NOT MUCH BIG NOISE

The Interim Budget 2024 made no big-bang announcements, but it continued its focus on infrastructure upgrades that will benefit real estate growth

Coming ahead of the crucial 2024 General Elections, there was much anticipation in the run-up to the Interim Budget 2024-25. Though the government had repeatedly emphasised that there wouldn't be any big-bang measures aimed at shoring up votes before the polls, there was still speculation that some such benefits would be announced.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the Interim Budget 2024-¹25, which features an allocation of Rs 6,21,541 crore (approx. $75 billion) for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This allocation represents a 4.7% increase from the previous outlays and accounts for 1.9% of the nation's GDP and 13% of Central Government expenditure. The announcement was made on 1st February.

Not surprisingly, then, Sitharaman used the Interim Budget to present a blueprint for the future and consciously abstained from making any big promises, opting instead for fiscal prudence. She focussed on sustaining at least 6.5-7% growth in the GDP in the coming years and providing the means to ensure that the benefits of this growth trickle down to all.

It took up the theme of social justice and empowerment-be it through its focus on the four "caste" groups of women, youth, the poor, and farmers; or proposals such as a new scheme that would help the middle class buy or build their own houses; rooftop solar panel installation to not only encourage sustainable development but also provide up to 300 units of free electricity per month to 10 million households; and a Rs 1 lakh crore corpus to encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation significantly in sunrise domains.