Reviewing Budget 2024: Focus on Agriculture, Jobs and Infrastructure for Growth

New Delhi: The Union Budget for 2024-25, presented last year, outlined a comprehensive roadmap for India’s pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’. With a focus on transformative reforms across agriculture, employment, social justice, manufacturing, urban development, energy, infrastructure, and research, the budget aimed to address critical areas of national importance.

This review highlights the major initiatives and strategies introduced in the budget and evaluates their implications for India’s economic growth and development.

As the nation gears up for the upcoming FY 2025-26 budget, it will be interesting to see how the government builds on last year’s policies and introduces fresh measures to address evolving challenges and opportunities.

However, It should be noted that last year’s budget focused on four major demographic groups: women (Mahilayen), the poor (Garib), youth (Yuva), and farmers (Annadata). It introduced initiatives to boost employment, skilling, and entrepreneurship while laying the groundwork for agricultural resilience, industrial growth, and enhanced infrastructure.

Transforming Agriculture and Rural Economy

Natural Farming: The government planned to initiate 1 crore farmers into natural farming, supported by certification and branding over two years. Additionally, 10,000 bio-input resource centres were to be established.
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): A digital crop survey was to cover 400 districts, alongside the issuance of Kisan Credit Cards through the Jan Samarth platform within three years.
Vegetable Supply Chains: Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and startups were promoted for collection, storage, and marketing of vegetables. High-yielding, climate-resilient crop varieties were also introduced.
Shrimp Export: NABARD was tasked with facilitating financing for shrimp farming and export.

Employment and Skilling Programs

Employment schemes were tailored to benefit specific groups:

Wage Support for First-Time Employees: Up to Rs 15,000 for new entrants in formal sectors, benefiting over 2.1 crore youth.
EPFO Contributions Reimbursement: Employers received reimbursements of up to Rs 3,000 per new hire for two years, targeting 50 lakh jobs.
Skilling Initiatives: Twenty lakh youth were to be skilled over five years, with 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes upgraded to align course content with industry needs.
Internship Opportunities: A new scheme aimed to connect 1 crore youth with top companies over five years, offering monthly allowances of Rs 5,000.

Social Justice and Inclusive Development

The government’s commitment to uplifting marginalized communities includes:

Tribal Development: The Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan aimed to improve socio-economic conditions in 63,000 villages, benefitting 5 crore tribal individuals.
Eastern India Development: Initiatives under the Purvodaya scheme focused on industrial growth and job creation in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
Empowering Women: Over Rs 3 lakh crore was allocated for schemes benefiting women and girls.

Boosting Manufacturing and MSMEs

Critical Minerals Mission: Aimed at domestic production, recycling, and overseas acquisition of critical minerals.
MSME Credit Support: Enhanced credit guarantee schemes, mandatory onboarding in the TReDS system, and increased Mudra Loan limits (from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh under the ‘Tarun’ category).
Affordable Housing: PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0 aimed to address the housing needs of 1 crore families with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore.

Urban Development and Energy Security

Smart Cities and Housing: Transit-oriented development plans for 14 major cities and a push for transparent rental housing markets.
Energy Transition: Initiatives included Bharat Small Modular Reactors for nuclear energy, an energy audit for 60 clusters, and a commercial 800 MW pumped storage plant by NTPC and BHEL.

Research, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Anusandhan National Research Fund: A financing pool of Rs 1 lakh crore for private sector-driven innovation.
Tourism Initiatives: Develop Nalanda and Rajgir as cultural and religious hubs, alongside Odisha’s promotion as a premier tourist destination.
Space Economy: A venture capital fund of Rs 1,000 crore to support India’s growing space sector.

Fiscal and Tax Reforms

Direct Tax Simplification: The new tax regime offered enhanced exemptions for salaried employees, pensioners, and capital gains. The standard deduction for salaried employees increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.
Customs Duty Revisions: Reductions included mobile phone PCBA to 15% and shrimp feed to 5%, with exemptions for critical minerals and capital goods for solar manufacturing.
Affordable Healthcare: Exemptions on customs duties for cancer medicines and medical devices.

Expenditure and Revenue Outlook

The total expenditure for 2024-25 was pegged at Rs 37.1 lakh crore, with effective capital expenditure at Rs 15 lakh crore. Defence, infrastructure, and welfare programs constituted significant allocations:

Defence: Rs 4.54 lakh crore.
Rural Development: Rs 2.65 lakh crore.
Agriculture: Rs 1.51 lakh crore.
Home Affairs: Rs 1.50 lakh crore
Education and IT: Rs 1.25 lakh crore and Rs 1.16 lakh crore, respectively.

Revenue was expected to grow through a mix of direct taxes, GST, and borrowing, with a continued focus on reducing the fiscal deficit.

It was also stated that India’s real GDP grew by 8.2% in FY 2024, with inflation and fiscal deficit showing a downward trend. Gross NPAs of scheduled commercial banks also declined significantly, bolstering financial stability.

However, as per the central government with forward-looking policies and substantial allocations, the 2024-25 Budget set the stage for a stronger, more inclusive India. From agriculture and manufacturing to energy and social justice, it provided a comprehensive framework to achieve economic resilience and national prosperity.