During the presentation of the Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament today, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, highlighted the current state of the global economy. Despite facing policy uncertainties, elevated asset prices, political unrest, and shipping disruptions, the global economy is performing better than expected. However, India’s economic growth continues to shine brightly amidst these challenges and is expected to remain a beacon of success in the years to come.
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman elaborated on the key features of the Union Budget 2024-25, emphasizing its focus on 9 priority areas with the potential to bring about transformative changes. These areas include boosting productivity and resilience in agriculture, promoting employment and skilling, ensuring inclusive human resource development and social justice, enhancing manufacturing and services, advancing urban development, securing energy resources, improving infrastructure, fostering innovation, research, and development, and implementing next-generation reforms.
She also announced that future budgets will build upon these priorities and introduce additional actions to further strengthen the economy. A more detailed formulation will be carried out as part of the ‘Economic Policy Framework’.
Providing details of the Budget Estimates for 2024-25, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman revealed that total receipts, excluding borrowings, and total expenditure are estimated at ₹32.07 lakh crore and ₹48.21 lakh crore respectively. Net tax receipts are projected to reach ₹25.83 lakh crore, with a fiscal deficit estimated at 4.9 per cent of GDP. The gross and net market borrowings through dated securities for 2024-25 are estimated at ₹14.01 lakh crore and ₹11.63 lakh crore respectively, both lower than the previous year.
Expressing her excitement, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized that the fiscal consolidation path announced in 2021 has proven to be beneficial for the economy, setting the stage for continued growth and prosperity.
