Budget 2024 Explained: Sitharaman Announces 9 Priorities for India's Growth

New Delhi- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 on Tuesday and the government has kept the focus on development and welfare by announcing 9 priorities for the country.

These priorities are productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment and skilling, inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice, manufacturing and services, Urban Development, Energy Security, Infrastructure, Innovation, Research and Development and Next Generation Reforms.​

Under the budget, the government plans to introduce a number of schemes to provide employment opportunities to the youth and women.

The government also plans to launch a comprehensive scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to 1 crore young people in the next five years.

The government also plans to introduce a scheme for the development of rental housing with dormitory-type accommodation for industrial workers. It also plans to set up a critical mineral mission for domestic production and recycling of critical minerals.

At the same time, the government has also announced a number of relief measures for cancer patients. Under this, the custom duties on gold, silver and platinum will be reduced to 6 percent and 6.4 percent respectively. The government also plans to abolish the angel tax for all classes of investors.

On the Personal Income Tax front, two announcements were made by the Finance Minister. In the New Tax Regime, the standard deduction of salaried employees to be increased from 50 thousand rupees to 75 thousand rupees. New Tax Regime slab for taxpayers will be 0-3 lakh -- Nil, 3-7 Lakh -- 5 percent, 7-10- 10 percent, 10-12- 15 percent, 12-15- 20 percent and above 15- 30 percent.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that this budget is focused on development and welfare and it is a step in the right direction. The government will work for the benefit of the people of this country by improving the infrastructure of the country and building a stronger economy.