On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. Despite being an interim budget, it did include some policy revisions and project announcements. Among the major changes, the FM stated that the government has set its fiscal deficit target for FY25 at 5.1% of GDP. Furthermore, the Budget focused on pushing agricultural schemes that would benefit fisheries and dairy farmers while also attracting public and private sector investment. While no changes were announced to the tax structure, the FM did announce the withdrawal of certain outstanding direct tax demands.
Naina Lal Kidwai, former FICCI President, commented on the Budget, saying, “Any government would be tempted to spend money on subsidies and schemes in an election year.” This government has instead announced that it will ensure that we achieve a fiscal deficit of 5.1%,” according to PTI. Kidwai, on the other hand, stated that it is still unclear how the government intends to achieve the fiscal deficit while maintaining high revenue levels, as there is no’scaling back’ on capital expenditure in the financial document.
Former FICCI President Subhrakant Panda welcomed the Budget, stating that it clearly outlined the government’s future trajectory. “Viksit Bharat places a strong emphasis on state-level reforms, with a Rs 75000-crore outlay tied to milestone-based reforms. What stood out to me was the clear identification of the focus groups on which the government is working for upliftment and development: the poor, women, youth, and farmers. “There is a strong emphasis on green growth and inclusive growth,” he said.
Ashish Chauhan, CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), called the Budget a ’10/10 Budget’. He also stated that the Budget focused on the winning formula of balancing fiscal restraint with welfare and growth. “Welfarism was not expected of this government in 2014. But it is evident in the way they (the central government) have constructed social security frameworks, ranging from vaccines, education, food, and pension schemes to insurance benefits,” he added.
Ajay Singh, President of Assocham and Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, also praised the Budget. “The government is pursuing a road map to a developed India by 2047.” “I believe that all of the steps being taken are geared toward a larger goal,” he stated.
Pathik Patwari, President of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, praised the government for the Budget, stating that they were able to give equal importance to all sectors and prepare the Budget ‘for making India developed by 2047’. Sanjiv Puri, MD of the ITC, stated that the Budget will assist the government in continuing to pursue sustainable, inclusive, and competitive economic growth.
Reactions On Green Energy And Infrastructure Changes
Vinod Sharma, Chairman, CII National Committee on ICTE, and MD, Deki Electronics, said that the electronics industry is looking forward to the announcements made regarding rooftop solarisation, EVs, and agricultural productivity. “What enthuses me is the announcements regarding rooftop solar, regarding electric vehicles, and what improvements we want to do in agricultural productivity – all of these will require a lot of electronics. We hope that these electronics will be made in India, designed in India,” the executive added, reported The Ultimate News.
Notably, the Budget announced a rooftop solarisation scheme that will provide one crore households with up to 300 units of free electricity per month. The Finance Minister also stated that the government plans to expand the electric vehicle ecosystem, focusing on manufacturing and charging infrastructure. In addition, the government will work to increase the use of electric buses in public transportation as part of a push for green mobility.
The government announced the launch of a middle-class housing scheme, as well as an 11.1% increase in capital expenditure for infrastructure to Rs 11,11,111 crore, accounting for approximately 3.4% of GDP. Responding to the infrastructure push, Pradeep Kumar Aggarwal, Founder and Chairman of Signature Global (India) Limited, said, “The announcements are fantastic…The main point is that there was a lot of emphasis on infrastructure…The bottom of the pyramid has received special attention, particularly in the section that was not previously addressed…This is a balanced budget. They did their best. So, we’re hoping to hear more announcements in the future.”
Srivats Ram, VC of the CII Tamil Nadu State Council and MD of Wheels India Ltd, did not provide any immediate reactions to the Budget. He stated, “The government has spent a lot of money on CapEx for infrastructure projects in the last two budgets…Taxation has not been affected at all…She has also spoken about Viksit Bharat 2047. She stated that a detailed plan for this will be included in the July budget. So we’ll have to wait and see what the plan is before making any further comments.