Union Budget 2024: Revisiting key highlights of interim budget 2024-25 ahead of Nirmala Sitharaman's annual presentation

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present the Union Budget for FY25. However, no official date has been announced.

By Marita Pinto

Published on Jul 02, 2024 | 04:53 PM IST | 13.7K

(Image Courtesy: Instagram/ Nirmala Sitharaman)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is prepared to present the Union Budget for FY25 on July 23 or 24. However, the government has not yet made an official announcement regarding the date of the budget presentation.

Finance Minister expected to table the Union Budget for FY2025

People, industries, and economists all have a lot of demands, expectations, and excitement leading up to the budget presentation date. According to speculations, the Budget will be presented on July 22, which is also the day when the Monsoon Session of Parliament is anticipated to start.

The 53rd GST Council meeting, chaired by Nirmala Sitharaman earlier on June 22, focused on several measures to simplify the application of GST to goods and services. Several recommendations were put out to improve tax rates and service exemptions under the GST regime.

Key Highlights of Interim Budget 2024–25

From the original goal of 5.9% of GDP, Sitharaman lowered the fiscal deficit down to 5.8% of GDP. An estimate of the budget deficit for 2024–2025 was 5.1%. The Center's net borrowings for FY25 were projected to be ₹11.75 lakh crore, while the gross borrowing was predicted to be ₹14.13 lakh crore.

Additionally, the Center raised funding for defense by 4% to ₹6.2 lakh crore. This exceeded the ₹5.94 lakh crore budgetary projection for FY24. It was stated by the Finance Minister that neither direct taxes nor indirect taxes would be changed. Still, until March 31, 2025, tax benefits remained available to pension funds and sovereign wealth funds for their investments and startup costs.

The overall revenue revenues for the fiscal year 2024–25 are now expected at ₹30 lakh crore after being revised to ₹26.99 lakh crore the previous time

Sitharaman mentioned that women and girls currently make up 43% of students enrolled in STEM courses, which is among the highest percentages in the world. She also mentioned that the central government has provided 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans to female entrepreneurs.

She continued by saying that women from rural areas had received more than 70% of the dwellings distributed under the PM Awas Yojana. Additionally, it was announced that girls in the 9–14 age range will be encouraged to get vaccinated against cervical cancer by the government.

An 11% increase was made to the capital investment outlay budget for the 2024–25 fiscal year, bringing it to ₹11.11 lakh crore, or 3.4% of GDP. To improve passenger safety and comfort, Sitharaman said that some 40,000 standard rail bogies will soon be modified to the Vande Bharat Standards.

According to the finance minister, for the next five years, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen) will see an additional two crore dwellings built by the federal government. She added that to assist individuals in purchasing or building homes, a new housing program targeted at the middle class would be introduced.

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