Devoid of hype,the interim budget stands out as a factsheet of actual performance

Three economic corridor programmes will be implemented for energy, mineral and cement, along with port connectivity corridors and high traffic density corridors. 40,000 bogies are proposed to be converted to Vande Bharat standards

Several years ago, my son, a scientist, was wrapping his head around money and finance, starting with home expenditure and its management.

His question was ratherfundamental-why have a budget? So cutting to the chase, I delved into the discourse of how home and national finance management work on similar principles.

In this specific piece, a non-typical budget, the Interim Budget 2024, is being discussed.

If I were the Union Finance Minister what would mybudget emphasize on?Moreover is my budget worthy of passing muster with the Election Commission, as one devoid of announcements that could be seen as instruments of voter enticement?

In the run-up to the budget day (Feb. 1), news articles and press coverage put out prognoses based on FM’s cues and analysis ofpast occasions (Interim Budget 2019).

Some possible priorities were reported by the mediawith the emphasis on the four pillars of the economy’s growth:Garib (poor), Yuva (youth), Anna Data (agriculture) and Nari (Women)-GYAN. The budget announcements under GYAN-The Poor: Approximately, 25 crore people have been lifted out of multi-dimensional poverty in the past ten years. The Direct Benefit Transfer amounting to 34 lakh crore enabled the government to save upto INR 2.7 lakh crore by way of stopping leakages. This corpus is being used to improve Garib Kalyan Scheme.

Youth: Around 1.43 crore youth were trained and 54 lakh youth reskilled or upskilledunder Skill India Mission. Mudra Yojana sanctioned 43 crore loans amounting to Rs. 22.5 lakh crore for the entrepreneurial aspirations of youth, who are being assisted by the Fund of Funds, Startup India and Startup Credit Guarantee Schemes.

For the purpose of skill and higher education, 3000 ITIs, seven IITs, 16 IIITs, seven IIMs, 15 AIIMS and 390 Universities have been set up.To cater to the tech savvy youth, a corpus of INR one lakh crore has been set up with provisions of interest-free loans for upto 50 years. Refinancing and long- term financing have also been covered under the scheme.

Farmers:Though farm incomes have increased, the KisanSamman Yojana covers over 11.8 farmers, while KisanFasalBima Yojana over four crore.

Women: The LakhpatiDidi scheme to target sustainable income of INR 100,000 among the rural households has been increased from the earlier two crore which will now cover three crore women. Cervical cancer vaccinations for girls aged between nine and 14 years was a major announcement with regard to women healthcare alongwith the insurance schemes being extended to ASHA workers.

Sector highlights-Fiscal health: Clear commitment to reduce fiscal deficit to 5.1% of the GDP in 2024-25;

Indirect and direct taxes: No changes in either. Also the waiver of disputed direct tax demands ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 until 2009-10 has come as a relief.

Energy:The government will enable one crore households to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity every month through the rooftop solar programme. It will save households INR 15-18,000 annually and also monetize extra power by supplying it to the grid. Installations and maintenance of solar assets will create many job opportunities to the rural youth. Another high is the boost through creation of EV vehicle Ecosystem.

Highways, railways and airports: Three economic corridor programmes will be implemented for energy, mineral and cement, along with port connectivity corridors and high traffic density corridors.

40,000 bogies are proposed to be converted to Vande Bharat standards.

Expansion of existing airports and development of new airports will continue. Over 1000 new aircraft orders have been placed by Indian carriers. There has been a marginal increase of 2.8 % in allocations to NHAI and NHIDC.

Manufacturing: Bio-manufacturing and bio-foundry are bound to boost green growth.

Tourism: Lakshadweep and spiritual tourism are new focus areas. The provision of long- term interest-free loans on matching basis will improve tourist infrastructure.

Housing:The government will announce housing scheme for middle class and slum dwellers as well as rental housing. Two crore rural dwelling units will be constructed in the next five years.

MSMEs: Presumptive taxation limit increased from INR two crore to INR three crore.

The budget stood out as one with no surprises, a fact sheet of actual performance devoid of hype. It is at best an account of a lawmaker looking back on overall economic performance with satisfaction. The shortest budgetdelivery has not raised noquestions for the Election Commission of India.

Incidentally, even the frisky stock markets of NIFTY and SENSEX reflected similar stability.

(The writer is the founder and Director ofVayati Systems and Research Ltd)