Blending Budget with Manifesto ’24

Presenting a budget for the last financial year of NDA government must have been the most tedious task for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (FM) on the first day of February 2023. The FM, the ministry staff, Advisers and analyzers must have burnt liters of midnight oil to prepare a document which reflects their roadmap for the financial year 2023-24 based on the performance of Modi government during last 4 years and plans of NDA government for next 15 months and beyond, affecting Indian citizens and their purses.

Establishing her fiscal wisdom, FM Nirmala Sitharaman 63, Madurai (TN) born, SRC College Tiruchirappalli graduate

and JNU alumni, has led her ministry since 2019 without much hiccups in spite of Covid-19 impact on world economies, (many countries on the brink of bankruptcy) and Russia-Ukraine war, she has held her portfolio with perfection and pride. With full support of her Party leadership PM Narinder Modi and cabinet colleagues, her ministry has been able to maintain fiscal uptrend, meeting demands on various fronts including free Covid vaccination, free ration, employment generation, defense preparedness, infrastructure and global economic crunch.

With the intention to beat top global economies with US $ 5Trillion target for 2030 and be upstaged from 5th to 3rd largest economy in world, the emphasis has been to build a worldclass infrastructure, Make-in-India and Make-for-World with technology assimilation, the BJP led NDA government has been laying strong base with support to Start-ups, Defence manufacturing, Highways and world class airports.

Budget proposals for FY’24 are built on robust projected income despite tax reduction on individual and corporate incomes, subsidies and populist schemes to keep majority of population in happy positive mood as the Year of Judgement 2024 (May-June 2024, precisely be period of ranking for the NDA2, under PM Modi).

Using an eagle’s sharp sight from blue skies above, the FM plans to collect over Rs. 45 lakh crore using various tools (viz., Corp. taxes, GST, Income Tax, returns on investment and loans) and spend over Rs. 49 lakh crores on public welfare project and schemes, Defence, Rail and Road infrastructure, internal security and disaster relief, Food and Agriculture, public services, and governance. Maintaining an estimated deficit of 5.9% and GDP may be a herculean task for the FM, keeping in view the demands of states and other populist initiatives required of the political leaders in the pre-election year.  (The Finance Ministry has planned a Vision on Priorities for Amrit Kaal coinciding with 75th year of Independence)

The budget proposals indicate two important aspects; 1. Government of India’s pragmatic fiscal management, keeping the deficit at lower level compared to bigger developed countries running helter-skelter over dearer gas supplies, foodgrains and internal political unrest, 2. not succumbing to ‘populist free-free offers’, though allocating funds (over Rs. 1.7 lac crores) for providing long term capital infrastructure and facilities for the Citizens; viz., Housing, Jal Jeevan Mission, transportation (highways and EV adoption), Pharma industry and north-eastern border area development keeping belligerent neighborhood in mind.

Though GST collection (about Rs. 17.5 lac crores -annually) has been its mainstay, it is shared with States to the tune of 60%; it has helped Finance Ministry lower individual and corporate Tax rates and limits (from 37% to 30% as max. tax rates and Rs. 5 lacs to 7 lacs exemption on personal IT). On corporate taxation the GOI has brought it to 25% from 40% in earlier years.

(NewsOnRadar.com plans to have threadbare analysis of Budget 2024, by Sector experts in our forthcoming columns, the analyses by our Health expert Dr. Naresh Purohit appears alongside article today)                                                …...(to be continued)