Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Archives - Lokmarg

Budget Puts More Money In Common Man’s Pocket

‘This Budget Puts More Money In the Common Man’s Pocket’

By LokMarg 1st August 2024

Mitali Chopra, a certified etiquette and protocol consultant, says the 2024 Budget will have positive impact on middle-income households. Her views:

Before I list the key takeaways for of the Union Budget 2024 for the common man, I would like to applaud our Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting her seventh Financial Budget in a row, which is a record in itself. On a cursory glance, the budget seems to be more macro-oriented but a closer look at the fiscal aspect reveals that it has something for everyone, including the housewives charged with budgeting of a household.

While surfing through the net, I chanced upon an article which indicates that the total contribution of non-working women to the economy, just through efficient management of their households, is around 22.7 lakh crore which is almost 7.5 percent of the GDP. So, let’s have a closer look at what the government has provided for this large segment in the recent budget.

First things first. With the lowering of customs duty on gold, the price of the yellow metal has gone down. And it was time to harness it, what with skyrocket prices each year. This is the right time to buy jewellery.

ALSO READ: ‘Budget Seeks To Balance Development and Coalition Compulsion’

Second, with the changes in the tax bracket, many households will benefit with some surplus cash in hand. This is important especially for the middle class that is always trying to make ends meet while trying to raise their social status.

Thirdly, and I feel most importantly, the government has created a great push towards empowering women by charging lower stamp duty on property bought in the name of a lady. It is a big step towards consolidating a woman’s position in the family unit. And this was long awaited.

Fourthly, education loans for higher education will be more easily available. This too comes as a respite for middle class household. Housewives had to constantly worry about their kids’ education. At least one stress less!

On the hindsight, capital gain on equity, especially short-term investment has gone up. So, this might prove detrimental for housewives who could have been investing small amount of their savings in the share market. But again, that would be a very small number. Not everyone has interest in the share market.

To sum it up, there is a clear indication in the budget to leave money in the hands of individuals to spend on consumables while discouraging savings. It’s time to shop!

I would like to end by saying that it seems to be a moderately good budget for a common man.

In the forthcoming budgets, perhaps we will see more concrete efforts being made in terms of creating work from home opportunities for housewives in various government sectors to empower this vast intelligent, efficient segment while ensuring more contribution towards the GDP from their end.

The narrator is the founder of Manners Matter in India. Her industry experience spans over 25 years and enlists a Crème de la crème clientele

As told to Deepa Gupta

For more details visit us: https://lokmarg.com/

I Am Aware Of The Issues Of Middle Class: Sitharaman

Budget 2023: Allocation For PM Awas Yojana Raised By 66%

By LokMarg 1st February 2023

The outlay for Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) has been enhanced by 66 per cent to over Rs 79,000 crores, announced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament on Wednesday.

This is a significant increase considering Sitharaman, in the Budget 2022-23, had proposed an allocation of Rs 48,000 crore for the Housing for All initiative of the government.
This year’s budget is significant being the last full budget of Modi government’s second tenure as the general elections are scheduled for next year.

The government, last year, had promised that 80 lakh houses will be completed for the identified eligible rural and urban beneficiaries of PMAY.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023-24 in the Parliament on Wednesday.

The Finance Minister announced that the government proposes to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which would be 3.3 per cent of the GDP, said Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“(This overall outlay) would be 3.3 per cent of GDP, almost three times the outlay made in 2019-20. With the substantial increase, it is central to the government’s efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation, the crowd in private investments and provides a cushion against global headwinds,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

For the agriculture sector, which is said to be the backbone of Indian economy, the government has proposed to increase the credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries. The country’s agriculture sector has been growing at an average annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the last six years, Sitharaman told Parliament.

The government will also launch a sub-scheme of the existing PM Matsya scheme to improve value chain efficiencies, she said.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U), a flagship Mission of Government of India launched in 2015, is being implemented by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), aims to provide housing for all including the slum dwellers.

According to a government data, out of the overall target of 2.95 crore houses, a target of 2.92 crore houses had been allocated to States/Union Territories UTs), out of which, 2.49 crore houses have been sanctioned to beneficiaries by various States/UTs and 2.10 crore houses have been completed as on December 07, 2022.

The Economic Survey, tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday, noted India’s GDP is expected to grow in the range of 6 to 6.8 per cent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to the estimated 7 per cent this fiscal and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. (ANI)

All-Party Meet In Parliament Begins, Cong Leaders Absent

By LokMarg 30th January 2023

An all-party meeting called by the government ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament commenced on Monday morning.
Deputy Leader of the House, Rajnath Singh, Parliament Affairs minister, Pralhad Joshi, Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, MoS, Parliamentary Affairs, Arjuna, Ram Meghwal, and V Muraleedharan was among those present for the meeting held at the Parliament House Complex.

All top leaders from the opposition parties including DMK leader, TR, Balu, TMC leaders, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, TRS leaders K Keshava Rao and Nama Nageswara Rao were in attendance.

Other party leaders who were present include Vijayasai Reddy from the YSR Congress, Farooq Abdullah from the National Conference, Professor Manoj Jha from the RJD, and Ram Nath Thakur of JDU. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) was represented by Priyanka Chaturvedi.

Congress leaders were absent from the meeting, however, according to government sources both Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury held up due to the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra that culminated in Srinagar today.

The all-party meeting is a customary meeting that takes place ahead, of the start of every session of Parliament. During the meeting, the Government will seek cooperation from all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of both Houses of Parliament during the Session.

The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on January 31 with the address by the President of India to a Joint sitting of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the Central Hall of Parliament.

The Economic Survey will also be tabled in both Houses on the first day of the Session.

The Union Budget 2023-24 will be presented on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha. Later the Budget will be tabled in Rajya Sabha.

From Thursday onwards, both Houses will have a discussion on the “Motion Of Thanks to the President Address” after which PM Narendra Modi will reply in both Lok and Rajya Sabha.

This part of the Budget Session will continue till February 13.

The second part of the Budget Session will after a recess commence on March 13 and go on till April 6. A discussion will take place on the Demand For Grants for various ministries and the Union Budget will be passed. Other legislative businesses will also be taken up by the government during this period. (ANI)