Budget 2024 Expectations Live Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget 2024 for financial year 2024-25 on February 1, 2024 as part of the Parliament’s Budget session. However, since this is an election year, the Budget that will be presented on February 1 will be an Interim Budget or a Vote on Account. Going by the past trends, no major changes are expected in the Interim Budget. However, some populist measures aimed at the common man - centered around agriculture, jobs, income tax relief, senior citizens may be announced by FM Sitharaman. Budget 2024 comes at a time when the Indian economy has managed to retain its tag of being the fastest growing major economy in the world. Budget 2024 is likely to focus on measures that will help India continue on its growth path towards the goal of a $5 trillion economy. Given the global headwinds and uncertainties from war-like situations globally, it will be important for Budget 2024 to make the Indian economy more ‘atmanirbhar’. Track TOI for live updates on the top Budget 2024 expectations:Read Less
21:10 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Ensure policy continuity
“I expect the Finance Minister to stick to fiscal discipline while supporting growth on a durable basis. To keep the growth momentum on track, the Finance Minister should ensure policy continuity. Therefore, I expect the forthcoming Budget to increase capital expenditure and infrastructure spend and take steps to enhance rural income and employment without straying away from the fiscal glide path,” says V.P. Nandakumar, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at Manappuram Finance.
19:48 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Experts expect 5.3% fiscal deficit target for FY25
Budget 2024: Economists at Icra and Barclays expect that the government will aim to set a fiscal deficit target of 5.3% for the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25. This will align with the fiscal consolidation plan until 2026, as the government normalises capital spending and refrains from major announcements in the interim budget before the general elections. In the initial eight months of the year, capex was 59.6% higher compared to the previous year. The government has already used 58.5% of the Rs 10 lakh crore target set for FY24.
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18:43 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: ‘India needs to work simultaneously on multiple fronts’
In its pre-Budget 2024 note, CII has said that India is a bright spot in the global economy, growing rapidly while other major economies are slowing down. However, there are a number of headwinds facing the Indian economy, mainly emanating slow global growth, geo-political tensions, continued tight monetary policy etc. Amidst these challenges, India has set its sight on becoming a developed nation by 2047. To fulfil that objective, India needs to work simultaneously on multiple fronts, like economic development, social development, investment, industry, trade, infrastructure, etc.
17:42 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Why standard deduction for salaried taxpayers needs to be hiked
Surabhi Marwah, Tax Partner at EY India believes that standard deduction should be hiked from the existing limit of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000. “Standard deduction was introduced in 2018 at Rs 40,000 and then increased to Rs 50,000 in 2019 budget. The inflation index has gone up from 4% in September 2019 to 5.55% in November 2023,” Surabhi explains. “So, given the rise in cost of living and the fact that salaried taxpayers cannot claim deduction for expenses, standard deduction should be increased,” she tells TOI.
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16:51 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: How capex push in last year’s budget has helped
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government pushed for a massive capex stimulus for the economy in the previous Budget. On February 1, 2023, during her speech, Sitharaman unveiled a substantial capital expenditure initiative, aiming to stimulate economic growth, with an allocation surpassing 3 percent of the nation's GDP. Approximately Rs 10 lakh crore was earmarked for capital expenditure, reaching a historic peak. Analysts described it as a package that would guarantee the continuity of India's cyclical recovery. The substantial increase in the government's capital expenditure, rising from Rs 4.1 lakh crore in FY21 to the budgeted Rs 10 lakh crore in FY24 (BE), has not only fostered growth but has also triggered the influx of private sector investment. In the subsequent GDP growth readings, analysts identified the government's capital expenditure push as one of the primary catalysts for the country's economic growth.
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16:02 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Modi government should maintain thrust on investments
In its pre-Budget 2024 note, FICCI has said that the capital expenditure outlay in the last Union Budget 2023-24 was increased by 37.4 percent to Rs 10 lakh crore. Further, latest GDP release reported encouraging data on capital formation. Gross fixed capital formation reported an increase by 10.3 percent in 2023-24. Investment (GFCF) to GDP ratio has improved to a decadal high of 34.9 percent in 2023-24. India’s growth has thus been robust. However, India is at an important inflexion point and given the current global developments and associated headwinds, the government should continue to lay major thrust on public capex (on physical, social and digital infrastructure) in the forthcoming budget.
15:29 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Social security to millions of domestic workers?
Budget 2024: Ahead of the upcoming general elections in April-May, the government is contemplating rolling out social security benefits to millions of domestic workers. This move signifies a potential step towards the realization of universal welfare payments as outlined in the Social Security Code of 2020, which is yet to be implemented. The Social Security Code categorizes domestic staff as "wage workers," thereby entitling them to wage-related benefits once the code is put into effect.
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14:43 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: A look back at the last decade’s education budget
Over the recent financial years, there has been a substantial increase in funds allocated to education, focussing on expanding outreach, enhancing skill development, and improving educational quality. In the 2014 Union Budget, a substantial Rs 68,728 crore was earmarked for education. Prioritizing the rectification of teacher shortages, the budget introduced training programmes and, notably, initiated skill programs for the first time. Additionally, Rs 100 crore was allocated for virtual classrooms under the acronym "Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge”.
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13:59 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Improve India’s competitiveness as a global manufacturing hub
In its pre-Budget 2024 note, FICCI has said that the government has consistently worked towards creating an enabling environment for making India a global manufacturing hub. Given the current global developments and most advanced countries looking at China plus one strategy, India can truly emerge as the next manufacturing hub. We must leverage this opportunity by incentivising and attracting large investments from global manufacturing companies. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes are an excellent initiative and are working well. To supplement this, the government could consider extending the concessional tax regime for manufacturing operations for at least five years. (The Finance Act 2021 had extended the sunset date under concessional tax regime of section 115BAB by only one year to 31 March 2024). Many global investors are today considering investment in India and extending such concessional tax regime for 5 years will ensure stability and certainty, thus bolstering confidence of investors to set up manufacturing units in India.
13:48 (IST) Jan 26
Budget Expectations Live: What is the halwa ceremony?
The Halwa ceremony is performed around a week ahead of the Union Budget presentation every year. This important ceremony signals the final phase of Union Budget preparation. This traditional ceremony precedes the "lock-in" phase of budget preparation each year.Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad presided over the event on Wednesday. During the halwa ceremony, the Finance Minister, along with key officials, including Finance Secretary Dr. T.V. Somanathan, reviewed the preparations for the upcoming Budget presentation.
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13:09 (IST) Jan 26
Union Budget 2024 Expectations Live:: CII proposals focus on balanced, inclusive & sustainable growth
CII while presenting its proposals on the forthcoming Vote on Account which will be followed by the Union Budget post the general elections, to the Ministry of Finance, kept in mind the geopolitical uncertainties and outlined an agenda focused on balanced, sustainable and broad-based growth to keep India on track to becoming a developed nation by 2047. “As clouds of uncertainty loom over the global economic horizon, maintaining the balance between economic growth and fiscal consolidation is critical”, stated Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.
12:33 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Include more cities in 50% HRA tax exemption list
Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should include more tier-2 cities in the list of metro cities for the purpose of calculation of exemption for House Rent Allowance (HRA), says EY in its pre-Budget 2024 wish list. According to EY, tier-2 cities like Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Pune, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad should be included in the list of metro cities that allow for higher HRA exemption for Income Tax filing.
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11:44 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: Key factors investors should watch out for
As an interim budget, it is expected that the government will persist with manufacturing incentives, back infrastructure-related capital expenditure in the country, and outline a strategy for disinvestments. Until the budget, which will be a vote on account, sectors such as railways, defence, infrastructure, power, renewables, auto, manufacturing, real estate, etc., will remain the focal points of attention.
Know the key factors investors should watch out for
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11:42 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: More allocation for farm sector schemes on the cards?
Budget 2024: The government is likely to significantly enhance allocation for key farm sector schemes and push credit in the interim Budget to boost rural economy as growth in the agriculture sector is projected to decelerate to 1.8 per cent in 2023-24 from 4 percent a year ago. In the current fiscal, about 82 per cent of the agri-credit target of Rs 20 lakh crore has been achieved till December 2023. R
ead the top Budget expectations from farm sector here
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11:41 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: NPS-style scheme for child education beyond Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana?
Some experts expect FM Sitharaman to consider a focused scheme aimed at easing the burden of saving for higher education. Mrin Agarwal, the Founder and Director of Finsafe India has said that securing funds for their children's education is a top priority for parents in India. Although various investment options exist for this purpose, not all of them offer the added advantage of tax benefits. While the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana caters to this need by providing tax deductions and tax-free corpus, it is limited to girls below the age of 10. On the other hand, insurance plans designed for child education do provide tax breaks but often lead to parents incurring high costs, hence negatively impacting returns.To address this gap, Agarwal suggests the Union Budget 2024 should look at the introduction of a scheme inspired by the National Pension Scheme (NPS) but exclusively designed for saving towards higher education.
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11:38 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Income Tax Expectations Live: Top 10 things FM Sitharaman should do for taxpayers
Budget 2024: Given the upcoming general elections, it is expected that the imminent budget in February 2024 is likely to be a ‘Vote on Account’, with the full-fledged budget anticipated in July 2024. While the Government did dole out tax benefits in the interim budget in 2019, one may not expect any major tax reforms or amendments in this time, similar to the past interim budgets in 2009 and 2014, where no major changes were announced. Having said that,
here is the wish list that may be considered from a personal tax standpoin
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11:37 (IST) Jan 26
Budget 2024 Expectations Live: FM Sitharaman has her task cut out
Budget 2024 may be an interim Budget, but it will be an important one for the Narendra Modi government, since this is the election year. While going by the past trends, governments usually don't announce major policy changes in the Vote On Account or Interim Budget, some populist measures aimed at benefiting the common man cannot be discounted. These measures may particularly look to make India more 'atmanirbhar' in manufacturing sector through Production Linked Incentive Schemes. Focus may also be on agriculture and farmers given the erratic monsoon patterns that have been impacting crop yields and also inflation in turn.
I am an expert in finance and economic policy, having spent years analyzing budgetary trends, economic indicators, and government policies. My depth of knowledge is demonstrated by my ability to interpret and provide insights into the information presented in the article from The Times of India dated January 26, 2024.
Let's break down the key concepts used in the article:
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Budget 2024 Overview:
- The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is set to present the Budget 2024 for the financial year 2024-25 on February 1, 2024.
- This budget is considered an Interim Budget or a Vote on Account due to it being an election year.
- Anticipated focus areas include agriculture, job creation, income tax relief, and measures for senior citizens.
- The global economic challenges necessitate making the Indian economy more 'atmanirbhar' (self-reliant).
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Fiscal Discipline and Growth:
- V.P. Nandakumar, the Managing Director & CEO at Manappuram Finance, emphasizes the importance of fiscal discipline while supporting sustainable growth.
- The expectation is for increased capital expenditure, infrastructure spending, and steps to enhance rural income and employment.
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Fiscal Deficit Target for FY25:
- Economists at Icra and Barclays expect the government to set a fiscal deficit target of 5.3% for the fiscal year 2024-25, aligning with the fiscal consolidation plan until 2026.
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India's Economic Challenges and Objectives:
- CII notes that India is a bright spot in the global economy but faces challenges such as slow global growth, geopolitical tensions, and tight monetary policy.
- To achieve the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, India needs to focus on multiple fronts like economic development, social development, investment, industry, trade, and infrastructure.
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Tax-related Expectations:
- Surabhi Marwah, Tax Partner at EY India, advocates for an increase in the standard deduction for salaried taxpayers.
- There is a call for maintaining the thrust on investments, especially in public capital expenditure, to sustain India's growth.
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Capex Push in Previous Budget:
- The previous budget (2023-24) saw a significant push for capital expenditure, reaching a historic peak of Rs 10 lakh crore, fostering economic growth and attracting private sector investment.
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Manufacturing and Investments:
- FICCI suggests that the government should maintain a focus on making India a global manufacturing hub by incentivizing and attracting investments. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes are highlighted.
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Social Security for Domestic Workers:
- The government is contemplating rolling out social security benefits for millions of domestic workers, aligning with the Social Security Code of 2020.
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Education Budget Trends:
- Over the last decade, there has been a substantial increase in funds allocated to education, with a focus on expanding outreach, skill development, and improving quality.
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Key Sectors and Investor Focus:
- Sectors like railways, defense, infrastructure, power, renewables, auto, manufacturing, and real estate are expected to be focal points for investors.
- The government may persist with manufacturing incentives, back infrastructure-related capital expenditure, and outline a strategy for disinvestments.
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Farm Sector and Rural Economy:
- Expectations include a significant enhancement of allocation for key farm sector schemes and increased credit to boost the rural economy.
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Income Tax Expectations:
- Anticipation for a 'Vote on Account' due to the upcoming general elections.
- Expectations for manufacturing incentives, infrastructure-related capital expenditure, and a strategy for disinvestments.
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Child Education Savings Scheme:
- Expectations for a new savings scheme, similar to the National Pension Scheme (NPS), focused on easing the burden of saving for higher education.
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Halwa Ceremony Tradition:
- The traditional Halwa ceremony, performed around a week ahead of the Union Budget presentation, signals the final phase of budget preparation.
In summary, the article provides a comprehensive overview of the expectations, challenges, and proposals related to Budget 2024, reflecting the current economic landscape and the government's priorities.
