Union Budget 2024: Big boost for Bihar, focus on rural economy and unemployment

The announcement covers human resource development infrastructure and the generation of economic opportunities to make the eastern region of the country covering Bihar Jharkhand West Bengal Odisha and Andhra PradeshIn her Budget speech in Parliament Nirmala Sitharaman said On the AmritsarKolkata industrial corridor we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects namely PatnaPurnia Expressway BuxarBagalpur Expressway BodhgayaRajgirVaishaliDarbanga and an additional twolane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26000 crPower projects including setting up of a new 2400 megawatt power plant at Pirpainti will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21400 crore she addedThe Finance Minister said that new airports medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided she saidThe first budget under Modi 30 seeks an economic vision that balances fiscal prudence This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi governments 13th straight Budget since 2014 including two interim onesThe Union Budget focuses on supporting consumption via higher allocation for the rural economy taxation reforms infrastructure push thrust on local manufacturing job and skill creation and an increase in productionlinked incentive PLI allocation to more labourintensive sectorsYouth empowerment and employment schemesThe budget outlines five major schemes aimed at benefiting 41 crore youth over the next five years with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore These schemes are designed to create employment opportunities and enhance skill development among the young populationSupport for firsttime employees and enterprises A notable announcement was the provision of onemonth salary support to enterprises hiring firsttime employees Additionally a Direct Benefit Transfer DBT of one monthrsquos salary up to Rs 15000 will be provided to firsttime employees with an eligibility limit of Rs 1 lakh per month This initiative is expected to benefit 210 lakh youthEmploymentlinked incentivesThree new schemes have been introduced to boost employment1 One months wage for freshers2 Job creation incentives in the manufacturing sector3 Support for employers4 These schemes are anticipated to benefit 30 lakh youth entering employment and their employers especially with incentives tied to EPFO contributionsNine priorities for Indias futureFM Sitharaman presented a comprehensive roadmap focusing on nine key prioritiesAgriculture employment inclusive development manufacturing and services urban development energy security infrastructure innovation and RampD nextgeneration reforms and energy security Energy security was underscored as one of the nine essential priorities reflecting the governments dedication to ensuring sustainable and reliable energy for allAlso read Budget Session 2024 Key highlights of Modi 30s first budgetCommitment to inflation control and welfareFM Sitharaman announced that inflation is moving towards the target of 4 percent The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana PMGKAY has been extended for five years benefiting more than 80 crore peopleFocus on natural farming and agricultural researchThe budget proposes to initiate 1 crore farmers into natural farming over the next two years Additionally agricultural research will be transformed to focus on increasing productivity and developing climateresilient crop varietiesFM added that the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was extended by five years benefiting more than 80 crore people in the country As the Modi governments focus is eyeing to support the farming community the finance minister said New 109 highyielding climateresilient varieties to be released to farmers One crore farmers are to be initiated into natural farming over two yearsMeasures to boost MSME sectorThe government will come out with a credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to facilitate term loans without collateral or thirdparty guarantee Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday She also said that public sector banks to build inhouse capability for credit assessment of MSMEsAs part of a slew of measures to boost the sector the government will reduce the turnover threshold of MSME buyers for mandatory onboarding on TReDs platform from Rs 500 crore to Rs 250 croreOther highlights10000 needbased bioinput centres to be establishedLargescale clusters for vegetable production are to be developed closer to consumption centresDigital crop survey for Kharif to be taken up in 400 districts in FY25Rs 152 lakh crore will be set aside for agriculture and allied sectors in FY25With inputs from PTI