for rural areas, but she declared the construction of an additional 2 crore houses for the rural poor in the next five years as part of the ongoing PM Awas Yojana (Grameen). Sitharaman mentioned that the government is nearing the goal of constructing 3 crore affordable houses.

The country's capital spending for 2024-25 has been raised 11% to ₹11.11 lakh crore, or 3.4 percent of Gross domestic product.

There have been no alterations to the rates of direct or indirect taxes. The tax structure remains the same.

The government is creating a fund of ₹1 lakh crore using a 50-year interest-free loan. This money will be used to support long-term financing and refinance initiatives in research and development for emerging sectors.