Budget 2024 presented giving mild relief to middle class employees

• No tax for annual income up to Rs 3 lakh
• ‘Standard deduction’ from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000
• Gold, tourism, cancer drugs cheaper

New Delhi – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh straight Budget on 23rd July for the fiscal 2024-25, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. For the middle class, she raised standard deduction. A flat deduction from total salary earned by an employee in a year before calculating applicable income tax rate by 50% to Rs 75,000 and tweaked tax slabs for taxpayers opting for the new income tax regime. This will lead to taxpayers under the new tax regime, which offers lower rates of taxes but permits limited deductions and exemptions, saving up to Rs 17,500 in tax annually, she said.

#Budget2024 : Little relief to #middleclass employees

• No Tax for Income Upto Rs 3 Lakhs

• Standard deduction for salaried employees increased to Rs 75,000

• Gold, Cancer drugs and mobiles to become cheaper

• Temple corridor projects announced for Mahabodhi and Vishnupad… pic.twitter.com/y1I1761UlM

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) July 23, 2024

Nine priorities for the Government

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the budget said that, the people have given a unique opportunity to our Government to take the country on the path of strong development and all-round prosperity. In the interim budget, we promised to present a detailed roadmap for our pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’. In line with the strategy set out in the interim budget, this budget envisages sustained efforts on the following nine priorities for generating ample opportunities for all.

1) Productivity and resilience in Agriculture

2) Employment & Skilling

3) Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice

4) Manufacturing & Services

5) Urban Development

6) Energy Security

7) Infrastructure

8) Innovation, Research & Development and

9) Next Generation Reforms

New Tax System as per the annual income

Rs 0 to 3 lakh – No tax

Rs 3 to 7 lakh – 5%

Rs 7 to 10 lakh – 10%

Rs 10 to 12 lakh – 15%

Rs 12 to 15 lakh – 20%

Above Rs 15 lakh – 30% tax

What has become cheaper ?

Gold bar and dore

Silver bar and dore

Platinum, Palladium, Osmium, Ruthenium, and Iridium

Coins of precious metals

Platinum and Palladium used in the manufacture of noble metal solutions, noble metal compounds, and catalytic converters

Cancer Drugs: Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, Durvalumab

Medical Equipment: All types of polyethylene for use in the manufacture of orthopedic implants

X-ray tubes for use in the manufacture of X-ray machines for medical, surgical, dental, or veterinary use

Imported mobile phones

Charger/Adapter of cellular mobile

Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) of mobile phone

What has become expensive ?

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flex films (also known as PVC flex banners or PVC flex sheets)

Garden umbrellas

Laboratory chemicals Solar glass for the manufacture of solar cells or solar modules

Tinned copper interconnect for the manufacture of solar cells or solar modules

For Bihar, where assembly elections are due next year, the finance minister announced spending of Rs 60,000 crore on infrastructure projects like expressways, power plant, heritage corridors and new airports.

Corridor to be constructed for Mahabodhi and Vishnupad Temples in Gaya (Bihar)

It was announced to construct a corridor for Mahabodhi Temple and Vishnupad Temple in Gaya, Bihar. This route will be constructed on the lines of the paved route constructed at Kashi Vishwanath Dham. Along with this, Buddhist and Jain pilgrimage sites in Rajgir will also be developed. Development will also be done there to make Nalanda famous as a ‘Tourism Centre’.

4 crore employment opportunities

Besides Rs 2 lakh crore provided over a five year period for schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth, “I have made a provision of Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment and skilling,” she said. Skill development of 20 lakh youth will be done in a period of 5 years. A total of 1,000 industrial training institutes are to be upgraded.

Internship for one crore youth

A scheme will be launched to provide internship opportunities to 1 Crore youth in top 500 institutions of the country. In this, an internship allowance of Rs 5,000 per month and a lump sum of Rs 6,000 will be given.

Gold, silver and platinum will become cheaper

The Finance Minister announced a 6% cut in customs duty on Gold and Silver in the budget. Also, the customs duty on platinum will also be reduced by 6.4%. Due to this, its rates will be lower. Sitharaman has announced a reduction in production costs on steel and copper.

Special scheme for the states of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh

The states in the Eastern part of the country are rich in endowments and have strong cultural traditions. We will formulate a plan, Purvodaya, for the all-round development of the eastern region of the country covering Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. This will cover human resource development, infrastructure, and generation of economic opportunities to make the region an engine to attain Viksit Bharat.

We will also support development of road connectivity projects, namely (1) Patna-Purnea Expressway, (2) Buxar-Bhagalpur Expressway, (3) Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga spurs, and (4) additional 2-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore. Power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 MW power plant at Pirpainti, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21,400 crore. New airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed.

Key features of the budget

This scheme will provide one-month wage to all individuals newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors. The direct benefit transfer of one-month salary in three instalments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO, will be up to Rs 15,000. The eligibility limit will be a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month. The scheme is expected to benefit 210 lakh youth.

Students who are not getting any benefit under the Government scheme will get admission loan in institutes across the country. The Government will pay 3% of the loan amount. For this, E-vouchers will be introduced, which will be given to one lakh students per year.

Information of six crore farmers will be brought to Land Registry. New ‘Kisan Credit Cards’ will be issued in five states.

Mudra loan amount for youth has been increased from Rs10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

Provision of Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls.

In line with the announcement in the interim budget, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana has been launched to install rooftop solar plants to enable 1 crore households obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month.

More than 100 branches of ‘India Post Payment Bank’ will be opened in North-East region.