Economic Transformation:
- GDP growth: The government highlighted India’s journey from a “fragile” economy to the world’s fastest-growing major economy, boasting a decade of 7.4% average annual growth.
- Poverty reduction: 7.5 crore people lifted out of poverty in the past five years, translating to a 13.8% decline in poverty ratio.
- Real income growth: Real income of bottom 50% of the population grew by 14.5% in the last five years.
Focus on Key Sectors:
- Investment: Capital expenditure outlay for infrastructure development increased by 11.1% to ₹11.11 lakh crore.
- Education: Allocation for PM SHRI schools increased by 33% to ₹2,731 crore.
- Agriculture: Scheme to support agricultural value addition and marketing with an outlay of ₹1 lakh crore.
- Clean Energy: Viability gap funding of ₹4,000 crore announced for harnessing offshore wind energy.
- Research & Innovation: New corpus of ₹1 lakh crore to be established for long-term financing.
Social Welfare & Empowerment:
- PM Jan Dhan Yojana: Over 48 crore bank accounts opened under the financial inclusion scheme.
- PM Kisan Samman Yojana: Over 12 crore farmers benefitted from income support scheme.
- PM Mudra Yojana: Over 36 crore loans sanctioned to micro, small & medium enterprises, with 73% going to women.
Fiscal Consolidation:
- Fiscal deficit: Projected to be 5.1% of GDP in 2024-25, adhering to the target of reaching below 4.5% by 2025-26.
- Tax receipts: Estimated at ₹26.02 lakh crore, with no changes in income tax slabs for individuals and corporates.
Indirect Taxes:
- GST:
- Tax base doubled: This represents significant growth and coverage.
- Average monthly gross GST collection: ₹1.66 lakh crore, almost doubling since implementation.
- States’ SGST revenue growth: 1.22 in post-GST period, compared to 0.72 pre-GST.
- Customs:
- Import release time: Reduced by 47% at inland container depots, 28% at air cargo complexes, and 27% at seaports in the last four years.
Tax Proposals:
- No changes to direct or indirect tax rates, including import duties.
- Extension of tax benefits: For startups, sovereign wealth/pension fund investments, and certain IFSC units until March 31, 2025.
- Withdrawal of petty tax demands:
- Up to ₹25,000 for pre-2010-10 financial years.
- Up to ₹10,000 for 2010-11 to 2014-15 financial years.
- Benefits around 1 crore taxpayers.
Economy:
- Comparison to 2014: White Paper to be tabled highlighting improvements in governance, development, performance, delivery, and public welfare.
Key Highlights:
- Focus on inclusive development and growth: The government emphasized its commitment to uplifting all sections of society and ensuring everyone benefits from economic progress. Schemes like PM Jan Dhan Yojana, PM Kisan Samman Yojana, and PM Mudra Yojana were highlighted.
- Empowering youth and women: Initiatives like Skill India Mission, PM SHRI schools, and Mudra loans for women entrepreneurs were mentioned as key steps towards empowering these groups.
- Strong economic performance: The government highlighted achievements in reducing poverty, increasing real income, and maintaining macroeconomic stability.
- Focus on infrastructure and development: Increased investment in infrastructure, expansion of railways, development of ports and airports, and clean energy initiatives were announced.
- Fiscal consolidation: The government reiterated its commitment to reducing the fiscal deficit and ensuring responsible borrowing.
- Key announcements:
- New corpus of ₹1 lakh crore for long-term financing of research and innovation.
- Scheme to support deep-tech technologies for defence.
- Increased capital expenditure outlay for infrastructure development.
- Viability gap funding for harnessing offshore wind energy.
- New scheme for bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry.
- Interest-free loans for states to support reforms and develop tourist centres.
- High-powered committee to study challenges arising from population growth.
Overall, the budget speech focused on showcasing the government’s achievements in the past ten years and outlining its vision for the next five years, with a strong emphasis on inclusive growth, infrastructure development, and fiscal consolidation