Union Budget Highlights 2024: Big push for jobs, agriculture and energy security

Goodies for the common man and woman in FM Nirmala Sitharaman's Bahikhata in Budget 2024?

Employment, skilling and agriculture have received a big push in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's record seventh Budget. The Budget 2024 is the first of the Modi 3.0 government and is expected to lay the road map for transforming India into ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Here are the key announcements, so far:

• Nine priority areas for Budget FY24-25: productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment and skilling, inclusive HR development and social justice, manufacturing & services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation R&D and next-gen reforms
• 5 schemes aimed at skilling and employment will target 4.1 crore youth over the next 5 years with a budgetary allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore
• A new scheme will offer one month wage up to Rs 15,000 to those joining the formal sector. The plan will benefit 2.1 crore youths, said the minister
• A scheme to provide internship in top 500 companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years. They will gain exposure to real life business. Interns will be given Rs.5,000 per month along with one time assistance of Rs.6,000.
• Govt will also launch 3 schemes for employment-linked incentives
• FM has allocated Rs 1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors
• 1 crore farmers to adopt natural farming in 2 years; 109 crop varieties to be released
• FDI rules will be simplified to facilitate more inflows, nudge prioritisation and to promote rupee usage
• Finance minister says inflation remains low, moving toward 4 percent target
• Government will formulate Purvodaya for all round development of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
• E-vouchers of loans worth Rs 10 lakh will be given to 1 lakh students for interest subvention of 3 percent of amount
• FM to facilitate 15,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh with additional amounts in future years
• Three crore additional houses in rural and urban areas have been announced for which necessary allocation has been made.