Union Budget 2024-25 Explained: Check Key Financial Numbers and Highlights

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 on July 20, 2024. This marks Sitharaman’s seventh consecutive budget presentation, surpassing the late Morarji Desai’s record of six consecutive budgets. Prior to her address in Parliament, Sitharaman met with President Droupadi Murmu.

The 2024-25 budget emphasizes changes to the income tax structure and aims to enhance the ease of doing business in India. The “Budget at a Glance” document provides a concise overview of the fiscal aggregates to facilitate easier understanding.

Budget Overview:

• Revised Estimates (RE) 2023-24:
  • Total Expenditure: `44,90,486 crore.
  • Provisional Actuals (PA) 2023-24: The total expenditure was 44,42,542 crore, with capital expenditure at 9,48,506 crore compared to the estimated `9,50,246 crore.
• Budget Estimates (BE) 2024-25:
  • Total Expenditure: Projected at `48,20,512 crore.
  • Capital Expenditure: Estimated at `11,11,111 crore, a 16.9% increase from the previous fiscal year’s RE.
  • Resources Transferred to States: 22,91,182 crore, an increase of 4,82,766 crore over FY 2022-23.

• Visual Representation: The “Budget at a Glance” document includes graphs and infographics to illustrate the sources of receipts, expenditures, and the allocation of resources. It also details the transfer of resources to states and union territories with legislatures, including grants, loans, and funding for centrally sponsored schemes.

Fiscal Deficit and Key Terms

• Fiscal Deficit (FD): This is the difference between total expenditure and revenue receipts, including non-debt capital receipts. It indicates the total borrowing requirement of the government.
• Revenue Deficit (RD): This refers to the excess of revenue expenditure over revenue receipts.
• Effective Revenue Deficit (ERD): Calculated as the revenue deficit minus grants for the creation of capital assets.
• Primary Deficit (PD): This is the fiscal deficit minus interest payments.
• Effective Capital Expenditure (Eff-Capex): The sum of capital expenditure and grants for the creation of capital assets.

Also read: Budget 2024 Live Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman Set to Present Budget with Focus on Job Creation and Tax Rate Cuts