Budget focuses on making India $5 trillion economy, developed nation: Assocham

Budget News: The government is likely to significantly enhance allocation for key farm sector schemes and push credit in the interim Budget to boost rural economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the interim Budget on February 1, which will be the last major economic document of the Narendra Modi-led government ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

New schemes worth Rs 24,863.57 crore included, emphasis on women, youth, farmers and employment generation.

The Jharkhand government on Friday tabled a Rs 1.16 lakh crore budget for the 2023-24 fiscal in the assembly. The budgetary estimates for FY24 were 15 per cent higher than the previous annual financial statement.

The upcoming interim budget is likely to see higher capital expenditure on infrastructure, with a focus on green investment to meet the demand for earlier committed projects and offset the impact of global uncertainty. Experts expect the government to continue maximizing public expenditure on infrastructure, aiming for gross capital formation on infrastructure to be 8-9% of GDP. The Confederation of Indian Industry suggests that rationalization of subsidies, revenue augmentation, and simplification of taxes could allow the government to increase capital expenditure by 20% to ₹12 lakh crore.

The 2024 Lok Sabha election results' impact is evident in the differences between Nirmala Sitharaman's interim and Union budgets, but nothing that disrupts the govt's business-as-usual approach.

Union Budget 2024: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the 'Vote on Account' budget for FY25, focusing on women, youth, farmers, and the poor. The budget aims to address financial needs until a new government is formed after elections. The government has raised the capital expenditure target by 11.1% to Rs. 11.11 lakh crore, representing 3.4% of the GDP.

The latest budget includes the expansion and beautification of 1,400 km of roads, new infra projects, the creation of a better transportation ecosystem and more.

As per the review, the government has approved 746 PLI applications till November 2023 and established PLI units in more than 150 districts across 24 states. Moreover, import substitution of 60% has been achieved in the telecom sector and India has become almost self–reliant in Antennae, GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) & CPE (Customer Premises Equipment).

India Business News: The government-backed National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (Nabfid) is looking to lend Rs 4 lakh crore to the infrastructure sec.

Annual capex under the UPA government increased 72 per cent to Rs 1.88 lakh crore in FY14 from 1.09 lakh crore in FY04. During the Modi government it has increased 433 per cent to Rs 10.01 lakh crore