News Excerpt:

The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament.

More about news:

• The first Union Budget of the new government saw a concerted effort at women led development, with the Finance Minister announcing more than ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls.

Key announcements in the social sector:

• Women led development:

• Total allocation of more than 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls.
• A new pension scheme named ‘Vatsalya’ is a contributory pension scheme, which will have contributions from parents and guardians. 
• On the child attaining the age of majority, the plan can be converted seamlessly into a regular National Pension System (NPS) account.

• • The announcements include the setting up of special working women’s hostels and creches in collaboration with industries to facilitate women’s employment, and promoting women-specific skilling programmes and support for women’s self-help groups.
  • The allocations for schemes coming under the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry, including ‘Samarthya’ (supporting projects such as women’s hostels), ‘Swadhar Greh’, and ‘Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’, have also been increased slightly.
  • The flagship schemes under the Ministry, including Saksham Anganwadi, POSHAN 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti, have been given substantial funds to continue their efforts in improving nutrition, child protection, and women’s empowerment.
  • The limit of Mudra loans under ‘Tarun’ category to be enhanced to 20 lakh from 10 lakh for those who have successfully repaid previous loans. 
    • It is to promote entrepreneurship in the country as nearly 60% of entrepreneurs in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector are women, and they are desperately in need of formal loans. 
    • The credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs is also likely to be beneficial for women.
    • The MSME sector has the maximum number of women who struggle to get collateral-free loans. These efforts made in the Union budget would be hugely beneficial to them.

• Education:

• • As part of the new loan scheme announced by the Finance Minister while presenting the Union Budget for 2024-25, e-vouchers will be given to one lakh students every year to secure loans up to ₹10 lakh to pursue higher education in domestic institutions. The annual interest subvention will be 3% of the loan amount.
    • This initiative will undoubtedly empower many aspiring students to pursue their academic goals without the burden of financial constraints and increase job opportunities.
  • The allocation for the Ministry of Education at ₹1.2 lakh crore has seen a slight increase at 7.14% as compared with last year’s ₹1.12 lakh crore.
    • However, compared with the Revised Estimates for 2023-24, which stand at ₹1.29 lakh crore, this year’s Budget Estimates have decreased by 6.97%.

• Health:

• The Health Ministry has been allocated ₹90,958.63 crore in the 2024-2025 budget, an increase from ₹80,517.62 crore in the 2023-24 revised estimates. 
• The budget allocation for the AYUSH Ministry has been increased from ₹3,000 crore to ₹3,712.49 crore.
• The Centre’s flagship scheme, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), has got an allocation of ₹7,300 crore as compared with the previous allocation of ₹6800 crore.
• Additionally, the union finance minister announced full exemption of customs duty on three key cancer drugs to provide relief to cancer patients. 
• The budget also announced a cut in customs duty on components of X Ray tubes and digital detectors.

• Employment and Skilling:

• Referring to the Skilling programme, the Finance Minister announced a new centrally sponsored scheme for skilling in collaboration with state governments and Industry. 
• 20 lakh youth will be skilled over a 5-year period and 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes will be upgraded in hub and spoke arrangements with outcome orientation. 
• Govt. announced that the Model Skill Loan Scheme will be revised to facilitate loans up to ₹7.5 lakh with a guarantee from a government promoted Fund, which is expected to help 25,000 students every year.
• 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.

• • 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.
  • The government announced a new centrally sponsored scheme for the skilled 20 lakh youth to be trained over 5 years, and 1,000 industrial training institutes to be upgraded in hub-and-spoke arrangements.
    • The government also announced a New Scheme for internships in  500 Top Companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years.

Labour related reforms

• Government will facilitate the provision of a wide array of services to labour, including those for employment and skilling. 
• A comprehensive integration of e-shram portal with other portals will facilitate such a one-stop solution. 
• Shram Suvidha and Samadhan portals will be revamped to enhance ease of compliance for industry and trade. 

• Others:

• The Ministry of Minority Affairs has seen a mere 2.7% increase, from funds allocated in the previous year’s Budget Estimate (BE), for the financial year 2024-25 in the Union Budget.
• The Finance Minister announced the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan.

• • More than 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank will be set up in the NorthEast region to expand the banking services.

Language Platform:

• For the first time, ₹56 crore has been earmarked to establish the 'Bhartiya Bhasha Anubhag' (Indian Languages Department).
• This department will develop a platform to facilitate the translation of various languages into Hindi and vice versa.
• According to the Official Languages Act, 1963, Hindi and English are the official languages for correspondence between Ministries and State governments.
• Additionally, real-time proceedings of the Lok Sabha will be available in 10 languages, a first in Parliamentary history.

Census Survey:

• A budget of ₹1,309 crore has been allocated for the Census survey and the Statistics/Registrar General of India for this year, down from ₹1,564.65 crore in 2023-24.
• The Census, last conducted in 2011, has been indefinitely delayed.

Conclusion:

The Budget 2024 reflects a holistic approach to national development, placing education, women empowerment, skill development, and research at its core. As the nation navigates the complexities of a post-pandemic world, these allocations represent more than just financial figures; they symbolize India’s vision for a more equitable and prosperous future.