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New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the first general budget of the third term of the NDA government. In the budget, the government has made many announcements for the poor and middle class families. Let’s know what the common man and the middle class got in the budget.
Cancer medicines will be cheaper
Giving relief to the common people, the government has completely exempted three cancer medicines – trastuzumabdarextecan, osimertinib and durvalumab from customs duty. This will make these medicines available to the general public at a cheaper rate.
Mobile phones will be cheaper
The government has reduced the customs duty on mobile phones, mobile circuit board assembly and mobile chargers to 15 percent. This will make mobile phones and mobile chargers cheaper.
Gold and silver jewelry will be cheaper
Good news was given to the common people on gold and silver in the budget. The Finance Minister reduced the customs duty on gold and silver to 6 percent, which was earlier 15 percent. With this announcement of the government, the price of 24 carat gold contract of August 5, 2024 on MCX fell by 5.33 percent to Rs 68,840. At the same time, the price of silver contract of September 5, 2024 fell by 4.62 percent to Rs 85,079 per kg.
Salaried people will get relief from the new tax regime
The common man has also been given relief on the tax front in the budget. In the new tax regime, 5 percent tax has been made on income from 3 to 7 lakhs. At the same time, the standard deduction has been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.
Subsidy will be available on buying a house
The government on Tuesday announced central assistance of Rs 2.2 lakh crore over the next five years to meet the housing needs of one crore urban poor and middle class families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and proposed interest subsidy to provide loans at affordable rates. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech, “The housing needs of one crore urban poor and middle class families will be met with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore under PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0. He said, “This will also include central assistance of Rs 2.2 lakh crore over the next five years.” The minister said that the government is also planning to provide interest subsidy to provide loans at affordable rates.
This scheme will be started for the poor of 5 states
Important announcements have been made in the budget regarding Jharkhand and tribal population. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the launch of a scheme called ‘Purvodaya’ in the budget speech, under which apart from Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have been included. The aim of this scheme is to create human resource development, infrastructure and economic opportunities to accelerate all-round development in these five states, so that this region plays a leading role in achieving the goal of developed India.
What did middle class families get
In the budget, many steps have been taken towards enriching the middle class people on the economic front. Earlier, in the interim budget presented in February, it was also said to start a housing scheme for the middle class people. Apart from this, keeping in mind the interests of the middle class people, roof top solar energy was also announced. The Finance Minister said, “In the near future, the government will make many schemes for the middle class people. Financial assistance will also be provided by the government to provide their own house to the people living in rented houses.
Now you will get this much loan for studies
The Finance Minister said that for the upliftment of the middle class people, we are focusing on MSMEs. We will take many steps to create new employment opportunities for the youth in the coming days. The Finance Minister has developed the facility of education loan keeping in mind the difficulties faced by middle class families in getting education. The Finance Minister said that a loan facility of Rs 10 lakh will be provided to the youth belonging to middle class families who are pursuing higher education. Nirmala Sitharaman said, ‘For those who have taken a loan earlier and have repaid it, the limit of Mudra loan will be increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
After the decision to reduce the custom duty on gold and silver in the budget, the prices of these two precious metals have fallen drastically today.
The prices of these precious metals have fallen sharply today due to the announcement of reduction of custom duty on gold and silver by the government in the budget. Gold and silver prices were seen trading with a big decline in the futures market today. On the MCX exchange, gold for delivery on October 4, 2024 was seen trading at Rs 69,230 per 10 grams on Tuesday evening, down 5.44 percent or Rs 3,986. At the same time, gold for delivery on August 5, 2024 was seen trading at Rs 68,927 per 10 grams, down 5.21 percent or Rs 3,791. However, gold prices have seen a rise in the global market.
Silver also saw a huge decline
Along with gold, silver prices also saw a big decline on Tuesday evening. Silver for delivery on 5 September 2024 was seen trading at Rs 85,077 per kg on MCX exchange, down by 4.63 per cent or Rs 4,126. On the other hand, a decline in the price of silver has also been seen in the global market today.
Custom duty reduced on gold and silver
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a reduction in custom duty on gold and silver while presenting Budget 2024 today. Gems and jewelery exporters have been demanding a cut in duty on precious metals for the last several years to promote exports and manufacturing. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The aim of my proposal for custom duty is to support domestic manufacturing, promote local value addition, promote export competitiveness and simplify taxation while keeping the interests of the general public and consumers paramount.” She said, “To increase domestic value addition in gold and precious metal jewelery in the country, I propose to reduce the custom duty on gold and silver to 6 percent and on platinum to 6.4 percent.
Finance Minister announced spending of Rs 60,000 crore on infrastructure projects like expressways, powerhouses, heritage corridors and new airports for Bihar
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave relief to the middle class and working people by announcing some changes on the income tax front in the general budget presented on Tuesday. Along with this, a provision of two lakh crore rupees was made for the schemes related to employment generation in the next five years and more amount for the states of new alliance partners. Rural crisis and unemployment were blamed for the BJP not getting a majority in the Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, Sitharaman made a provision of Rs 2.66 lakh crore for rural development in the budget and kept Rs 11.11 lakh crore for infrastructure projects to promote economic growth.
Angel tax abolished
Presenting her seventh budget and the first budget of the third term of the Narendra Modi government, she announced the abolition of ‘angel tax’ for all categories of investors in startups. Also, customs duty on mobile phones and gold was reduced and capital gains tax was simplified. However, she increased the securities transaction tax (STT) in the futures and options segment of securities. The move led to a decline in the stock markets. Sitharaman said, “At a time when there are uncertainties in the world, India’s economic growth remains an exception and will remain so in the coming years.”
Focus on employment
She said, “In this budget, we are particularly focusing on employment, skill development, MSMEs and the middle class.” The Finance Minister said that a provision of Rs 2 lakh crore has been made over a period of five years for schemes and measures to provide employment, skill development and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth. Apart from this, Rs 1.48 lakh crore has been earmarked for education, employment and skill. ”
Big gifts to Bihar-Andhra Pradesh
The Finance Minister announced spending Rs 60,000 crore on infrastructure projects like expressways, power houses, heritage corridors and new airports for Bihar. Assembly elections are to be held in the state next year. The support to Bihar is in the form of capital projects. This is not in the form of subsidy or cash assistance. It is worth mentioning that the ruling party in Bihar and BJP’s ally JDU (Janata Dal United) is demanding an economic package and special state status for the state. Similarly, Rs 15,000 crore has been allocated for Andhra Pradesh in financial assistance through multilateral agencies. Andhra Pradesh’s ruling party TDP has recently joined the BJP-led NDA.
Taxpayers’ relief
For the middle class, he increased the standard deduction by 50 per cent to Rs 75,000 and changed the tax slabs for taxpayers who opt for the new income tax system. Under the standard deduction, a fixed amount is deducted from the total salary earned in the year before calculating income tax. He said that this would help taxpayers save up to Rs 17,500 annually under the new tax system. Tax rates are low in the new system. However, there is no exemption in it either.
Incentives to companies for employment
The budget has provided incentives for companies to promote employment. This includes payment of one month’s salary for first-time employees and reimbursement of up to Rs 3,000 per month for two years for the EPFO contribution of each additional employee to employers in respect of their retirement fund contribution in the first four years of employment. He said that in addition, a program will be run for internships for students with skill improvement. Concessional loans will also be provided for higher education. India’s official unemployment rate in urban areas is estimated at 6.7 percent, but private agencies put it at a much higher level.
Fiscal deficit estimated to be 4.9% of GDP
Sitharaman said the government’s fiscal deficit is estimated to be 4.9 percent of GDP in 2024-25. This is lower than the 5.1 percent estimated in the interim budget presented in February for 2024-25. This is due to strong tax collection and higher than expected dividend receipt from the Reserve Bank of India. He marginally reduced the gross market borrowing to Rs 14.01 lakh crore. Rs 1.52 lakh crore has been allocated for agriculture and allied sectors in the budget for the financial year 2024-25. Assistance for construction of three crore affordable housing units in urban and rural areas, loan assistance has been provided to small and medium enterprises. Apart from this, it has been proposed to increase the loan limit for small enterprises under the Mudra scheme to Rs 20 lakh, a proposal to set up 12 industrial parks and a venture capital fund of Rs 1,000 crore for the space sector. The budget has estimated total receipts excluding borrowings to be Rs 32.07 lakh crore and expenditure to be Rs 48.21 lakh crore. Net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 25.83 lakh crore.
