Key Highlights Union Budget 2024: New Tax Slabs Detailed

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the year 2024-2025 today (July 2024), marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term. This budget's key highlights include significant measures in employment, education, and taxation.

Key Highlights Of Union Budget 2024:

Employment and Education Initiatives:

• Three new employee-linked incentive schemes were introduced under the Prime Minister’s package.
• A support loan of up to ₹10 lakh will be provided to students who have not previously benefited from government schemes, with interest subvention of 3% through e-vouchers directly issued to 1 lakh students annually.
• A comprehensive internship scheme aims to place 1 crore youth in 500 top companies over five years, offering 12 months of real-world business exposure. 

Budget for Women:

• An allocation exceeding ₹3 lakh crore was earmarked for schemes benefiting women and girls, aimed at promoting women-led development.

Personal Income Tax:

• The new tax slabs have been revised, potentially allowing salaried employees to save up to ₹17,500. While the tax rates remain the same, the income slabs have been adjusted to benefit taxpayers.
• The initial slab of zero to ₹3 lakh remains unchanged, but the ₹3 lakh to ₹6 lakh slab has been expanded to ₹3 lakh to ₹7 lakh.
• The tax rate of 5% remains the same.
• The other slabs, such as ₹6 to 9 lakh, ₹9 to 12 lakh, and so on, have been revised to ₹7-10 lakh, ₹10-12 lakh, and ₹12-15 lakh, and beyond. 

Budget Expenditure on Major Sectors:

Major sector allocations include,

• Rs. 4,54,773 crore for Defence
• Rs. 2,65,808 crore for Rural Development
• Rs. 1,51,851 crore for Agriculture and Allied Activities
• Rs. 1,50,983 crore for Home Affairs
• Rs.1,25,638 crore for Education
• Rs. 1,16,342 crore for IT and Telecom
• Rs. 89,287 crore for Health
• Rs. 68,769 crore for Energy
• Rs. 56,501 crore for Social Welfare
• Rs. 47,559 crore for Commerce and Industry

Budget 2024: What Got Costlier?

• Ammonium Nitrate
• PVC Flex Films/Flex Banners 
• Laboratory Chemicals
• Solar Glass for the manufacture of solar cells or modules 
• Non-Biodegradable Plastic 

Budget 2024: What Got Cheaper?

• Mobile phones and chargers
• Gold, Silver, and Platinum
• Blister Copper and Ferro-Nickel
• Cancer drugs - Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab
• Components for the manufacture of vessels 
• Solar energy parts
• Certain brood stock, shrimp, and fish feed
• Medical products like orthopedic implants, artificial parts of the body