Policy Highlights from India's Interim Union Budget 2024-25

The Interim Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 introduces a range of policy initiatives aimed at addressing key challenges and fostering inclusive growth across various sectors. 

Let's delve into the highlights of the key policy measures outlined in the budget: 

Railways: 

• Implementation of three major economic railway corridor programs focusing on energy, mineral, and cement corridors, port connectivity corridors, and high traffic density corridors. 
• Upgradation of 40,000 normal rail bogies to Vande Bharat standards to enhance passenger safety and comfort. 

Housing: 

• Construction of an additional two crore houses over the next five years under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Grameen. 
• Introduction of a new scheme to assist sections of the middle-class living in rented houses, slums, and unauthorized colonies in buying or building their own houses. 

Health: 

• Encouragement of cervical cancer vaccination for girls aged nine to 14 years. 
• Rollout of the U-WIN platform for managing immunization across the country. 
• Extension of healthcare coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, and helpers. 

Energy: 

• Rooftop solarization of one crore households. 
• Mandating blending of compressed biogas in CNG and PNG in a phased manner to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. 
• Installation of coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 metric tonnes by 2030. 

Environment: 

• Strengthening and expansion of EV manufacturing and charging infrastructure. 
• Encouragement of the adoption of E-buses for public transport. 
• Launch of the Blue Economy 2.0 scheme to restore coastal aquaculture and mariculture. 
• Introduction of a new scheme to provide environment-friendly alternatives such as biodegradable polymers, bio-plastics, and bio-pharmaceuticals. 

Agriculture: 

• Promotion of public and private investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, storage, supply chain, processing, and marketing. 
• Expansion of the application of Nano DAP fertilizer in all agro-climatic zones. 
• Formulation of a program to support dairy farmers. 
• Expansion of the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana to enhance aquaculture productivity, double seafood exports, and generate employment opportunities. 

• Establishment of a high-powered committee to address challenges arising from fast population growth and demographic changes. 

• Setting up a corpus of one lakh crore rupees to encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation by providing long-term loans at low or nil interest rates. 

These policy highlights underscore the government's commitment to addressing various socio-economic and environmental challenges while fostering inclusive growth and sustainable development in India.

Sat Feb 3, 2024