Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Highlights of India’s first budget after election

India’s budget proposes allocating £18.5 billion for job creation over five years and launching three schemes for employment-linked incentives.

Highlights of India’s first budget after election

India will spend £18.6 billion on job-spurring efforts over the next five years and boost rural spending, the country's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday in the 2024/25 budget, unveiled after last month's election setback for the government.

Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to secure an outright majority in the general election last month, making it dependent on allies to form a government for the first time since he came to power a decade ago.


The government will spend £24.6 billion on rural development, Sitharaman said, while unveiling new schemes for states led by two key allies.

To spur employment, it will roll out incentives for companies, including those in manufacturing, along with programmes to improve skills and provide subsidised loans for higher education, Sitharaman added.

India's official unemployment rate in urban areas is 6.7 per cent, but private agency the Centre For Monitoring Indian Economy estimates it higher, at 8.4 per cent.

Government data this month showed 20 million new job opportunities generated each year since fiscal 2017-18, but private economists said self-employment and temporary farm hiring accounted for much of the figure.

India's consumer stocks rose 1.5 per cent to a record high.

The government will also maintain spending on long-term infrastructure projects at £102.8 billion, offering long-term loans of £13.9 billion to states to fund such expenditure. The spending plan was unchanged from the interim budget presented in February before the national elections.

Some of these loans will be linked to milestones reached in reform, covering areas such as land and labour, which Sitharaman said the government intended to push in its third term. In a concession to the government's allies, Sitharaman said it would hasten loans from multilateral agencies for the eastern state of Bihar and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

The government plans to cut its fiscal deficit to 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product in 2024-25, below the 5.1 per cent figure in February's interim budget. It reduced its gross market borrowing marginally to £129.7 billion.

Highlights of the budget:

Job creation

  • Budget proposes to allocate £18.5 billion for job creation over 5 years.
  • Allocates £14.1 billion for agriculture and allied sectors.
  • To launch 3 schemes for employment-linked incentives.

Inflation

  • Finance minister says inflation remains low, moving toward a 4 per cent target.
  • Proposes to take supply-side measures to contain food inflation.
  • Minister says global economy still in the grip of policy uncertainties.

Economic growth

  • To allocate £1.4 billion as special financial support through multilateral development agencies to Andhra Pradesh state, ruled by Modi's biggest ally TDP.
  • Credit support to small and medium businesses during the stress period.
  • Proposes to support setting up of 12 industrial parks.
  • Proposes to enhance small loans to £18,500 for small and medium businesses.
  • To set up a venture capital fund of £92.5 million for space.

Rural development

  • Provision of £24.6 billion for rural development.
  • Proposes state aid for 30 million affordable housing units in urban and rural areas.

Urban development

  • Proposes £20.4 billion federal government assistance for affordable urban housing over the next five years.
  • Government will partner with private players for developing small nuclear reactors.

Infrastructure investments

  • Capex outlay for infrastructure retained at interim budget target of £102.8 billion.
  • Proposes £13.9 billion for long-term loans to states for infrastructure investments.

More For You

Pakistan seeks £3.4bn bank loan to tackle mounting energy sector debt

Pakistan’s government is the largest shareholder or owner of most power companies

Pakistan seeks £3.4bn bank loan to tackle mounting energy sector debt

Eastern Eye

PAKISTAN government is negotiating a 1.25 trillion Pakistani rupee (£3.4 billion) loan with commercial banks to reduce its bulging energy sector debt, the power minister and banking association said.

Plugging unresolved debt across the sector is a top priority under an ongoing $7bn (£5.4bn) International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, which has helped Pakistan dig its way out of an economic crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deliveroo posts first annual profit after 12 years

A Deliveroo rider near Victoria station in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Deliveroo posts first annual profit after 12 years

FOOD DELIVERY app Deliveroo announced on Thursday (13) its first annual profit as orders and revenue rose, while the 12-year old company sees further growth despite exiting Hong Kong.

The milestone follows sizeable full-year losses owing to high investment costs since American Will Shu founded the company in 2013 and made Deliveroo's first delivery in London.

Keep ReadingShow less
JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Government to abolish payments regulator to boost growth

Keir Starmer (R) and Rachel Reeves host an investment roundtable discussion with members of the BlackRock executive board at 10 Downing Street on November 21, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Frank Augstein - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Government to abolish payments regulator to boost growth

PAYMENTS REGULATOR will be abolished and its remit absorbed by another financial regulator, the government said on Tuesday (11), as it aims to cut red tape in favour of growth.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which oversees systems including MasterCard and bank transfers, tackles problems such as fraud, excessive fees and lack of competition among banks and payment providers.

Keep ReadingShow less