The News Freedom
New Delhi, January 31
Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, today presented the Interim Budget 2024 in Parliament today, focusing on essential spending ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections.
Major announcements of Interim Budget
1) No changes were made to the tax slabs in either the old or new income tax regimes.
2) 2 crore more homes under PM Awas Yojana
3) Housing for the middle class
4) Rooftop solar for at least 300 units of power generation which will be free electricity for households
5) Enhancement of target for Lakhpati Didi Scheme from 2 crore women to 3 crore women
6) Preparing and empowering MSMEs to grow and compete globally, aligning regulatory environment for them
7) Making sure that the eastern region becomes the engines of growth for the new Amrit Kaal India
8) Next gen reforms with building consensus with states and stakeholders, for Reform, Perform and Transform
9) Three major railway corridors for logistics efficiency; one corridor lays emphasis on high density passenger traffic route, but at the same time, the corridors will take care of movement of goods as well as that of people; 40,000 bogeys are going to be brought up to the level of Vande Bharat coaches
10) Urbanization, looking at Metro and Namo Bharat, to bring in urban transformation
11) Rs 1 lakh crore for research and innovation by private sector
12) Boost to tourism, including spiritual tourism, interest-free loans to be given to states so that they can build on iconic tourist centres
This marks the sixth budget presentation by Sitharaman, and serves as a temporary financial plan until the new government takes office after the elections. It primarily seeks parliamentary approval for necessary expenses during the first four months of the upcoming financial year. It’s important to note that this interim budget doesn’t include major policy announcements, as those are typically reserved for the full-fledged budget presented by the newly elected government.