Budget 2024 Highlights: Parliament's Budget Session to begin on Wednesday

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the interim budget for 2024-25 on Thursday, February 1. Catch all the latest Budget 2024 updates here

7:23 PM

What industry wants from India's budget on Feb. 1

Industry lobby bodies are suggesting the government continue spending on infrastructure, expand incentives for manufacturing and tweak import taxes on inputs for certain goods.
 

The government is considering raising capital spending to as much as 12 trillion rupees from the current year's plan of 10 trillion rupees. India's electronics minister has made a case for lowering duty on mobile phone components.

 

The government should continue to focus spending on infrastructure and increase it by at least 20% to 12 trillion Indian rupees ($144.39 billion), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) lobby group said.
 

The federal government's spending on infrastructure has been key to the Indian economy growing at 7.3% for the financial year ending March 31, 2024. The CII said the federal government should continue to extend support to states in the form of interest free 50-year loans, and increase the allocation by 23% to 1.6 trillion rupees in 2024/25.

6:17 PM

Haryana Assembly's Budget session to begin on February 20

The Budget session of the Haryana Assembly will begin on February 20.

 

Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal, who also holds the parliamentary affairs portfolio, said, "The session will commence on February 20."

 

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the state Cabinet on Tuesday, Pal said a two-minute silence was observed at the beginning to honour the martyrs of India's freedom struggle.

5:46 PM

Parliament's Budget Session begins Wednesday; last of present Lok Sabha

The Budget Session of Parliament, the last of the present Lok Sabha, begins on Wednesday with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of the lower and upper Houses, and the government urging opposition parties to cooperate in the smooth conduct of the proceedings.

 

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.

 

The new government will present the full budget after it assumes office.

 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in Parliament that Sitharaman will also present the Budget for Jammu and Kashmir, which is under the President's Rule.

4:58 PM

Budget 2024 can play a key role in facilitating growth, sustainable development says Fujitsu

Ahead of the Interim Budget session on Thursday, industry experts share their wishlists and expectations.

 

Manoj Nair, head of Global Delivery Centres, Fujitsu says, "With Global Capability Centres being a major engine for economic growth, Budget 2024 can play a key role in facilitating growth and sustainable development. GCCs require support and investment for infrastructure and a growth environment. The Budget 2024 can help GCCs further scale and accelerate innovation at a faster rate as India emerges as the world's technology and services hub."

Read full story here.

 

4:50 PM

Budget 2024 Live: Data centres want to see more push towards domestic manufacturing and infra development

Bimal Khandelwal, chief financial officer, STT Global Data Centres India states, "We are hopeful of incentives to spur domestic manufacturing and infrastructure builds specially tailored for data centres' massive scale and seamless connectivity needs. Attractive capital subsidies for setting up future-ready facilities and easy financing options to offset development costs will unleash growth. We also envision provisions that encourage the adoption of renewable energy to meet data centres' clean power appetites."

Read full story here.

 

4:44 PM

Budget 2024: HMD Global (Nokia Mobile) wants to PLI schemes extended and local production fortified in Budget

Ravi Kunwar, vice president (India & APAC), HMD Global (Nokia Mobile), says "Foreseeing an extension or enhancement to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) policy, we aim to fortify local production and encourage an indigenous components supply chain. The budget's positive impact on operations, particularly in local manufacturing, is anticipated, though precise planning hinges on final announcements. Our wish list emphasises more incentives for local production, encouragement for component manufacturing within India, and support for exports."

 

Read full story here.

 

4:41 PM

Budget 2024 Live: Telecom industry seeks affordability, growth of public wifi services in Interim Budget

TV Ramachandran, president, Broadband India Forum wants to three aspects covered in the upcoming Interim Budget session:

 

1. Facilitation of affordable Broadband through Satcom through reasonably modest spectrum fee

2. Budgetary support for the growth of Public Wi-Fi through waiver of duties & levies on equipment and revenues

3. Budgetary support to incentivise Fiber to the Building +Wi-Fi to enable rapid growth in Fixed Broadband, by way of reduction in statutory fees and levies and exemption of GST on service revenues.

Read full story here.

 

3:47 PM

Budget 2024 Live: Karnataka CM writes to FM requesting inclusion of an AIIMS in Raichur

The Chief Minister has also enclosed a copy of his letter dated June 17, 2023 addressed to Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh L Mandaviya with his request to the Finance Minister. 

 

He said, "The State Government, on consideration of possible locations, is of the view that Raichur is the most suitable place to establish an AIIMS. I would, therefore, request you to include the establishment of AIIMS at Raichur in the forthcoming Budget of 2024-25." (PTI)

 

3:37 PM

Budget 2024 Live: Karnataka CM requests inclusion of an AIIMS in Raichur in Interim Budget

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with a request to include state's proposal for the establishment of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raichur district, in the upcoming interim Budget. (PTI)
 

3:31 PM

Budget 2024 Live: What do Indian investors expect from the Interim Budget

Indian investors are favouring long-term bonds with the anticipation of a conservative budget, Funds, insurers and bank have upped their positions in long-duration bonds expecting no pre-election surprises.

 

Read full story here.

 

2:26 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE: Congress MP Tiwari raises issues on economic situation, federal structure in all-party meet

After pre-Budget all-party meeting, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari tell ANI," I have raised issues regarding economic situation, federal structure, violent attacks on Rahul Gandhi's Yatra in Assam, doubling the income of farmers, ED-CBI raids, caste census among others."

 

2:24 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE: 'It was a very cordial meeting', says Parliamentary Affairs Minister after all-party meet

After all-party meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister says to PTI, "It was a very cordial meeting... The meeting was held in a conducive atmosphere. This is a short session and the last one of the 17th Lok Sabha...We have requested the MPs to not come with placards.

He added, "Government is ready to discuss every issue."

 

2:22 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE: We are keen to place our demands, says TMC MP Bandyopadhyay after all-party meet

Following the pre-Budget all-party meet, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay tells ANI, "We are keen to place our demands. We also raised the issue of suspension of 150 MPs but the attitude of the government is not to reply to any question."

2:06 PM

Budget 2024 Live: ICRA estimates FY24 tax collection to overshoot BE by Rs 60,000 cr

Credit rating agency ICRA estimates that the central tax collections for financial year 2023-24 (FY24) will overshoot budget estimates (BE) by Rs 60,000 crore. If that happens, tax receipts would stand at Rs 34.21 trillion under revised estimates (RE) against 33.61 trillion pegged in BE.

 

Read full story here.

 

1:54 PM

Budget 2024 Live: What do women entrepreneurs expect in Interim Budget 2024

Zaiba Sarang, Co-founder of iThink Logistics, told India.com that a greater focus on sustained investment was needed when it came to multi-modal infrastructure development. Sarang emphasised the need for investment in freight corridors, inland waterways, and intelligent logistics parks that could reduce costs and enhance efficiency. Sarang also added that green initiatives, including electric vehicles, green warehousing, and renewable energy adoption, were necessary to reduce carbon footprint.

 

1:46 PM

Budget 2024 Live: Experts call for multiyear plan for capital expenditure in research

Praveen Kujal, professor of economics at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, stated that capital budgets should be spread over years, especially when it comes to research. 

 

He said, “Funds should be set aside for emerging technologies and basic research, both of which spur capital growth.”

 

Read full story here.

 

1:40 PM

Budget 2024 Live: Leaders attend pre-Budget all-party meeting

The all-party meeting for floor leaders on Tuesday was led by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi. Union Ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Rajnath Singh represented the central government at the meet. 

Congress‘ K Suresh, TMC’s Sudip Bandopadhyay, DMK’s T R Baalu, Shiv Sena’s Rahul Shewale, Samajwadi Party’s S T Hasan, JD(U)’s Ram Nath Thakur and TDP’s Jayadev Galla were among the attendees at the Parliament House complex.

1:14 PM

Budget 2024 Live: What do women entrepreneurs expect in Interim Budget 2024

Zaiba Sarang, Co-founder of iThink Logistics, told India.com that a greater focus on sustained investment was needed when it came to multi-modal infrastructure development. Sarang emphasised the need for investment in freight corridors, inland waterways, and intelligent logistics parks that could reduce costs and enhance efficiency. Sarang also added that green initiatives, including electric vehicles, green warehousing, and renewable energy adoption, were necessary to reduce carbon footprint.

 

1:06 PM

Budget 2024 Live: What do women entrepreneurs expect in Interim Budget 2024

The founder and CEO of Lovak Capital, Jyoti Bhandari, called for Budget 2024 to prioritise skill training for young women, offering vocational programmes post-class 12. Bhandari urged the fulfilment of promises to economically empower women, advocating for the evolution of "Lakhpati Mahilas" from Women's Self Help Groups. She emphasised the need to support successful women entrepreneurs from these groups by facilitating their transition into larger, value chain-focused producer organisations. Bhandari also stressed focusing on the role of women in agriculture and exploring their potential contributions to various non-farm sectors, aligning with India's goal of becoming a global economic force.

 

12:57 PM

Budget 2024 Live: What do women entrepreneurs expect in Interim Budget 2024

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was launched under the Ministry of Labour and Employment to provide health insurance coverage for families below the poverty line (BPL). Radhika Dalmia, the chairperson of the FICCI Ladies Organisation (Kolkata chapter), has urged increasing the allowance under the RSBY and enhancing education benefits for girls. Strengthening financial inclusion, improving healthcare infrastructure, and prioritising education, particularly for girls, are essential steps for building a more inclusive India.

12:44 PM

Budget 2024 Live: What do women entrepreneurs expect in Interim Budget 2024

Saloni Verma, co-founder and chairperson of Sunshine Corporate Creches, spoke on the impact of the Maternity Act 2017, pushing for the mandatory provision of creche services and six months of paid maternity leave for companies with 50 or more employees. Verma proposed introducing financial incentives for smaller companies to support maternity leave salaries and creche services. This move addresses concerns related to the reluctance to hire married young women and the skewed female ratio in many companies.

12:31 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE: What do insurers expect in Interim Budget 2024

Krishnan Ramachandran, MD & CEO, Niva Bupa Health Insurance told ANI, "We need a certain level of healthcare spend and we also need to make sure that health insurance penetration increases."

 

Ramachandran suggested that to make health insurance more affordable and  incentivise its purchase, the two recommendations of the industry include lowering GST and spreading awareness. 
 

12:12 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE: All-party meeting ahead of Budget session underway

The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi has commenced the all-party meeting with the floor leaders of political parties in both the houses of the Parliament, ahead of the 2024 Interim Budget session. 

 

 

12:05 PM

Budget 2024 LIVE: What do insurance providers expect in Interim Budget 2024

Susheel Tejuja, the founder and managing director at PolicyBoss shares the following expectations for the upcoming Interim Budget session on Thursday:

 

1. Greater tax relief in terms of exemption limits for high-value life insurance policies

2. Greater impetus on Bima Vistaar and all channels / intermediaries be allowed to solicit this, ensuring maximum industry participation and greater penetration overall

3. An increase in tax limits u/s 80D, as Rs 25,000 premium ceiling has not changed with changing times and given the rate of medical inflation and growing cost of healthcare, increasing this limit will boost both growth and inclusion for all.

 

"As we navigate the intersection of finance and technology, our expectations extend to incentives for insuretechs, ensuring the continued growth and resilience of digital solutions within the insurance industry," Tejuja added.

11:52 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE: To meet the economic goals, India must tap into these sectors

Vivek K Chandy, joint managing partner at JSA Advocates and Solicitors says, "The finance ministry has stated an aspirational goal of becoming a 7 trillion economy by 2030 and a higher goal (in its own words) of becoming a developed economy by 2047. This is an ambitious goal and predicated on various factors including global conditions which are outside our control. However there is every reason to be optimistic given the demography of India, the massive push to integrate and simplify operations, and the tremendous role technology is playing in the growth of the nation. We have not yet managed to tap the immense potential of this country in various sectors - be it infrastructure, logistics, tourism, real estate, healthcare but we are looking at a move to institutionalise such sectors much more and make processes more transparent."

 

11:40 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE: What do entrepreneurs' expect from the Interim Budget 2024 session?

Avishek Gupta, the managing director and CEO at Caspian Debt says, "Over the past few years, entrepreneurship has become a viable career option. However, the visionary entrepreneurs also need to be able to attract good quality talent and for that ESOPs play a big role. However, ESOPs are taxed twice. If the tax laws can be rationalised to have ESOPs taxed only at sale, the ability of startups to attract good quality talent at reasonable cost goes up.

 

There is a need to activate blended finance structures in India by encouraging domestic philanthropic capital to move into blended finance transactions. Blended finance transactions are necessary to solve critical problems like climate impact and access to essential services for low income households. The mandate of CSR and private philanthropic capital can be extended to allow such blending.

 

While a number of changes have been made to AIF regulations to strengthen the market and to put an end to malpractices by disallowing junior/senior tranches in AIFs and preventing NBFCs/Banks from investing in AIFs, it has also led to closing of opportunities for financing underserved segments that may have significant developmental impact. Credit enhanced AIFs can be used to finance high impact climate finance or social development projects by leveraging development oriented capital serving as junior tranche while commercial/risk averse capital can come in as senior tranche. Such models enable continuous flow of capital to underserved sectors. In addition, domestic philanthropic capital can also serve as junior tranche and tax benefits or inclusion within CSR mandate will go a long way towards accelerating development finance."
 

11:26 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE: Crystal Crop seeks boost in agri-tech in Interim Budget session

The managing director of Crystal Crop, Ankur Aggarwal shared, "As we approach the 2024 budget, we are anticipating a positive impact on the agriculture industry. We expect that there will be valuable allocation of the budget towards ramping up technology adoption, increasing productivity and enhancing storage infrastructure in this sector, and in the process deliver significant benefits for farmers, agriculture machine owners and OEMs alike.”

 

“Agriculture is the backbone of our country, and it continues to be major driver of India’s economic growth. Players across the agri-tech and agrochemical spectrum are boosting this industry by prioritising technological advancements. We at Crystal Crop are offering our services by expanding the scope of crop protection in the pesticide, insecticide, herbicide, Biological, Seed and Agri equipment segments through cutting-edge R&D practices," Agarwal added.
 

11:15 AM

Budget 2024 LIVE: What Boston Consulting Group expects from Interim Budget 2024

Highlighting India's increased budget allocation towards the technology sector, Rajiv Gupta, the managing director and senior partner at BCG says that it is time to focus on "special budgetary allocation and schemes" to push growth.

 

Gupta says, "What will be essential for this budget is to provide special budgetary allocation and schemes to help drive growth of the Component Ecosystems with special focus on PCBs, Sensors and Electro-mechanical components. Such allocations should support not just capex but also development of high-skilled manpower, availability of natural resources in special component hubs (often required for component manufacturing). We are confident that with combined coverage across Fab, OSAT, EMS and Components, India will further increase our share in the global value chains.”
 

11:10 AM

Finance ministry Economic Review: PM-KMY, PM-KISAN, PMFBY pivotal schemes in farmer welfare

“The policy initiatives, such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana (PM-KMY), Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), have played a pivotal role in providing financial and income support to farmers,” the Economic Review said, ahead of Interim Budget session.

 

Read full story here.

 

11:01 AM

Finance ministry Economic Review: Policy consistency needed to encourage farmers to adopt tech

The Economic Review, released by the finance ministry on Monday, stresses on the need for  policy consistency and continuity to encourage Indian farmers to adopt technologies.

 

This would not only expand their market and production choices, but also keep ecological considerations, natural resource availability, and demand in view.

 

Read full story here.