Mumbai:

SBI chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on Tuesday lauded the budget for its inclusive approach and exuded confidence that the proposals will boost sagging consumption growth.

In a conversation with PTI Videos, Dinesh Kumar Khara said banks will be helped by the Budget announcements like the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) which will push credit growth, and also welcomed the specific measures on loan recovery.

When asked if doing away with the indexation benefits will act as a dampener, he replied in the negative, pointing out that a bulk of homebuyers in the country are first time buyers and do not get driven by investments.

“I read it to be a very inclusive budget keeping the focus on rural and also for employment, also skilling and tourism. I think it will have a huge impact across the economy,” the state-run lender’s chairman said.

The commitment to narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.9 per cent augurs well for the economy, he said, listing out the impact it will have including a possible rating upgrade that can help soften lending rates in the economy as the sovereign rating goes up.

For the agricultural sector, a focus on digitizing land records in agriculture will make availing kisan credit cards easier for farmers as compared to the past, Dinesh Kumar Khara said.

He said the small businesses sector also has a lot to cheer about, especially with a credit guarantee scheme and also another one where there is a commitment on credit continuity for the enterprises facing stress.

Dinesh Kumar Khara hoped that the credit continuity scheme, under which advances which are overdue for over 30 days but yet to slip into non-performing category will get support, will come with certain guardrails that shall ensure that it does not get abused.

The budget document’s focus on making India a green economy is also visible through initiatives on finance, rooftop solar in homes and small and medium nuclear reactors, the veteran banker said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The government allocates 21% of its budget to the State’s portion of taxes and duties
| Photo Credit: Pichumani K

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman presented the Narendra Modi government’s first full-fledged budget after the NDA secured third consecutive win.

Budget 2024 LIVE Updates

The Budget mentioned net tax receipts for 2024-25 at ₹25.83 lakh crore, while the expenditure is estimated at 48.21 lakh crore.

The majority of money comes from borrowing and other liabilities (27%), followed by income tax (19%) and GST & other taxes (18%), with other sources including non-debt taxes and corporation tax.

Ms. Sitaraman stated that taxpayers appreciate the simplified New Tax Regime without exemptions or deductions for corporate tax and personal income tax. “58% of corporate tax came from the simplified tax regime in the financial year 2022-23. Similarly, as per data available till now for the last fiscal, more than two-thirds have availed of the new personal income tax regime,” she added. 

The government allocates 21% of its budget to the State’s portion of taxes and duties, followed by interest payments at 19%.

While 16% of its Budget is utilised for Central sector schemes, excluding capital outlays on defence and subsidies, only 4% of the fund has been used for pensions. To address the issues regarding the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the FM said, “a solution will be evolved which addresses the relevant issues while maintaining fiscal prudence to protect the common citizens”. 

The announcement in the Interim Budget 2024 of providing rooftop solar power generation to one crore households has come as a response to multiple guarantees of free power by different political parties in different States, including in Delhi and Punjab by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress in others.
| Photo Credit: AP

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech on Thursday followed the norm of not announcing any new tax proposals as the country gets ready for the Lok Sabha election in a couple of months, but her political messaging was very clear — she asserted that the Modi government would return in July to present a full Budget, on the strength of its record, and that it did not need announcements of last minute sops to go into the polls. “Confidence over continuity,” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi put it in his post-Budget remarks.

Also Read | Budget 2024 live updates

“In the full Budget in July, Mr. Speaker, our government will present a detailed roadmap for the pursuit of ‘Vikasit Bharat’,” she said to table thumping by her parliamentary colleagues. Later Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav tweeted this portion of Ms. Sitharaman’s speech with the caption “In July 2024….” to reiterate the point. Almost two thirds of Ms. Sitharaman’s speech was based on achievements of the government in its 10-year tenure.

One of the most politically interesting announcements was on the programme to provide rooftop solar power generation to one crore households, as part of the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana. It has come as a response to multiple guarantees of free power by different political parties in different States, including in Delhi and Punjab by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress in others.

Also Read | Interim Budget 2024: Highlights

Mr. Modi has spoken out against the “rewri” or freebie culture and therefore, this announcement, of making provisions for free power, not by declaring it as free, but under a subsidy model for the initial installation of solar panels etc, and some outlay by the beneficiary themselves is a political-economy response to what is now a political and fiscal challenge in many States in India. “Imagine you have given free power without driving the State exchequer and power distribution companies bankrupt,” said a source in the government.

There was also an acknowledgement that subsidised housing under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana had continuing demand as more and more families have come under its ambit, and therefore an announcement that two crore more houses will be made was done.

Also Read: Puffed-up and poll-ready: Nirmala Sitharaman’s first Interim Budget

An interesting announcement with political ramifications was of setting up a committee to look at the whole issue of population and changes in demography. “Since it was announced by the Finance Minister, you can be sure that this committee will be looking at the question of population not just as a demographic issue but also economic, which will inform policies after that. Till now, the question of growing population or certain population trends was only a demographic question,” said a source in the government.

The Budget also saw the announcement that a White Paper to look at where the economy was in 2014, and where we it is now. “It is now appropriate to look at where we were then till 2014 and where we are now, only for the purpose of drawing lessons from the mismanagement of those years. The government will lay a White Paper on table of the House, Ms. Sitharaman said.

Also Read | Govt to take up next-generation reforms to facilitate growth: Sitharaman

“The White Paper is basically going to look at the change in the way the economy was handled under Prime Minister Modi, of growth generated by expenditure,” said a source.

As India prepares to go into the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP, if we go by Ms. Sitharaman’s speech is depending on its record for a third successive win.