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New Delhi, Srinagar: The Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Interim Union Budget for 2024-2025 in Parliament Thursday announced that the capital expenditure outlay for the next year is being increased by 11.1 per cent to Rs 11,11,111 crore, which would be 3.4 percent of the GDP.
She said, this is in the wake of building on the massive tripling of the capital expenditure outlay in the past 4 years resulting in huge multiplier impact on economic growth and employment creation. As per the First Advance Estimates of National Income of FY 2023-24, presented along with the Finance Minister’s speech, India’s Real GDP is projected to grow at 7.3 per cent. This is also in line with the upward revision in growth projections for FY2023-24 by the RBI (in its December 2023 Monetary Policy Committee meeting) from 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent, prompted by strong growth in Q2 of FY2023-24.
She said that Indian economy has demonstrated resilience and maintained healthy macro-economic fundamentals, despite global economic challenges. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook (WEO), October 2023, has revised its growth projection for India for FY2023-24 upwards to 6.3 per cent from 6.1 per cent projected in July 2023, the finance Minister said.
“This reflects increasing global confidence in India’s economic prowess at a time when global growth projection for 2023 remains unchanged at 3 per cent.
As per the IMF, India is likely to become the third-largest economy in 2027 (in USD at market exchange rate) and it also estimated that India’s contribution to global growth will rise by 200 basis points in 5 years. Moreover, various international agencies such as the World Bank, the IMF, OECD and ADB project India to grow between 6.4 per cent, 6.3 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively in 2024-25.
The Finance Minister stated that strong growth in economic activity has imparted buoyancy to revenue collections and pointed out that GST collection stood at ₹1.65 lakh crore in December 2023.This is the seventh-time that gross GST revenues have crossed ₹1.6 lakh crore benchmark.
She said, coming to 2024-25, the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at Rs 30.80 and 47.66 lakh crore respectively.
The tax receipts are estimated at Rs 26.02 lakh crore. In a major announcement, the Finance Minister said, the scheme of fifty-year interest free loan for capital expenditure to states will be continued this year with total outlay of Rs1.3 lakh crore.
A provision of seventy-five thousand crore rupees as fifty-year interest free loan is proposed this year to support the milestone-linked reforms of Viksit Bharat by the State Governments.
Referring to the fiscal consolidation, as announced in her Budget Speech for 2021-22, to reduce fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26, Sitharaman said, the fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is estimated to be 5.1 per cent of GDP, adhering to that path.
Similarly, the gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs 14.13 and 11.75 lakh crore respectively and both will be less than that in 2023-24.
Pointing out at some of the bright spots of the economy, the Finance Minister informed that the Revised Estimate of the total receipts other than borrowings is Rs 27.56 lakh crore, of which the tax receipts are Rs 23.24 lakh crore. The Revised Estimate of the total expenditure is Rs 44.90 lakh crore.
“The 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,” she added.
Sitharaman also stated that the gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs14.13 and 11.75 lakh crore respectiely and both will be less than that in 2023-24.
She announced that the FDI inflow during 2014-23 was USD 596 billion marking a golden era and this is twice the inflow during 2005-14.
For encouraging sustained foreign investment, we are negotiating bilateral investment treaties with our foreign partners, in the spirit of ‘first develop India’, the Finance Minister added
Nirmala Sithraman said, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi firmly believes and focused on four major castes. They are, ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’(Farmer). She said, their needs, their aspirations, and their welfare are government’s
goal, we need to improve people’s capability and empower them”.
The Finance Minister informed that with the pursuit of ‘SabkakaSaath’ in these 10 years, the Government has assisted 25 crore people to get freedom from multi-dimensional poverty and the Government’s efforts are now getting synergized with energy and passion of such empowered people.
She informed that PM Mudra Yojana has sanctioned 43 crore loans aggregating to Rs 22.5 lakh crore for entrepreneurial aspirations. It may be mentioned that thirty crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs.
In her Budget speech, Ms. Sitharaman highlighted the Centre’s various programmes for women, youth and poor. She noted that the Indian economy has seen a “profound” transformation, and that the Government carried out structural reforms.
She said the government’s focus was on four major ‘castes’ — women, youth, poor and farmers. “The country progresses, when they progress,” she said.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25 in Parliament on Thursday said that the empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, ease of living, and dignity for them has gained momentum in these ten years.
She said that thirty crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs. Female enrolment in higher education has gone up by twenty-eight per cent in ten years.
In STEM courses, girls and women constitute forty-three per cent of enrolment – one of the highest in the world. All these measures are getting reflected in the increasing participation of women in the workforce.
The Finance Minister further stated that making ‘Triple Talaq’ illegal, reservation of one-third seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State legislative assemblies, and giving over seventy per cent houses under PM Awas Yojana in rural areas to women as sole or joint owners have enhanced their dignity.
The Finance Minister said that our Prime Minister firmly believes, we need to focus on four major castes. “They are, ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’(Farmer). Their needs, their aspirations, and their welfare are our highest priority”. The country progresses, when they progress, she said. All four require and receive government support in their quest to better their lives. She highlighted that their empowerment and well-being will drive the country forward.
She said that Government stands committed to strengthening and expanding the economy with high growth and to create conditions for people to realize their aspirations.
“Hon’ble Prime Minister in his Independence Day address to the nation, in the 75th year of our Republic said; we “commit ourselves to national development, with new inspirations, new consciousness, new resolutions, as the country opens up immense possibilities and opportunities. It is our ‘Kartavya Kaal’,” Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2024 speech.
