Ministry of Finance
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE UNION BUDGET 2024-25
Posted On: 23 JUL 2024 1:17PM by PIB Delhi
The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament today. The highlights of the budget are as follows:
Part-A
Budget Estimates 2024-25:
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Total receipts other than borrowings: Rs.32.07 lakh crore. Total expenditure: Rs.48.21 lakh crore.
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Net tax receipt: Rs.25.83 lakh crore.
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Fiscal deficit: 4.9 per cent of GDP.
• Government aims to reach a deficit below 4.5 per cent next year.
• Inflation continues to be low, stable and moving towards the 4% target; Core inflation (non-food, non- fuel) at 3.1%.
• The focus of budget is on EMPLOYMENT, SKILLING, MSMEs, and the MIDDLE CLASS. Package of PM’s five schemes for Employment and Skilling
• Prime Minister’s Package of 5 Schemes and Initiatives for employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period.
Scheme A - First Timers: One-month salary of up to Rs.15,000 to be provided in 3 installments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO.
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Scheme B - Job Creation in manufacturing: Incentive to be provided at specified scale directly, both employee and employer, with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first 4 years of employment.
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Scheme C - Support to employers: Government to reimburse up to Rs.3,000 per month for 2 years towards EPFO contribution of employers, for each additional employee.
- New centrally sponsored scheme for Skilling
- 20 lakh youth to be skilled over a 5-year period.
- 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes to be upgraded in hub and spoke arrangements.
- New Scheme for Internship in 500 Top Companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years
Nine Budget Priorities in pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’:
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Productivity and resilience in Agriculture
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Employment & Skilling
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Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice
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Manufacturing & Services
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Urban Development
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Energy Security
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Infrastructure
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Innovation, Research & Development and
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Next Generation Reforms
Priority 1: Productivity and resilience in Agriculture
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Allocation of Rs.1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors.
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New 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops to be released for cultivation by farmers.
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1 crore farmers across the country to be initiated into natural farming, with certification and branding in next 2 years.
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10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres to be established for natural farming.
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Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture to be implemented for coverage of farmers and their lands in 3 years.
Priority 2: Employment & Skilling
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As part of the Prime Minister’s package, 3 schemes for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’ to be implemented - Scheme A - First Timers; Scheme B - Job Creation in manufacturing; Scheme C - Support to employers.
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To facilitate higher participation of women in the workforce,
- working women hostels and crèches to be established with industrial collaboration
- women-specific skilling programmes to be organized
- market access for women SHG enterprises to be promoted
Skill Development
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New centrally sponsored scheme for Skilling under Prime Minister’s Package for 20 lakh youth over a 5-year period.
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Model Skill Loan Scheme to be revised to facilitate loans up to Rs.7.5 lakh.
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Financial support for loans upto Rs.10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions to be provided to youth who have not been eligible for any benefit under government schemes and policies.
Priority 3: Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice
Purvodaya
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Industrial node at Gaya to be developed along the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor.
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Power projects, including new 2400 MW power plant at Pirpainti, to be taken up at a cost of Rs.21,400 crore.
Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act
Special financial support through multilateral development agencies of Rs.15,000 crore in the current financial year.
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Industrial node at Kopparthy along Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and at Orvakal along Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
Women-led development
Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan
Bank branches in North-Eastern Region
Priority 4: Manufacturing & Services
Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs in the Manufacturing Sector
Credit Support to MSMEs during Stress Period
Mudra Loans
Enhanced scope for mandatory onboarding in TReDS
MSME Units for Food Irradiation, Quality & Safety Testing
E-Commerce Export Hubs
Critical Mineral Mission
Offshore mining of minerals
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Applications
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Development of DPI applications in the areas of credit, e-commerce, education, health, law and justice, logistics, MSME, services delivery, and urban governance.
Priority 5: Urban Development
Transit Oriented Development
Urban Housing
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Investment of Rs.10 lakh crore, including the central assistance of Rs.2.2 lakh crore in next 5 years, under PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0 proposed to address the , housing needs of 1 crore urban poor and middle- class families.
Street Markets
Priority 6: Energy Security
Energy Transition
Pumped Storage Policy
Research and development of small and modular nuclear reactors
Advanced Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plants
Roadmap for ‘hard to abate’ industries
Priority 7: Infrastructure
Infrastructure investment by Central Government
Infrastructure investment by state governments
Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY)
Irrigation and Flood Mitigation
Financial support of Rs.11,500 crore to projects such as the Kosi-Mechi intra-state link and other schemes in Bihar.
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Government to provide assistance to Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim for floods, landslides and other related projects.
Tourism
Comprehensive development of Vishnupad Temple Corridor, Mahabodhi Temple Corridor and Rajgir.
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Assistance for development of temples, monuments, craftsmanship, wildlife sanctuaries, natural landscapes and pristine beaches of Odisha.
Priority 8: Innovation, Research & Development
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Anusandhan National Research Fund for basic research and prototype development to be operationalised.
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Financing pool of Rs.1 lakh crore for spurring private sector-driven research and innovation at commercial scale.
Space Economy
Priority 9: Next Generation Reforms
Rural Land Related Actions
Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar for all lands
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Digitization of cadastral maps
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Survey of map sub-divisions as per current ownership
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Establishment of land registry
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Linking to the farmers registry
Urban Land Related Actions
Services to Labour
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Integration of e-shram portal with other portals to facilitate such one-stop solution.
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Open architecture databases for the rapidly changing labour market, skill requirements and available job roles.
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Mechanism to connect job-aspirants with potential employers and skill providers.
NPS Vatsalya
PART B
Indirect Taxes
GST
Sector specific customs duty proposals
Medicines and Medical Equipment
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Three cancer drugs namely TrastuzumabDeruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab fully exempted from custom duty.
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Changes in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on x-ray tubes & flat panel detectors for use in medical x- ray machines under the Phased Manufacturing Programme.
Mobile Phone and Related Parts
Precious Metals
Other Metals
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BCD removed on ferro nickel and blister copper.
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BCD removed on ferrous scrap and nickel cathode.
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Concessional BCD of 2.5 per cent on copper scrap.
Electronics
Chemicals and Petrochemicals
Plastics
Telecommunication Equipment
- BCD increased from 10 to 15 per cent on PCBA of specified telecom equipment.
Trade facilitation
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For promotion of domestic aviation and boat & ship MRO, time period for export of goods imported for repairs extended from six months to one year.
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Time-limit for re-import of goods for repairs under warranty extended from three to five years.
Critical Minerals
Solar Energy
Marine products
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BCD on certain broodstock, polychaete worms, shrimp and fish feed reduced to 5 per cent.
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Various inputs for manufacture of shrimp and fish feed exempted from customs duty.
Leather and Textile
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BCD reduced on real down filling material from duck or goose.
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BCD reduced, subject to conditions, on methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) for manufacture of spandex yarn from 7.5 to 5 per cent.
Direct Taxes
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Efforts to simplify taxes, improve tax payer services, provide tax certainty and reduce litigation to be continued.
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Enhance revenues for funding development and welfare schemes of government.
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58 per cent of corporate tax from simplified tax regime in FY23, more than two-thirds taxpayers availed simplified tax regime for personal income tax in FY 24.
Simplification for Charities and of TDS
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Two tax exemption regimes for charities to be merged into one.
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5 per cent TDS rate on many payments merged into 2 per cent TDS rate.
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20 per cent TDS rate on repurchase of units by mutual funds or UTI withdrawn.
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TDS rate on e-commerce operators reduced from one to 0.1 per cent.
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Delay for payment of TDS up to due date of filing statement decriminalized.
Simplification of Reassessment
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Assessment can be reopened beyond three years upto five years from the end of Assessment Year only if the escaped income is Rs. 50 lakh or more.
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In search cases, time limit reduced from ten to six years before the year of search.
Simplification and Rationalisation of Capital Gains
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Short term gains on certain financial assets to attract a tax rate of 20 per cent.
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Long term gains on all financial and non-financial assets to attract a tax rate of 12.5 per cent.
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Exemption limit of capital gains on certain financial assets increased to Rs. 1.25 lakh per year.
Tax Payer Services
Litigation and Appeals
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‘Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024’ for resolution of income tax disputes pending in appeal.
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Monetary limits for filing direct taxes, excise and service tax related appeals in Tax Tribunals, High Courts and Supreme Court increased to Rs. 60 lakh, Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 5 crore respectively.
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Safe harbour rules expanded to reduce litigation and provide certainty in international taxation.
Employment and Investment
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Angel tax for all classes of investors abolished to bolster start-up eco-system,.
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Simpler tax regime for foreign shipping companies operating domestic cruises to promote cruise tourism in India.
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Safe harbour rates for foreign mining companies selling raw diamonds in the country.
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Corporate tax rate on foreign companies reduced from 40 to 35 per cent.
Deepening tax base
Social Security Benefits.
Other major proposal in Finance Bill
Changes in Personal Income Tax under new tax regime
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Standard deduction for salaried employees increased from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 75,000.
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Deduction on family pension for pensioners enhanced from Rs. 15,000/- to Rs. 25,000/-
- Revised tax rate structure:
0-3 lakh rupees |
Nil |
3-7 lakh rupees |
5 per cent |
7-10 lakh rupees |
10 per cent |
10-12 lakh rupees |
15 per cent |
12-15 lakh rupees |
20 per cent |
Above 15 lakh rupees |
30 per cent |
- Salaried employee in the new tax regime stands to save up to Rs. 17,500/- in income tax.
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