Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the Interim Budget for 2024-25 will build the future of the country and empower Viksit Bharat’s main pillars — the poor, youth, women, and farmers. The PM said: “Today’s Budget, though an Interim Budget, is inclusive and innovative. This budget carries the confidence of continuity. will empower all four pillars of ‘Viksit Bharat’ — the poor, youth, women, and farmers. Nirmala ji’s budget is for building the future of the country. This Budget carries the guarantee of strengthening the foundation of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.” Observing that the Budget reflects young aspirations of “Bharat”, the Prime Minister said, “Two important decisions have been taken. A fund of Rs 1 lakh crore has been announced for research and innovation. There has also been an announcement to expand the tax exemption for start-ups.” He said that the Budget has allocated a historic high of Rs 11 lakh crore for capital expenditure. “While keeping the fiscal deficit under control in this Budget, a historic high of Rs 11,11,111 crore has been allocated for capital expenditure. In the language of economists, this is somewhat of a sweet spot…This will not only lead to the construction of 21st-century modern infrastructure in Bharat, but also create countless new opportunities for employment for the youth.” The PM said that the announcement to manufacture 40,000 modern coaches under the ‘Vande Bharat standard’ and induct them in regular passenger trains will enhance the experience of comfortable travel for millions of passengers across the country. “We set a big goal, achieve it, and then set an even bigger goal for ourselves. We have built more than 4 crore houses for the poor in villages and cities. Now, we have set a goal of building 2 crore new houses. Our initial goal was to make 2 crore women ‘lakhpati didis'. now, this goal has been increased to 3 crore. The Ayushman Bharat scheme has greatly helped the poor. Now, Anganwadi and ASHA workers will also benefit from this scheme,” the PM said. “In this Budget, significant emphasis has been placed on empowering the poor and middle class, creating new income opportunities for them. Under the rooftop solar campaign, one-crore families will receive free electricity… people will also earn an additional income of Rs 15,000-20,000 annually by selling surplus electricity to the government. This income will be available to every family,” he said. The Prime Minister said that the income tax remission scheme will provide significant relief to nearly one crore middle-class individuals. “Previous governments had burdened the common man with a heavy sword hanging over their heads for decades. Today, crucial and significant decisions have also been made for the farmers in this budget. Whether it’s the use of Nano DAP, a new scheme for livestock, expansion of the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, or the Aatmanirbhar Oil Seed Abhiyan, farmers’ income will increase, and there will be considerable reduction in expenses,” he said.
