Budget and its numbers: A breakdown of key estimates for FY25

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her sixth consecutive budget today

The Union Budget for 2024-25, presented on February 1, was a vote-on-account with the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May. The full budget will be presented by the next government in July.

But that does not mean the set of numbers that have been presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman can be ignored. The Interim Budget, like a full one, contains thousands of numbers, one as important as the next. Here, Moneycontrol tells you which numbers matter the most and what they mean for the economy in 2024-25.

Size and deficit

The total size of the 2024-25 Budget stands at Rs 47.66 lakh crore — 6.1 percent bigger than the revised estimate for 2023-24. To help meet the gap between its income and expenditure of Rs 16.85 lakh crore, or the fiscal deficit, pegged at lower-than-expected 5.1 percent of the GDP, the Centre will borrow Rs 14.13 lakh crore from the market by issuing bonds.
On a net basis, after adjusting for the payments it will make for bonds maturing the next financial year, the Centre's borrowing programme has been estimated at Rs 11.75 lakh crore.

At Rs 11.11 lakh crore, the Centre's capex target for 2024-25 is at a fresh record high and 16.9 percent higher than the revised estimate for this year. As expected, the Centre has missed its Rs 10-lakh-crore target for 2023-24 by around Rs 50,000 crore.

On the receipts front, the finance ministry continues to remain realistic. The Budget estimates that the Centre's gross tax collections will rise to Rs 38.31 lakh crore in 2024-25, up 11.5 percent from the revised estimate for this year. Net tax revenues — arrived at after adjusting for transfers to states —are seen rising 11.9 percent to Rs 26.02 lakh crore.

Within taxes, corporate and income tax collections are seen rising 13 percent and 13.1 percent. Excise duty collections are pegged 5 percent above this year's revised estimate at Rs 3.19 lakh crore, while the Centre's Goods and Services Tax collections are seen rising 13.1 percent to Rs 9.18 lakh crore.

On the whole, Sitharaman has been far more aggressive in consolidating the Centre's finances than was expected. But the real test will come first in the Lok Sabha elections and then the full Budget in July where - as the finance minister confidently said in her speech: "Our government will present a detailed roadmap for our pursuit of 'Viksit Bharat'."