Union Budget 2024: Angel tax abolished; VC fund for spacetech
The full Budget presented by the newly elected government aims to propel Indian towards becoming Viksit Bharat by 2047. This will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seventh consecutive Budget.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her seventh Union Budget in the parliament today.
Keeping up with the vision of Viksit Bharat, the Budget covered five different aspects as part of the Prime Minister's Package to encourage agriculture, skilling and employment, support for MSMEs, social welfare and digital and technological advancements.
The landmark announcement for startups in the first Budget of the newly-elected government included the abolition of the Angel Tax, a longstanding demand, and the rollout of a thematic Rs 1,000 crore fund for the development of the space sector.
“This Budget is an important Budget for Amrit Kaal ... .This Budget will also become a strong foundation of our dream of Viksit Bharat,” the Prime Minister said addressing the media on Monday.
The Budget speech concluded at 12.30 pm on July 23.
12:25 Tax rate structure to be revised
Under the new tax regime, the tax structure rates will be revised with those with income under Rs 3 lakh to be exempt from taxation
12:21 Angel tax abolished
The government will do away with the Angel Tax to encourage startups and entrepreneurship
12:17 Capital Gains tax
Short-term gains on certain financial assets will attract a 20% tax. Long-term gains on all financial and non-financial assets will attract a 12.5% tax rate. The limit of exemption of capital gains on certain financial assets has been increased to Rs 1.25 lakh per year. Listed financial assets held for more than a year will be classified as long-term, while unlisted financial assets and all non-financial assets will have to be held for at least two years to be classified as long-term
12:16 Taxation
A comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act 1961 is to be undertaken to make it concise and easy to understand. The TDS rate on the repurchase of units by mutual funds or UTI has been withdrawn. TDS for ecommerce operators has been reduced to 0.1%
12:08 Custom duty changes
Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on mobile phones, and chargers reduced by 15%. Full exemption of BCD for 25 critical minerals was announced as a measure to increase availability for strategic sectors. Three new drugs for cancer treatment were added to the list under the exemption of customs duty
12:06 GST to be rolled out to other sectors
Government to further simplify and rationalise the tax structure and expand it to the remaining sectors
12:01 Climate financing
Taxonomy for climate finance to be developed for enhancing the availability of capital for climate adaptation and mitigation. This will support achievement of the country's climate commitments and green transition
12:00 Financial sector in focus
The government will bring out a financial sector vision and strategy document to prepare the sector in terms of size, capacity, and skills. This will set the agenda for the next five years and guide the work of government regulators, financial institutions and market participants
11:57 Labour-related reforms
Government to facilitate services to labour for employment and skilling through portals that offer a one-stop solution catering to the rapidly changing market skill requirements and available job roles, and will help connect job aspirants to potential employers and skill providers
11:55 VC fund for space tech development
The government will set up mechanism for spurring innovation at commercial scale. A venture capital fund of Rs 1000 crore corpus will be set up to expand space economy by five times over the next 10 years
11:46 Infrastructure support
The outlay for capital expenditure for the year stands at Rs 11.11 lakh crore, at 3.4% of GDP. The government will encourage states to provide similar support for infrastructure development with a provision of Rs 1.5 lakh crores towards long-term interest-free loans for states
11:40 Energy security
The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojna launched to install rooftop solar panels to enable 1 crore households to obtain free electricity of up to 300 units every month. This has seen 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications thus far. Nuclear energy is expected to form a very significant part of the energy mix. The government will partner with the private sector to set up Bharat Small Reactors, R&D for the reactors and research on newer technologies for nuclear energy
11:38 Integrated technology for Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
An integrated technology platform will be set up to improve the outcomes under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This will help attain consistency, transparency, timely processing, and better oversight for all stakeholders
11:36 DPI applications to be developed by the private sector
The government proposed building population-scale DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure) apps for productivity gains by private sector players in the field of credit, ecommerce, education, health, law, logistics, MSMEs, services delivery and urban governance
11:35 Comprehensive scheme for providing internship
As part of the PM's package, comprehensive scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies will be opened up to one crore youth over the next five years. Apart from experience for up to 12 months, the scheme will offer an internship allowance of Rs 5000 per month along with a one-time assistance of Rs 6000. Companies will be expected to bear the training cost and 10% of the internship cost
11:33 Ecommerce export hubs for MSMEs
These hubs will facilitate trade and export-related services under one roof for MSMEs to sell on ecommerce platforms
11:29 Special support for labour-intensive MSMEs
Announcement of credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs in the manufacturing sector to purchase machinery without collateral; self-financing guarantee fund to be provided to each applicant. New assessment model for offering credit to MSMEs. The limit of Mudra Loans will be enhanced to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh. SIDBI to open new branches to serve all MSME clusters within three years to offer credit; 24 new branches to be opened this year.
11:28 Scheme benefitting women and girls
The Budget carries an allocation of more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls to signal its commitment to enhance women's role in economic development
11:23 Priority three of Budget was inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice
The government to empower eligible people by implementing economic activities by craftsmen, artisans, self help groups, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and women entrepreneurs and street vendors under various schemes
11:20 Second priority sector for PM package is employment and skilling
Three schemes announced as part of the PM package to encourage first-time employees, job creation in manufacturing and support to employers. Women's participation in the workforce to be encouraged through skilling and creation of working women's hostels. Separate scheme for scaling and collaboration with state governments and industry to upskill 20 lakh youth announced
11:15 PM's package on agriculture
The government will bring out a national cooperation policy for systematic, orderly and all round development of the cooperative society sector, fast tracking growth of rural economy and generation of employment opportunities on a large scale. Provision of Rs 1.52 lakh crore made for agriculture and allied sectors
11:08 Focus on employment, skilling, MSME and the middle class : FM
Five schemes announced for 4.1 crore youth with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore