Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the interim budget in February (File photo: PTI)
The full budget for the financial year 2024-25 will be presented on July 23. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier presented the interim budget on February 1, as it is an election year. Now that the budget presentation date is approaching, the question arises whether what could not be discussed in the interim budget will now be discussed in the full budget. Will Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman fulfil her interim budget promises this time?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her interim budget speech that when the full budget is presented, the government will pay attention to the demands of everyone. Before presenting the budget, the Finance Minister continuously talks to different sectors, income groups and trade unions.
Will the middle class get relief?
This time, in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP did not get an absolute majority on its own. Assembly elections will be held in many states, especially in Maharashtra and Haryana, in the coming days. In such a situation, it is expected that the government will be able to provide a big relief to the middle class.
The biggest relief for the middle class is the change in income tax. At the same time, governments also get political benefits from it. Therefore, the government can find a way to make some changes to the new tax regime in the budget. Another thing that the government also understands is that there is a need to increase demand in the country to improve the economy. For this, the option of tax relief can also be helpful.
Representatives from businesses and different sectors have also asked the government to focus on demand. The main reason for the economic growth seen in the country at the moment is the government’s capital expenditure. According to an ET report, for the country’s economy to deliver sustainable growth, then there is a need to increase consumption along with higher private investment.
To do so, the government can either raise the standard deduction limit on income tax or change the tax brackets again. Its aim is to put more money in the hands of taxpayers, who are already facing the burden of food inflation.
Will the interim budget promise be kept?
When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim budget in February. Then some announcements were made for the common man. Like the government will improve the health facilities. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also advocated for increasing the spending on public hospitals. At the same time, the government had also talked about creating a separate housing scheme for the middle class and right now this is a dire need of the real estate sector.
In the interim budget, the government had also talked about building 2 crore additional houses under the PM Awas Yojana. At the same time, the government has also started working on making electricity cheaper through rooftop solar. For this, many state governments have announced additional subsidies. Therefore, in the full budget, the focus may be on providing further relief to the middle class.
