Budget 2024 Theme: ‘EMPLOYMENT’ Decoded [Read Bill]

The Budget 2024 was presented on a theme of ‘EMPLOYMENT’ which has its own meaning. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget 2024 on 23rd July 2024. This budget has proposed notable changes in the income tax slabs under the new regime.

The EMPLOYMENT stand for :

E- Employment and Education

M- MSMEs

P- PRODUCTIVITY

L-LAND

O-OPPORTUNITIES

Y-YOUTH

M-MIDDLE CLASS

E-ENERGY SECURITY

N- NEW GENERATION REFORMS

T- TECHNOLOGY

E- EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION

1. Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes & initiatives for 4.1 crore youth with an outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore over 5 years.
2. Under the package, a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme for skilling 20 lakh youth over 5 years will be launched.
3. 1000 Industrial Training Institutes ( ITIs ) to be upgraded with a outcome orientation
4. The Model Skill Loan Scheme to be revised to facilitate Loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh, benefiting 25,000 students/year
5. Prime Minister Employment Linked Incentive Package will be based on EPFO enrolment & focus on recognition of first-time employees, and support to employees & employers
6. Scheme A: ‘First Timers’ – To provide 1-month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce. DBT of 1 month salary in 3 instalments (up to Rs 15,000) will be done to first-time EPFO registered employees.
7. Scheme B: Job Creation in manufacturing — Incentive to be provided directly to both Ist-time employee & employer for their EPFO Contribution in first 4 years of employment. It will incentivise additional employment in manufacturing sector, linked to the employment of first-time employees
8. Scheme C: Support to employers — Govt will reimburse employers upto Rs 3000/month for 2 years towards their EPFO contribution for each additional employee within a salary of Rs I lakh/month in all sectors
9. Transformation of Vishnupad Temple Corridor and Mahabodhi Temple Corridor in Bihar
10. A comprehensive development initiative for Rajgir and Nalanda as a tourist destination in Bihar
11. Assistance for development of Odisha as a tourist destination Simpler tax regime for foreign shipping companies operating Domestic Cruises in India

M- MSMEs

1. SIDBI will open new branches in MSME clusters within 3 years. With the opening of 24 such branches this year, the service coverage will expand to 168 out of 242 major clusters
2. Financial support for setting up 50 multi-product food irradiation units in the MSME sector and 100 food quality and safety testing labs will be set up.
3. E-Commerce Export Hubs will be set up in public private-partnership ( PPP ) mode to help MSMEs sell in international markets
4. Turnover threshold of buyers for mandatory onboarding on the TReDS platform to be reduced from Rs 500 crore to Rs 250 crore. This measure will bring 22 more CPSCs and 7000 more companies onto the platform
5. To dispose of the backlog of first appeals, more officers will be deployed to hear and decide such appeals, especially those with large tax effect.
6. Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 for resolution of certain income tax disputes pending in appeal
7. Monetary limits for filing appeals related to direct taxes, excise and service tax in the Tax Tribunals, High Courts and Supreme Court to be increased to 60 lakh, 2 crore and 5 crore respectively.
8. Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs in the Manufacturing Sector to provide collateral free loan for purchase of machinery with guarantee cover up to Rs 100 crore
9. A new assessment mode for MSME credit in which Public Sector Banks will build their in-house capability to assess MSMEs for credit, based on digital footprints of MSMEs, rather than only asset or turnover criteria. It will also cover MSMEs without a formal accounting system
10. Setting up of a new mechanism to provide credit support to MSMEs during their stress period. Credit availability will be supported through a guarantee from a government promoted fund.
11. The limit of ‘Tarun’ category MUDRA Loans will be enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

P- PRODUCTIVITY

1. Transforming Agriculture Research to bring the focus on raising productivity and developing climate resilient varieties
2. Release of new 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops
3. 1 crore farmers to be initiated into Natural Farming supported by certification and branding. 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres will be established.
4. Missions to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses and oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower
5. Large scale clusters for vegetable production will be developed closer to major consumption centres. Promotion of Farmer-producer Organizations, cooperatives and start-ups for vegetable supply chains to be undertaken.
6. Implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure ( DPI ) in Agriculture for coverage of farmers and their lands in 3 years. Details of 6 crore farmers will be brought into the farmer & land registries
7. Financial support for setting up a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres for Shrimp Broodstocks and financing for shrimp farming, processing and export to be facilitated through NABARD
8. Introduction of a National Cooperation Policy for all-round development of Cooperatives
9. Financing and early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, Andhra Pradesh
10. Development of DPI applications at population scale for productivity gains in areas such as credit, e-commerce, education, health, law & justice, MSMEs, logistics, etc
11. Integrated Technology Platform for Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code ( IBC ) ecosystem to be set up for better oversight
12. Services of the Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit ( C-PACE ) will be extended for voluntary closure of LLPs to reduce closure time.

L-LAND

1. Encourage States to moderate the Stamp Duty rates
2. Encourage States to further lower Stamp Duties for properties purchased by women
3. Financial support for 20+ irrigation & flood mitigation projects in Bihar with an estimated cost of rS. 11,500 crores such as Kosi-Mechi intrastate link
4. Assistance for flood management, rehabilitation, reconstruction and related projects to Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand & Sikkim
5. Ensure early completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project, Andhra Pradesh
6. States will be incentivized for Land- related reforms and actions within the next 3 years through appropriate fiscal support
7. Land-related reforms and actions in Rural areas to cover land administration & planning.
8. In Urban areas, it will cover urban planning, usage and building by laws
9. Rural land related actions will include ULPIN or Bhu-Aadhaar for all lands, digitization of cadastral maps, survey of map sub-divisions as per current ownership, establishment of land registry, and linking to the farmers registry. These actions will facilitate credit flow & other agri services
10. Land records in urban areas will be digitised with GIS mapping. An IT based system for property record and tax administration will be established. It will improve the finances of Urban Local BodieS

O-OPPORTUNITIES

1. A plan for ‘Purvodaya’ will be formulated for development of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha & Andhra Pradesh
2. Support to industrial node at Gaya on the Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor, Kopparthy node in AP on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node in AP on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor
3. Financial support Of Rs. 15,OOO crore in current financial year to Andhra Pradesh for new capital, apart from facilitating financial support through multilateral development agencies
4. PM Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan to be launched for improving the socio- economic condition of tribals by adopting saturation coverage in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts.
5. More than 100 branches Of India Post Payment Bank to be set up in the NorthEast Region.
6. Development of ‘Plug and Play’ Industrial Parks with complete infrastructure in 100 cities
7. Development of 12 Industrial Parks under National Industrial Corridor Development Programme
8. Rental housing with dormitory type accommodation for Industrial Workers will be facilitated Development of 100 weekly ‘haats’ or street food hubs in select cities each year, to support Street Vendors
9. Ownership, Leasing and Flagging Reforms will be implemented in Shipping Industry to generate more employment
10. Critical Mineral Mission will be set up for domestic production, recycling of critical minerals, and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets
11. The auction of the first tranche of Offshore Blocks for mining will be Launched
12. Phase IV of PMGSY will be launched to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 Rural habitations
13. Framework for enabling policies, market-based mechanisms and regulation will be formulated for creative brownfield redevelopment of Cities
14. Development of ‘Cities as Growth Hubs’ will be facilitated through economic and transit planning, and orderly development of peri-urban areas utilising town planning schemes
15. Transit Oriented Development plans for 14 large cities with a population above 30 lakh will be formulated
16. Under the PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0, Housing needs for 1 crore urban poor & middle-class families will be addressed with an investment Of 10 lakh crore. A provision of interest subsidy to facilitate loans at affordable rates is also envisaged
17. Enabling policies and regulations for efficient and transparent rental housing markets to be brought
18. Promote water supply, sewage treatment and solid waste management projects and services for 100 large cities through bankable projects

Y-YOUTH

Prime Minister’s Package of 5 Schemes and Initiatives for Employment & Skilling with an outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore for our 4.1 crore youth.

1. Employment Linked Incentive Package consisting following 3 schemes:

Scheme A: ‘First Timers’ – To provide 1-month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce.

Scheme B: Job Creation in manufacturing sector- Incentive to be provided directly to both Ist-time employee & employer for their EPFO Contribution in first 4 years of employment.

Scheme C: Support to employers — Govt will reimburse employers up to Rs 3000/month for 2 years towards their EPFO contribution for each additional employee.

4th Scheme: Skilling in collaboration with states & Industry. 1000 ITIS to be upgraded.

5th Scheme: Scheme for providing Internships in 500 top companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years.

2. Financial support for domestic higher education loans upto ÜIO lakh will be provided. E-vouchers to be given directly to 1 lakh students/year for annual interest subvention of 3% of the loan.
3. 20 lakh youth will be skilled over a 5-year period
4. 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes will be upgraded in hub and spoke arrangements with outcome orientation
5. The Model Skill Loan Scheme will be revised to facilitate loans up to 7.5 lakh with a guarantee from a government promoted Fund
6. A comprehensive scheme will be launched for providing internship opportunities in Top 500 companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years
7. Under the scheme, Interns will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environment, varied professions and employment opportunities
8. An internship allowance of per month along with one-time assistance of Rs. 6,000 will be provided. Companies will be expected to bear the training cost and 10% of the internship cost from their CSR funds

M-MIDDLE CLASS

1. For higher education of students in domestic institutions, financial support for loans up to Rs 10 lakh will be provided. E-vouchers will be given for annual interest subvention of 3% of the loan amount.
2. Limit Of MUDRA loans to be enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for entrepreneurs who have availed & successfully repaid previous loans under ‘Tarun’ category.
3. Housing needs of 1 crore urban & middle-class families to be addressed with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore under PM Awas Yojana 2.0. Provision for interest subsidy is also envisaged
4. Enabling policies & regulations for efficient & transparent rental housing markets will be put in place.
5. Standard Deduction for Salaried employees to be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 under New Regime
6. Deduction on family pension for pensioners to be enhanced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 under New Regime
7. Limit of exemption of Long Term Capital Gains on certain financial assets increased to Rs 1.25 lakh per year
8. To improve social security benefits, deduction of expenditure by employers towards NPS to be increased from 10% to 14 % of employee’s salary

E-ENERGY SECURITY

1. To come up with a policy document on appropriate energy transition pathways that balances employment growth & environmental sustainability
2. PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which has seen more than 1.28 crore registrations, to be further encouraged
3. Policy for promoting pumped storage projects will be brought out for electricity storage & facilitating smooth integration of growing share of renewable energy
4. R&D of Small and Modular Nuclear Reactors : Govt will partner with private sector for — setting up ‘Bharat Small Reactors’; R&D of ‘Bharat Small Modular Reactor’; and R&D of Newer technologies for Nuclear energy
5. Joint venture between NTPC & BHEL will set up a full scale 800 MW Thermal Power plant using Advanced Ultra Super Critical ( AUSC ) Technology for which govt will provide required fiscal support
6. Roadmap for moving ‘hard to abate’ industries from ‘energy efficiency’ targets to ’emission targets’ will be formulated
7. Investment-grade energy audit of traditional micro & small industries in 60 clusters will be facilitated to shift them to cleaner energy
8. Development of taxonomy for Climate Finance for enhancing the availability of capital for climate adaptation & mitigation

N- NEW GENERATION REFORMS

1. Economic Policy Framework to be formulated to set the scope of next generation reforms
2. Investment in Infrastructure by Private sector will be promoted through Viability Gap Funding & enabling policies. Market-based Financing Framework will be brought out
3. Initiating & incentivizing reforms for — improving productivity of all factors of production and facilitating markets & sectors to become more efficient
4. A Financial Sector Vision & Strategy Document will be brought to prepare the economy in terms of size, capacity & skills and guide the work of all stakeholders
5. Integration of e-shram portal with other portals to facilitate one-stop solution Open architecture databases for rapidly changing labour markets, skills and job roles
6. Shram Suvidha & Samadhan Portals will be revamped to enhance ease of compliance
7. Provide an efficient and flexible mode for financing leasing of aircrafts and ships, and pooled funds of private equity through a ‘variable company structure’
8. The rules and regulations for Foreign Direct Investment and Overseas Investments will be further simplified to facilitate FDI, nudge prioritization & promote opportunities for using Indian Rupee as a currency for overseas investments a plan for contribution
9. NPS-Vatsalya, by parents and guardians for minors, will be started

T- TECHNOLOGY

1. The so-called ‘Angel Tax’ will be abolished for all classes of investors to bolster the Indian start-up ecosystem, boost the entrepreneurial spirit & support innovation
2. A mechanism for promoting private sector-driven research and innovation will be set up at commercial scale with a financing pool of Rs 1 lakh crore
3. A venture capital fund of Rs 1,000 crore will be set up to expand the Space Economy by 5 times in the next 10 years.
4. Different sectoral data bases, including those established under the Digital India Mission, will be utilised with active use of technology tools for improving data governance, collection, processing and management of data and statistics
5. Operationalising the Anusandhan National Research Fund for basic research and prototype development

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