Balanced Budget, writes N Kar Purkayastha

//N Kar Purkayastha//

Interim Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 was tabled in the Parliament by Honourable Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier today. This is the sixth budget presented by the current FM for the honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s second term.The full budget will be presented in July this year after the new government is formed post the Lok Sabha Elections.

Key Interim Budget Announcement:
1. New solar power schemes
2. PM Awas Yojana Grameen
3. Ayushmaan Bharat to cover all worker under ASHA and Anganwadi scheme.
4. Government to launch a scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class living in rented houses or slums or chawls and unathorised colonies to buy or build their own houses
5. Corpus of 1 lakh crore to be established with 50 year interest free loans for sunrise domains.
6. Railway corridor-port connectivity under DFC – More than 2 corridors to be set up. Also, 3 more rail corridors for Energy, cement and mineral to be added, apart from DFC.
7. 40,000 rail bogies to be converted to Vande bharat standards.
8. The capex target of FY25 has been set at Rs 11.1 lakh crore, up by 11.1%. FY25 capex outlay at 3.4% of GDP.
9. Govt plans to set up more medical colleges by using existing hospital infrastructure and a committee for this will be set up to examine and make necessary recommendation.
10. Tourist centre developement – states to be encouraged to take up development of tourist centres- long term interest free loans to provided for states
11. More metro trains & Namo Bharat trains to be expanded to more cities.
12. Revised estimate of fiscal deficit is 5.8% of GDP. FY25 BUDGET-DEFICIT TARGET AT 5.1% OF GDP

The FM announced that over the last 10 years, tax collections have more than doubled she didn’t propose any change in tax rates in direct and indirect taxes including import duties except corporate tax rate was decreased from 30 per cent to 22 per cent for existing domestic companies and to 15 per cent for certain new manufacturing companies.
It is a balanced budget from the point of view of thrust on economic development especially for poor, women, youth and farmers .

( Writter N Kar Purkayastha is renowned Cost Accountant of this region)