Budget 2024: Will the NDA Deliver on Common Man’s Hopes Post-Election?

Budget 2024: The first budget of Narendra Modi ‘s third term is going to be presented on 23 July 2024. In this budget, the central government can take a decision on direct and indirect taxes. This time the budget is going to be special in many respects. The general public is expecting many kinds of relief, but one of the special features of this time’s budget is that Nirmala Sitharaman will become the first Finance Minister to present the budget for the seventh consecutive time. 

In such a situation, let us understand in detail in this report what the common man wants from this budget… 

How different can this year’s budget be from the previous budget 

This is the first budget of the NDA government after the Lok Sabha elections. In such a situation, it is expected that in this budget the government will focus on giving relief to the common people. Usually new governments are not under pressure to take populist measures. The last 6 budgets of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have also not been populist for the common man. But, considering the setbacks received by the BJP in this Lok Sabha election and the assembly elections to be held in many states including Haryana and Jharkhand this year, it is expected that the Finance Minister can present a friendly budget for the middle class. 

Many important tax related announcements are likely to be made

Increase in standard deduction: 

Salaried class people of India have high expectations from this budget, because there has been no relief on the tax front for a long time. At present, the one thing on which everyone’s eyes are fixed is the demand to increase the limit of standard deduction. According to the current rules, a standard deduction of Rs 50,000 is available for salaried people, which can be increased to Rs 1 lakh in this budget. This step will directly benefit the salaried class.

Relief on home loan: 

The common people of the country have a lot of expectations from this budget on home loan as well. In fact, it is expected that in this budget, home loan takers will be given more relief under the Income Tax Act. This will be a big relief for those who are planning to buy a house in the coming time.

Special schemes for women: 

In this budget, schemes like gas subsidy can be announced for the women of the country. Along with this, the income tax exemption on healthcare and interest on savings accounts can be increased. If this happens, then these steps of the government are expected to empower the women of the country economically.

No change in tax slabs: 

No change in income tax slabs is likely, but other tax concessions and schemes may be introduced.

Investment in infrastructure and other sectors: 

In the budget of this term coming on July 23, special attention will be given to infrastructure, defense, railways and renewable energy sectors. Along with this, steps can be taken for ease of doing business. 

What changes are expected in the education sector?

In the last 10 years, while the expenditure on health in the budget keeps fluctuating, the expenditure on education has been continuously decreasing. In such a situation, the common man can see many important changes in the education sector in this budget. 

Development of new and existing institutions: 

In fact, the budget on July 23 includes proposals to establish more medical colleges and make better use of the infrastructure of existing hospitals. For this, a committee will also be formed which will monitor these plans.

Expansion of digital education: 

A new Un-Win platform may be launched across the country under the Digital India initiative in the new budget. This platform will assist in vaccination. With these announcements, many steps are likely to be taken in Budget 2024 to improve and develop the education sector, which will play an important role in the overall development of the country. 

How much was spent on the health sector in the last few years 

According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, only 0.26 percent of GDP was spent on healthcare in the financial year 2014. This expenditure remained almost constant in the next three years after 2014. But in the financial year 2018, it was increased to 0.31 percent. Similarly, in the financial year 2019 and 2020, this expenditure was 0.29 percent and 0.32 percent.

Account of expenditure made on education

Sitharaman has also presented an account of the expenditure made in the field of education before this budget i.e. in the interim budget 2024-2025. She said that the Skill India Mission was successful and 1.4 crore youth have been trained under it. Not only this, 54 lakh people were reskilled and 3000 new industrial training centers were established. 

According to the report released on the education sector, in the last few years, 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 IIMs, 15 AIIMS and 390 universities have been established in India. Not only this, the enrollment of women in higher educational institutions has increased by 28 percent in a decade. This shows the government’s objective of focusing on women in the field of education.

Villages may get more allocation

Professor Dinesh Sharma of Patna University said that in this budget, there is an estimate of providing affordable housing benefits for houses up to Rs. 65 lakh instead of Rs. 45 lakh. Apart from increasing the coverage in Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the central government can also make more allocations for housing scheme, MNREGA and road construction schemes in rural areas. 

The biggest reason behind this is the assembly elections to be held in India in the coming years. About 46% of the people of this country work in the agriculture sector. At the same time, the Bharatiya Janata Party has also suffered a setback in rural areas in the Lok Sabha elections . In such a situation, the central government can make big changes in this sector to please the public. Due to strong tax revenue and dividend of Rs 2.11 lakh crore received from RBI, the government also has enough money. 

ICRA’s Aditi Nair said in a report in India Today, ‘Revenue expenditure is estimated to be around Rs 37 lakh crore in this budget, which will be about Rs 600 billion more than the interim budget i.e. the budget of February 2024. The entire focus of this additional expenditure is likely to be mainly on the rural economy, as rural demand is weak at the moment. Apart from this, allocation can be increased in existing schemes and new schemes can also be introduced.’