Vantage | 10 highlights of India's interim Budget 2024

India witnessed a significant event on Thursday as the interim budget for the year 2024 was presented. This budget holds particular importance as it is the last financial plan before the upcoming general elections. In an election year, an interim budget is presented to outline the government’s financial plan for the next two or three months addressing short-term needs. The full budget will be presented by the newly formed government after the elections. Following are the key highlights and focus areas of the interim budget:

1. Taxation stability The interim budget brought relief for taxpayers as there were no changes in tax slabs. The existing income tax slabs remain intact ensuring that individuals with unchanged earnings will continue to pay the same amount of tax. Both direct and indirect taxes including import duties also saw no changes. 2. Savings and tax relief A noteworthy development in the budget is the withdrawal of old income tax demands providing relief to around 10 million taxpayers. Those affected by small and petty notices will see the withdrawal of demands translating into financial relief. The government is set to return Rs25,000 for the financial year 2009-10 and Rs10,000 for the financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15. 3. Vision 2047 - Kartavya Kaal The government unveiled an ambitious vision for India to become a developed economy by 2047 termed as the “Kartavya Kaal” or the time to fulfill the duty. Despite acknowledging global complexities and challenges, the government aims to propel India’s growth story in the face of geopolitical shifts and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. 4. Focus areas on upliftment The budget emphasized four key focus areas: the poor, women, youth and farmers. Policies and schemes are being crafted around these groups to uplift and address their specific needs aligning with the prime minister’s belief in focussing on these major castes. 5. Direct Benefit Transfers and achievements The government highlighted achievements in transferring benefits directly to the people, cutting distribution losses and mainstreaming direct transfers. Over $400 billion have been deposited directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries eliminating leakages and resulting in significant savings for the government. 6. Tackling multidimensional poverty The government aims to tackle multidimensional poverty by focussing on empowerment rather than mere entitlements. Over the last decade, approximately 250 million people have reportedly been uplifted from poverty through this approach. 7. Youth empowerment and housing Interest-free loans for the youth and an initiative for “Housing for All” were introduced, demonstrating the government’s commitment to empowering the younger population and ensuring affordable housing. 8. Promoting solar energy A substantial push for promoting solar energy through rooftop solarisation was announced. The government aims to identify one crore houses for installing solar panels, providing 300 units of free power every month, thereby reducing the load on power grids and promoting green energy. 9. Fiscal prudence and disinvestment The government is committed to fiscal prudence aiming to borrow less and spend more. It plans to achieve this through disinvestment, setting a steep target of around six billion dollars to balance the fiscal books. 10. Special focus on women The budget featured multiple announcements targeted at improving healthcare for women, encouraging vaccination and empowering women financially. Initiatives like expanding universal healthcare, providing health insurance for women healthcare workers and supporting local self-help women groups were unveiled. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the interim budget as incisive and innovative expressing confidence in its continuity. As the budget carries the hopes of continuity, it seeks to empower the pillars of a developed India - the youth, the poor, women and farmers. The key highlights outlined above provide a comprehensive overview of the interim budget’s key objectives and focus areas setting the stage for India’s economic trajectory in the coming months. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. 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. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.