*Highlights of the 2024 Budget*
– *Focus on Employment*: The government has announced a package of five schemes to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over five years with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crores.
– *Agriculture Sector*: The government has allocated Rs 1.52 lakh crore for the agriculture sector and plans to initiate one crore farmers into natural farming in the next two years.
– *Education and Skilling*: The government has made a provision of Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment and skilling.
– *Income Tax*: The government has announced a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act and has proposed easing taxation norms for individuals and entities. The income tax slabs for the financial year are as follows:
– For income up to Rs 3 lakh, there is no tax
– For income between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, the tax rate is 5%
– For income between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, the tax rate is 10%
– For income between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh, the tax rate is 15%
– For income between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, the tax rate is 20%
– For income above Rs 15 lakh, the tax rate is 30%
– *Infrastructure Development*: The government has announced plans to develop the capital city of Andhra Pradesh with an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore and to set up airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar.
– *MSME Sector*: The government has announced measures to support the MSME sector, including the reduction of the turnover threshold for mandatory onboarding on the TReDS platform from Rs 500 crore to Rs 250 crore and the doubling of the loan limit under the MUDRA loan scheme to Rs 20 lakh.
