How Interim Budget 2024 provides an outlook for Vikisit Bharat 2047

The interim budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is an important validation of the need for fiscal prudence and discipline, even as India gets increasingly ambitious with its developmental targets. It follows the same set of rules that have worked in the past: Enhanced Capex spending and an invigorated renewable energy push with focused impetus on youth, women, the poor, and farmers. The budget doesn’t try too hard; rather, it tends to keep things consistent and balanced while exuding confidence and clarity. Each group in society has its own wishes and hopes for something specific out of the budget. The budget has stood up to the expectations of all groups and taken care not to disappoint anybody. The Middle Class and Taxpayers This budget shows the path to transform and make the Indian economy stronger, and the middle class and taxpayers are important pillars of the economy. In the Interim Budget 2024, the Indian government has made significant announcements across various sectors. For housing, the plans include the construction of 2 crore additional houses under the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) in the next 5 years. In an effort to empower the middle class and provide them with housing security, a new scheme is set to be introduced to assist the middle-class people who are residing in rented houses, slums, chawls, and unauthorised colonies in fulfilling their dream of owning a home. This initiative aims to provide support and opportunities for individuals in these diverse living situations to either purchase or construct their own houses, fostering increased accessibility to homeownership within the middle-class demographic. In a significant move to provide relief to taxpayers, the government announced the withdrawal of old, minor, non-verified, non-reconciled, or disputed outstanding Direct Tax demands. This initiative covers amounts up to ₹25,000 for the period up to FY 2009–10 and up to ₹10,000 for financial years 2010–11 to 2014–15. This decision is expected to benefit approximately 1 crore taxpayers, fostering both ease of living and ease of doing business. By alleviating the burden of these relatively small tax demands, the government aims to simplify the tax system, making it more convenient for individuals and businesses and promoting a conducive environment for economic activities. Empowerment of Annadatas and Sabka Vikas This government has always tried to focus on Yuva, Gareeb, Kisan, and Mahila. Promoting farmer interest, the budget talks about promoting private and public investment in post-harvest activities, including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing, and marketing and branding. Nano-DAP (fertiliser) on various crops will be expanded in all agroclimatic zones. A comprehensive programme for supporting dairy farmers will be formulated. Apart from this, expanding on the initiative introduced in 2022, the government is planning a strategy to attain self-sufficiency (Atmanirbharta) in oil seeds like mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. This comprehensive plan involves conducting research to develop high-yielding seed varieties, promoting the widespread adoption of modern farming techniques, establishing strong market linkages, ensuring effective procurement, adding value to the products, and providing crop insurance. By addressing these key aspects, the government aims to strengthen the oilseed sector, promote sustainable farming practices, and enhance the overall self-reliance of the country in oilseed production. The budget has also talked about steps to boost the aquaculture sector by establishing five integrated aqua-parks. Additionally, it mentions that the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) will be intensified, aiming to increase aquaculture productivity from the current 3 tons to 5 tons per hectare. The plan also includes doubling exports to reach Rs 1 lakh crore and generating around 55 lakh employment opportunities soon. These initiatives signify a concerted effort to enhance the productivity and sustainability of the aquaculture industry, providing economic opportunities, and ensuring the overall growth of the sector. In the field of empowerment of women, the government has raised the goal of empowering women through the Lakhpati Didi initiative from 2 crore to 3 crore. The scheme aims at making the women SHGs self-reliant. Currently, 83 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with 9 crore women are playing a crucial role in transforming the rural socio-economic landscape by fostering empowerment and self-reliance. The success of these groups has led to nearly one crore women achieving the status of Lakhpati Didi,emphasising the positive impact of such initiatives on uplifting and economically empowering women across the country. Viksit and Green Bharat India now works on green and sustainable development. We have been leaders in terms of promoting green and sustainable growth by leading international alliances like the International Solar Alliance. This budget also aims to address this, and rooftop solarisation for free electricity is another step towards achieving it. Through rooftop solarisation, one crore households will have the opportunity to receive up to 300 units of free electricity every month. To fulfill India’s commitment for ’net-zero’ emissions by 2070, several initiatives were also mentioned in the budget. It stated that the government plans to offer financial support, known as viability gap funding, for tapping into offshore wind energy potential, starting with an initial capacity of 1 gigawatt. Additionally, efforts include establishing a coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 million tonnes by 2030, which will help reduce imports of natural gas, methanol, and ammonia. There will be a phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) with compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic use. Financial assistance will also be provided for the procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collection. As part of promoting green growth, a new scheme called Bio-Manufacturing and Bio-Foundry will be introduced, aiming to encourage the production of eco-friendly alternatives like biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, bio-pharmaceuticals, and bio-agri-inputs. These initiatives collectively align with the goal of sustainable and environmentally friendly development. The budget has highlighted various development projects, including programmes for economic railway corridors that focus on enhancing logistics efficiency in energy, mineral, cement, and port connectivity. There are also plans for expanding Metro and NaMo Bharat, as well as the development of tourist centres, all aimed at boosting infrastructure and connectivity for overall progress and convenience. However, this is not all; the budget also reasserts our Atmanirbharta in defence, giving a boost to research and innovation, the improvement of healthcare, and many more. Overall, this budget was, in the words of industrialist Anand Mahindra, a “pleasing budget” for everyone. In the past ten years, India has shown strong and resilient growth under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. Despite tough times like the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts between countries, the Indian economy has proven its ability to overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities. The focus is on achieving steady, sustainable, fair, and inclusive growth. On the one hand, projections show the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth for most ‘advanced economies’ to be in a 0.7–1.7 per cent range for 2024, and for emerging economies to be around 4 per cent the Indian economy is projected to grow at 7 per cent. India has arrived, and there is no looking back from here. There will be a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Tuhin A Sinha is a national spokesperson of BJP, besides being an acclaimed author. Nishant Kumar Hota is a public policy consultant. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. 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