Kursi Bachao Budget? Lok Sabha Election Impact On Budget 2024

The nation witnessed its first budget of Narendra Modi’s third term as it was a clear impact of the recent Lom Sabha Election results. In the latest election results, the BJP was faciing trouble to fetch majority votes on its own and has to rely on the allies to form the government.

This is a clear sensation after special financial packages given to Bihar’s Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu, which were meant to make up for not granting these states the special status they had requested.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi recalled budget’s big announcements, he posted on X, “Kursi Bachao Budget…”

Key Focus Of The Budget:

The main focus of the budget was creating jobs for young people across all sectors, including apprenticeships in private companies. The government plans to offer new recruits a month’s salary up to ₹15,000 through Direct Benefit Transfer. Additionally, employers will receive a subsidy on their share of Provident Fund payments.

The government aims to provide jobs for one crore people within a year, addressing unemployment and the concerns of young people, which were seen as key reasons for the BJP’s underwhelming performance in the election.

To boost the economy, the budget proposed reworking tax slabs in the new tax regime and increasing the standard deduction from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000, giving employees an extra ₹17,500 and encouraging consumption and demand. The deduction on family pensions was also increased from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000.

There were additional relief measures, such as reduced customs duties on cellphones, chargers, cancer drugs, seafood, leather, and gold. Notably, there was no increase in the tax on tobacco.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized that the customs duty proposals aim to support domestic manufacturing, increase local value addition, boost export competitiveness, and simplify taxation, all while considering the interests of the public and consumers.

Large-scale unemployment and limited disposable income had previously stalled the economy and left many big projects incomplete. The budget aims to address these issues, encouraging investments and strengthening the labor market, which has been weakened by low-productive jobs.

Also Read: EXPLAINED: What Is A Budget And Why Does It Matter? Here’s Your Guide