Union Budget 2024-25 highlights

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha on July 23, 2024. The key highlights of the budget are as follows:

Renewable Energy

• PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana

Description: Installation of rooftop solar plants to enable 1 crore households to obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month.

• Pumped Storage Policy

Description: A policy for promoting pumped storage projects for electricity storage and facilitating smooth integration of the growing share of renewable energy.

• Solar Energy

Description: To support energy transition, the list of exempted capital goods for manufacturing solar cells and panels will be expanded. Additionally, customs duty exemptions for solar glass and tinned copper interconnect will be discontinued due to sufficient domestic manufacturing capacity.

Energy Efficiency

• Investment-grade Energy Audit

Description: An energy audit of traditional micro and small industries in 60 clusters, including brass and ceramic, will be facilitated. Financial support will be provided for shifting them to cleaner forms of energy and implementing energy efficiency measures.

Water Conservation/ Waste Management & Recycling

• Water Supply and Sanitation

Description: Promotion of water supply, sewage treatment, and solid waste management projects and services for 100 large cities through bankable projects. Use of treated water for irrigation and filling up tanks in nearby areas.

Agriculture & Food

• Productivity and resilience in Agriculture

Description: Completion of the Polavaram Irrigation Project ensuring food security of the nation.

1. Transforming Agriculture Research

– Comprehensive review to focus on productivity and climate-resilient varieties.

– Challenge mode funding for R&D, including private sector involvement.

– Oversight by government and external domain experts.

2. Release of New Varieties

– 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient crop varieties to be released.

3. Natural Farming

– Initiating 1 crore farmers into natural farming over two years.

– Support through certification, branding, and 10,000 bio-input resource centres.

4. Missions for Pulses and Oilseeds

– Strengthening production, storage, and marketing to achieve self-sufficiency.

– Strategy for ‘atmanirbharta’ in oilseeds like mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower.

5. Vegetable Production & Supply Chains

– Developing large-scale clusters near major consumption centres.

– Promoting Farmer-Producer Organizations, cooperatives, and start-ups for supply chains.

6. Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture

– Implementing DPI to cover farmers and their lands in three years.

– Digital crop survey for Kharif in 400 districts this year.

7. Shrimp Production & Export

– Financial support for Nucleus Breeding Centres for Shrimp Broodstocks.

– NABARD to facilitate financing for shrimp farming, processing, and export.

8. Budget Provision

– ₹1.52 lakh crore allocated for agriculture and allied sectors.

Sustainable Manufacturing

• Critical Minerals Mission

Description: Domestic production, recycling, and overseas acquisition of critical minerals like Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium, Cadmium, Silicon other than Quartz & Silicon Dioxide.

Exempt customs duties on 25 critical minerals and reduce BCD on two of them. This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors.

Advanced Materials

• Development of AUSC Thermal Power Plants

Description: Development of indigenous technology for Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) thermal power plants is complete. NTPC and BHEL will set up an 800 MW commercial plant using this technology, with government fiscal support. Additionally, developing capacity for high-grade steel and advanced metallurgy materials for these plants will benefit the economy.

Corporate Sustainability

• Investment-grade Energy Audit

Description: An investment-grade energy audit of traditional micro and small industries in 60 clusters, including brass and ceramic, will be conducted. Financial support will be provided for transitioning to cleaner energy and implementing energy efficiency measures, with plans to replicate the scheme in another 100 clusters in the next phase.

Green Finance & Investment

• Green Finance Initiatives

Description: A taxonomy for climate finance will be developed to increase capital availability for climate adaptation and mitigation, supporting the country’s climate commitments and green transition.