Budget 2024: FM Sitharaman lays out Modi 3.0's nine priorities for Viksit Bharat

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday, highlighted the Modi government's nine priorities aimed at transforming India into a developed country by 2047.

These priorities underscore the government's commitment to long-term economic growth and sustainable development.

The nine priorities for generating ample opportunities for Indians included:

• Productivity and resilience in agriculture
• Employment and skilling
• Inclusive human resource development
• Social justice
• Urban development
• Energy security
• Infrastructure
• Innovation, research and development
• Next generation reforms

The first priority includes- raising productivity and climate resilient varieties, thrust on Natural Farming: 2 crore farmers to be supported in next 2 years(certificates), Atma Nirbharta in Oil seeds; Vegetable Production: Large Scale Clusters, DPI in Agri Infrastructure: Coverage of Farmers and their Land in three years. Digital Crop Survey in 400 districts this year only. Issuance of Jan Samarth-based certificates.

The second priority includes- the First Timers Scheme - a 1-month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors will be provided by the government in 3 instalments. Direct benefit transfers to employees upto Rs 15,000 will be done. This will be applicable to those getting a salary upto Rs 1 lakh per month. 2.1 crore youth to be benefitted. Manufacturing Jobs Assistance- Incentives of specified scale directly to employees and employers in the first 4 years of employment will be provided to employees entering manufacturing jobs. This will benefit 30 lakh youth and employers.

Support to employers- Additional employment in all sectors within a salary of 1 lakh/month will be provided Rs 3,000 per month for 2 years to cover EPFO charges. This will incentivise additional employment of upto 50 lakh persons. 20 lakh youth will be skilled over 5 years. Education Loans: Financial Support up to 10 lakhs for higher education in domestic institutions. Annual Interest Subvention for 3 per cent.

The third priority includes- PM Vishwakarma, Swanidhi, NRLM. Purvodaya: A plan for all-round development for the eastern region of the country covering Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andra Pradesh. This will cover human resource development.

It also included the Amritsar-Kolkata Corridor that will catalyze industrial development for the eastern region, particularly Gaya. Patna, Purniya, Buxar and Bhagalpur.

Bodhygaya-Rajgir-Dharbhnaga Expressways will be developed and the bridge over Ganga in Buxar will be constructed at a cost of Rs.2600 crore. New Medical Colleges and Sports Infrastructure will also be constructed in Bihar.

In accordance with the AP reorganisation act, the government has recognised the state's need for capital and has allocated Rs 15000 crore as financial support.

In the budget, the Finance Minister also announced the construction of 3 crore additional houses in rural and urban areas in the country under the PM Awas Yojna. Under the PM Jan Jatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan the government aims to adopt saturation coverage in tribal families and aspirational districts.

A record 7th budget for Sitharaman

The Budget for 2024-25 is Sitharaman's seventh straight Budget, a record.

Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman Finance Minister, had in July 2019 ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget briefcase for the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers. She used the same in the following year, and in a pandemic-hit 2021, she swapped traditional papers with a digital tablet for carrying her speech and other Budget documents.

Her Budget for the fiscal beginning April 2024 (FY2024-25) is the Modi government's 13th straight Budget since 2014 (including two interim Budgets presented ahead of general elections in 2019 and 2024).

She was appointed as the finance minister when Narendra Modi swept to power again in the 2019 election and presented her maiden Budget on July 5, 2019. She used a red cloth folder enclosed with a string and emblazoned with the national emblem to carry Budget documents. In February this year, she presented another interim budget.

Earlier, finance ministers in different governments, including her predecessors in the Modi government - Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal- used the standard Budget briefcase.