Union Budget 2024 LIVE Updates: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Holds Press Briefing On Budget

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds a press briefing after presenting the Union Budget 2024 earlier today. 

0-3 lakh: nil

3-7 lakh: 5%

7-10 lakh: 10%

10-12 lakh: 15%

12-15 lakh: 20%

above 15 lakh: 30%

- Vishnupad Temple corridor

- Mahabodhi Temple corridor

- Comprehensive development of Rajgir

- Development of Nalanda as a tourist destination

- Restoration of Nalanda University

Infrastructure Budget

- 11 lakh 11 thousand 11 hundred crore
- 1.5 lakh crore for long-term interest-free loans to state
- Private investment will be promoted through viability gap funding
- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana: Phase 4 will be launched to provide connectivity to rural areas

Irrigation And Flood Mitigation: Rs 11,500 crore allocated

- Development of Kosi Mechi Link Project among others in Bihar
- Provide assistance to Assam for flood management
- Reconstruction and rehabilitation in Himachal Pradesh
- Assistance to Uttarakhand, Sikkim

"PM Suryaghar Muft Bijli Yojana has been launched to install rooftop solar panels to enable 1 crore households to obtain free electricity up to 300 units each month. This scheme will further encourage it," Nirmala Sitharaman on free solar electricity scheme.

Highlights Of Union Budget 2024

- Finance Minister says India's economic growth continues to shine
- India's inflation continues to be stable and moving towards the 4 per cent target
- PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna was extended for 5 years benefiting 80 crore people
- As mentioned in the interim budget, we need to focus on the poor, women, youth and farmers, says Nirmala Sitharaman
- Budget to focus on employment, skilling, MSME and middle class
- Budget for FY25 to provide Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education and employment and skill
- People have given unique opportunity to our govt to take India on path of strong development, all round prosperity, says Sitharaman
- Finance Minister says implementation of various schemes announced in Interim Budget in February is still underway

Budget Announcement For MSMEs And Manufacturing Sector:

- Credit guarantee scheme in the manufacturing sector
- Facilitating loans without collateral
- Rs 100 crore cover
- New assessment model for MSMEs
- Bank credit in stress period
- Mudra loans: Limit enhanced to Rs 20 lakhs for those who have availed and repaid previous loans
- SIDBI: 24 new SIDBI branches in MSME clusters to provide direct credit
- E-commerce export hubs in public-private partnership mode
- Measures for the promotion of manufacturing
- Internship scheme: Rs 5,000/month for 12 months
- 12 Industrial parks will be sanctioned
- Rental housing, dormitory-type for industrial workers

FM Sitharaman announces special financial support for the Capital project in Andhra Pradesh, allocating Rs 15000 crore with additional amounts in future. 

Purvodya Scheme for development of Eastern states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh.

Infrastructure development in Bihar:
- Patna Purnia Expressway
- Buxar Bhagalpur Expressway
- Bridge over river Ganga in Buxar
- Sports infrastructure will be developed

- Skilling programme: 20 lakh youth will be skilled over the 5-year period, and 1000 training institutes will be opened

- Financial support: loans up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions

The government will allocate 2 trillion rupees ($24 billion) for job creation over the next five years, says Sitharaman.

Union Budget For Agriculture Sector

- 1 crore farmers will be initiated into natural farming
- Strengthen production, storage and marketing of pulses
- Digital public infrastructure for coverage of farmers and their land in this year
- Shrimp production and export will be facilitated
- National Cooperation Policy for all-round development of the cooperative sector
- Rs 1.52 crore allocated for agriculture and allied sectors

Nirmala Sitharaman begins her speech by thanking the nation for reelecting the NDA government. "The people of India have reposed their faith in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government and reelected it for a record third time," she says.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman begins the presentation of her 7th Union Budget in Lok Sabha.

PM Modi in Parliament, ahead of the presentation of the Union budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Image credit: DD News)

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat arrives at the Parliament ahead of the Budget presentation. "The resolution of PM Modi's government since 2014 is that India should become self-reliant and the way the country is moving ahead in this direction in a systematic manner, this time too the budget has been announced in the same format..." he says.

Tamil Nadu DMK leader TKS Elangovan targets the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government alleging that their budget exercise is only for some of the rich people in this country not for the poor people. "First ten years what they had done, they will continue because Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting her 7th budget. But all the six budgets earlier presented by her had so many promises which were not fulfilled so far."

Highlighting the issues of the poor, he says, "The NSSO had several times stated that the domestic consumption hunt had gone down. Domestic consumption of the poor people, BPL family people and the middle-income people have gone down. They could not purchase anything. But this government had waived loans for very rich people, thousands of crores. They need money to support the rich people who have failed in their industrial process. That is what this budget is for and this government is for."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reaches Parliament ahead of the budget presentation, poses with the tablet in red sleeve. 

BSE Sensex opens in green today ahead of the Union Budget 2024 presentation as it surged over 200 point. Nifty crosses 24,500. Among the top gainers in Sensex are NTPC, Mahindra and Mahindra, L&T, ITC, and Maruti Suzuki.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman heads to Rashtrapati Bhavan to call on President Murmu, ahead of Budget presentation at 11 AM in Parliament.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrives at the Ministry of Finance. She will present the Union Budget today. The budget presentation is scheduled to commence at 11 AM. 

Minister of State Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary reaches the Ministry of Finance in North Block. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present the highly anticipated Union Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha today.

Minister of State Finance Pankaj Chaudhary leaves from his residence ahead of the Union Budget presentation today. "This budget is based on PM Modi's mantra of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas..." says Chaudhary.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament today, marking her seventh consecutive budget. At 11 AM today, the much-awaited full budget for 2024-25, the first under the Modi 3.0 government, will be presented on the floor of the Parliament.