During the Union Budget 2024 presentation on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman expressed optimism for the tech-savvy youth, stating that “this will be a golden era” for them
Sitharman mentioned, “For our tech-savy youth, will be a golden era. A corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore will be established with a 50-year interest-free loan provided. It will be for long- term financing or re-financing with low or nil interest rates.”
“We need to have programmes that combine the powers of our youth and technology,” the minister highlighted. “She also announced, that a new scheme will be launched “for strengthening deep-tech technologies for defence purposes and expediting ‘atmanirbharta’.”
Discussing modern technologies, Sitharaman remarked, ” New-age technologies and data are transforming the lifestyles of individuals and business. They are also creating new economic opportunities and facilitating provision of top-notch services at affordable rates for everyone, including those in the ‘bottom of the pyramid’.”
The minister highlighted that India is at the forefront in “showing solutions through innovation and entrepreneurship of its people.” She also mentioned that opportunities for both India and its citizens are growing on a global level.
As this was the Interim Budget, the Finance Minister followed the usual practice and suggested keeping the tax slabs unchanged.
In response to the financial concerns of states, Sitharaman disclosed a substantial financial boost, stating that states would be granted a loan totaling 75,000 crores. This infusion of funds is expected to tackle specific needs of individual states and play a role in the overall growth of the economy.
Moreover, Sitharaman revealed a detailed roadmap for India’s development, to be further explained in the upcoming July budget. This strategic plan will outline key initiatives for economic progress, ensuring a sustainable and inclusive development path. A notable initiative is the ambitious goal to empower 3 crore women as ‘Lakhpati Didis,’ aiming at financial inclusion and uplifting the economic status of many women.