The full budget for FY24-25 has been a marked departure from the interim budget with strong focus on employment generation and boosting domestic manufacturing capacity. Some of the highlights of the budget are –
Employment generation and skilling –
- Incentivization of additional employment in the manufacturing sector by providing financial support to both the employer and the employee for the first-time employees for four years.
- Similar scheme for employers in other sector also but for two years.
- Rental housing with dormitory type accommodation for industrial workers in PPP (public private partnership) mode with VGF (viability gap funding) support.
- Setting up of working women hostels for higher participation of women in the workforce.
- Scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to 1 crore youth for 12 months with an internship allowance. Training cost and part of the internship cost can be deducted by the companies from their CSR funds.
Facilitating MSME and manufacturing sector growth –
- Credit guarantee scheme to facilitate term loans to MSMEs for purchase of machinery and equipment without collateral or third-party guarantee.
- Enhancing the limit of mudra loans to ₹ 20 lakh from ₹ 10 lakh for those who have availed and repaid previous loans.
- Lowering the turnover threshold of buyers for converting their trade receivables into cash on the TReDS platform from Rs 500 crore to Rs 250 crore. This will bring 22 more CPSEs and 7000 more companies onto the platform
- Energy audit of micro and small industries and financial support for shifting them to cleaner forms of energy and implementation of energy efficiency measures.
- Reduction in customs duties across wide range of raw materials to support domestic manufacturing, improve local value addition and promote export competitiveness.
- Reduction in corporate tax rate for foreign companies from 40% to 35%.
- Abolition of ‘Angel tax’ which levied tax on part of the receipts by a start-up from overseas investors.
- The budget also noted that IBC has resolved more than 1,000 cases of insolvent companies resulting in direct recovery of over Rs 3.3 lakh crore to creditors. Further, 28,000 cases involving over Rs 10 lakh crore have been disposed of, after filing of application but before admission into IBC.
Other proposals –
- Implementation of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture for coverage of farmers and their lands in next three years. During this year, digital crop survey for Kharif using the DPI will be taken up in 400 districts. The details of six crore farmers and their lands will be brought into the farmer and land registries.
- Development of an industrial node at Gaya with focus on industrial development of Eastern region. Development of road connectivity projects at a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore and several other projects in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. While these measures may have a political undertone, the development of Eastern region is critical to accelerate the growth of domestic economy.
- Reduction in tax rates for salaried income but increase in certain classes of capital gains.