PM-KISAN to Ayushman Bharat: Key changes possible in interim Budget

Interim Budget: Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there may not be big announcements. However, various reports have suggested that there may be some changes in many of the Centre's schemes

Budget 2024 India: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to announce her sixth Budget on February 1, 2024. As it is an election year, Sitharaman will announce an interim budget. The full Budget will be presented once a new cabinet is formed after the Lok Sabha elections.

Sitharaman had earlier said that this Budget may not have big announcements. However, various reports have cited senior government sources as saying that there may be some changes in many of the Centre’s schemes.

Union Budget 2024-25: Key changes possible in schemes

Ayushman Bharat Scheme

The Centre is working on a proposal to double the health cover under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 5 lakh currently, according to news agency PTI. The announcement is expected during the interim budget speech on February 1.

The main factor behind the increased allocation, according to the report, is to ensure that serious diseases like cancer and transplants that entail more expenditure are supported by it.

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It would require an increased allocation of Rs 12,076 crore per annum.

MGNREGS

The Centre is likely to increase the allocation towards the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) by around 47 per cent to Rs 88,000 crore from Rs 60,000 crore currently, according to a report by the Economic Times (ET).

This is mainly due to the continuation of high work demand under the scheme in rural parts of the country.

Notably, in FY23, the Centre spent around 90,000 crore on the scheme. For FY25, the rural development ministry had asked the Centre to allocate Rs 1.1 trillion towards the scheme in pre-budget consultations.

PM-KISAN

The allocation per farmer under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana may be increased by Rs 2,000 per annum from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000, according to a report by CNBC-TV18. However, no final decision has yet been taken.

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The Centre is expected to release the 16th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme between February and March, it added. The 15th instalment was released in November last year.

FAME scheme

Business Standard earlier reported that the Centre is likely to launch the third phase of its Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme in the upcoming Budget.

The allocation for FAME-III is likely to be around Rs 12,500 crore, higher than the previous two phases.