Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks on the Union Budget in New Delhi on July 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23 as one that will empower all sections of society.
“This is a budget that will take the country’s villages, poor and farmers on the path of prosperity. In the last 10 years, 25 crore people have come out of poverty. This budget is a budget for the continuation of the empowerment of the newly emerged, neo middle class,” he said.
Also Read: Budget 2024 Live updates
Highlighting the announcements regarding tax, he said a “decision had been taken” on the reduction and simplification of tax and rules on tax deduction at source (TDS).
MSME sector
He dwelt at length on the provisions made for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, stating that these would provide a new path of progress for small traders and MSMEs. “A new scheme to increase ease of credit has been announced in the budget. Announcements have been made to take the export and manufacturing ecosystem to every district in this budget. This budget will bring new opportunities for start-ups and the space economy,” he said.
“The MSME sector of the country is connected to the middle class. This sector provides maximum employment to the poor. This budget will give a new scale to education and skills,” he added.
Employment boost
A major part of the budget was on providing incentives for youth employment. “In this budget, the government has announced ‘employment-linked incentive’ schemes. This will help generate many employment opportunities. Under this scheme, the government will give the first salary to those who are newly entering the workforce. Youth from villages will be able to work in the country’s top companies under the apprenticeship programme,” he said. He said the development plans of 12 new industrial nodes, new satellite towns and transit plans for 14 big cities would enable the development of new economic hubs in the country and create numerous jobs.
Touching upon the schemes for poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor, he highlighted the measures to build three crore houses for the poor and the ‘Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan’, which will link five crore tribal families to basic facilities with a saturation approach.
The budget brings numerous opportunities for India’s start-ups and innovation ecosystem, Mr. Modi said, referring to the ₹1,000-crore corpus fund to vitalise the space economy and the decision to abolish the angel tax. “Record high capex will become a driving force of the economy,” he added.
