Budget 2024 highlights: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lists out the 9 priority areas in her Budget speech.

Budget 2024 highlights: Emphasis on Employment and Skilling

Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech emphasises heavily on job creation, employment generation and up-skilling of existing workforce. The Finance Minister said employment and skilling will be the top priority sector for the Government. The focus she highlighted will be on “employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class. I am happy to announce the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a central outlay of ₹ 2 lakh crore.”

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This apart her focus area also includes empower the women workforce in the country, for their all-round development.

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Budget 2024 highlights: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates, Budget 2024 Announcements Live

15:22 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: FM clarifies hike in STT

Move to hike STT and Capita Gains taxes set to rationalise overall rates and enhance revenue collection.

14:27 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Defence allocations see a drop in FY25 budget

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant cut in in FY25 allocation for defence at Rs 4.54 lakh crore. This is a significantly steep cut from the Rs 6.21 lakh crore announced during the Interim Budget.

12:09 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Fiscal Deficit seen lower at 4.9%

The Finance Minister in her Budget speech highlighted that the Fiscal Deficit for FY25 is seen at 4.9% of GDP. This is lower than the 5.1% expectation outlined in Interim Budget.

12:01 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Capital and Entrepreneurship push in FM's Budget speech

The Budget Speech by FM Nirmala Sitharaman highlights greater push on Capital markets and entrepreneurship in helping India achieve the Voksit Bharat by 2047 plan.

11:42 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: All about Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan

Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan will be launched for improving the socio-economic condition of tribal communities. The scheme will adopt saturation coverage for tribal families in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts. This will cover 63,000 villages benefitting 5 crore tribal people, says Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament.

11:41 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Job creation for the youth top priority in FM's Budget Speech

The Finance Minister emphasised that job creation in Manufacturing scheme will help incentivise additional employment in manufacturing sector. The scheme is expected to boost prospects for over 200 lakh youth.

11:41 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: 'Special attention to MSMEs,' says Sitharaman

Union Budget 2024-25 provides special attention to MSMEs and manufacturing, particularly labour-intensive manufacturing.

-New mechanism announced for facilitating continuation of bank credit to MSMEs during their stress period

-Limit of Mudra loans increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh

11:39 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Focus of four key areas

The interim Budget highlighted the government's focus in 4 key areas:

Poor, Women, Youth and Annadata. For Annadata, the Union government announced higher Minimum Support Prices for all major crops. The PM Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana was extended for 5 years benefitting more than 80 crore people, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

11:39 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Allocation for rural infra and housing

The Finance Minister in her Budget Speech announced rural allocation amounting to Rs 2.66 lakh crore. This is same as announced in interim budget.

11:37 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Special Focus on Women & Students

For employemnet skilling, the finance minister said that following things:

-Setting up of working women's hostels & creches in collaboration with industry

-Model Skill Loan Scheme to be revised to facilitate loans up to 7.5 lakh with a guarantee from a government-promoted fund; expected to help 25,000 students every year

-E-vouchers for loans upto 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions to be given directly to 1 lakh students every year for annual interest subvention of 3% of loan amount

11:36 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Funds to be provided for Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says during her Budget speech, "Funds to be provided for essential infrastructure development in Kopparthy node on Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor & Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor."

11:34 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Union Budget 2024-25 proposes

-Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls

-More than 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank to be set up in the North East region

-Completion of Polavaram Irrigation Project to ensure food security of the nation

11:30 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: FM bats for women-led development in Budget speech

Addressing the Parliament, the Finance Minister in her Budget Speech highlighted the need for "enhancing women's role for economic development."

11:26 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Speech Live Updates: Markets give a thumbs up to the Budget announcements

The Finance Minister Budget speech is no doubt giving an impetus to the markets. Despite a very volatile session, the key indices are in the green at the moment driven by rate sensitives and defensive stocks.

11:16 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: FM puts focus on employment, education and skilling

Elaborating on the theme for the FY25 Budget, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech reiterated focus on

-Employment

-Education

-Skilling

The focus is primarily driven by greater emphasis on job creation in manufacturing sector.

11:05 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman speaks in Parliament

"We are determined to ensure that all Indians, regardless of religion, caste and creed, makes substantial progress in realising their life goals and aspirations," Nirmala Sitharaman says as she presents Union Budget 2024 in the Parliament.

11:03 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman presents Union Budget 2024

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents Union Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha. Ahead of arriving in the Parliament, she showcased a tablet wrapped in a red pouch carrying the Budget documents, outside the Finance Ministry in North Block before leaving for the Parliament to table the Union Budget 2024-25, in New Delhi.

10:56 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Cabinet clears Union Budget 2024

The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to the full budget for 2024-25 on Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her seventh budget in the Lok Sabha following this approval.

10:29 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: President Murmu's special gift for Nirmala Sitharaman

In a video, President Murmu was seen giving 'dahi cheeni' to Nirmala Sitharaman as a way to wish her 'best of luck' ahead of the Budget presentation.

10:23 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Jammu and Kashmir Budget to be announced along with Union Budget today

Copies of the Jammu and Kashmir budget have arrived in Parliament. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the estimated receipts and expenditures for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature) for the fiscal year 2024-25 in Parliament today.

10:22 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: A look at Budget Session dates

The budget session of Parliament commenced from July 22 and is slated to conclude on August 12, the official schedule says.

10:17 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: 'No expectation from Nirmala Sitharaman,' says Trinamool Congress

Ahead of the Budget presentation, Trinamool Congress lawmaker Dola Sen slammed the Modi government and said that the party has 'no expectation' from the Centre. She said that in the last decade of its rule, the Modi regime has not paid any attention to the health and education sectors. Taking a sharp swipe at the Centre, Sen also said that the Modi government has failed to address the unemployment crisis.

10:09 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Markets remain muted

While we saw the stock markets in green in the opening trade, the mood has turned bit somber. Current trend shows the market in red. (Live Updates)

10:06 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman reaches Parliament

After meeting President Murmu, Nirmala Sitharaman has reached Parliament ahead of her Budget presentation at 11:00 am.

10:01 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman meets President Droupadi Murmu

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reached Rashtrapati Bhavan and met President Droupadi Murmu. Sitharaman was also accompanied by her ministry officials in this key pre-budget meeting.

09:57 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman's look of the day

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is known for her love for traditional handloom sarees. From tussar silk to Mangalgiri silk, Sitharaman has donned beautiful sarees over the years. This time, presenting her seventh budget, Sitharaman has chosen an off-white number with plum colour border. (Read More)

09:51 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Sitharaman scripts unique record

With seventh consecutive Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman has scripted a unique record of presenting the most number of budgets in the Independent India. Earlier, Morarji Desai held this record.

09:47 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Modi minister says this before Sitharaman's Budget speech

Ahead of Sitharaman's budget speech, Finance Minister (Minister of State ) Pankaj Chaudhary said that Modi 3.0's first Union Budget will be based on mantra of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'.

09:39 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: What are the top expectations in the Budget

While we await the Finance Minister's Budget Speech at 11 am, here is a quick look at the top expectations-

1. Tax Relief : The salaried employees are expecting a host of income tax relief measures including higher standard deduction and HRA exemption limits along with widening of tax slab.

2. GST Exemption: Several industry segments are also looking at potential measures to boost manufacturing. These include tax holiday and GST exemptions.

3. Rev up rural economy: Measures to boost rural economy including steps to drive up consumption levels as well as higher allocation for rural schemes are high on the wish list.

4. Capex Push: The windfall RBI dividend payout is expected to help the govt allocate more funds for Capex.

09:31 (IST) 23 Jul 2024
Budget 2024 Live Updates: Markets start on a positive note

As the final countdown for the last on hour before FM's Budget Speech begins, the markets have gotten off to a positive start. The Nifty is flat but in the green at 24,523. The Sensex meanwhile is holding above 80,500.

Here are some of the key aspects that the FM is likely to address in her seventh straight Budget. 

1. Tax Relief: Salaried individuals are looking forward to cut in Standard deduction, HRA exemptions increasing and tax slabs widening. Especially for tax payers under the new tax regime, significant relief is expected to enable leaving more money in the hands of the tax payers and boost consumption.  2. Boost Capex: Union Budget 2024 is also expected to be pcked with measures to boost the economic recovery and foster growth. Capex for infra is set to see a strong push, to not just bring about greater economic growth but also generate jobs. 3. Welfare Agenda: Not only is the Government expected to use the windfal RBI dividend pay out for Capex but also direct it for more welfare schemes like Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, PM Kisan. PM Awas Yojana, PM Rozgar Yojana and lot more. 4. Agri focus: The farm sector as well as the overall wellbeing of the farmers is also expected to be a key area of focus in Budget 2024. The farm sector allocations, as a result is set to see a boost.  5. Ease of Doing Business: India Inc is also looking at steps to enhance ease of business, be it in terms of rationalisation of tax rates or regulations. 

Stay tuned to Financial Express.com for the latest on all the expectations, estimates and the announcements as the Finance Minister's Budget 2024 Speech at 11 am on July 23.