Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the Budget 2024-25 has tried to balance several objectives like growth, employment, welfare spending, capital investment, and fiscal consolidation.

Replying to the general discussion on the Budget, she said the Budget is in continuity of the interim Budget and subsumes its features. Since 2014, the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas” has guided government policies and will continue to do so in the next five years, which are important for the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

A highlight of this year’s Budget is the high capital expenditure (CAPEX) of Rs 11 lakh crore which is one of the biggest ever allocations for capital expenditure, and 17 per cent higher than the last year, she said.

The Finance Minister said the capital expenditure during 10 years of the UPA rule was Rs 13.19 lakh crore. “In comparison, our government in the last 10 years ending 2024, provided Rs 43.82 lakh crore for capital expenditure,” she said. This showed how the government had planned the revival of the economy after Covid-19.

She said she had announced the government would endeavour a fiscal deficit to GDP below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26. “We had touched an unprecedented high of 9.2 per cent in 2020-21. But we are well on the way to achieving the target,” she said. This year, it has been fixed at 4.9 per cent. Below 4.5 per cent fiscal deficit will be achieved next financial year, she said.

The Finance Minister said global observers have taken note of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fiscal prudence in fiscal management. The IMF has fixed India’s 2024-25 GDP growth rate at seven per cent. India becoming the fastest growing economy in the world within a few years of Covid could not be without the hard toil of workers, entrepreneurs, and different sectors of the economy, she said.

According to the IMF, she said, India’s share in global growth is 16 per cent and it is rising. The Budget has announced steps to boost the manufacturing sector with the aim to increase employment and a high and sustained increase in India’s share of the global GDP over the next five years.

She said basic customs duty has been reduced on specific items together with production-linked incentives (PLI) like for mobiles. India now produces 97 per cent of all mobile demand of the country, with high exports. PLI has been a success.

Responding to members’ worries about the Centre’s financial transfers to States, she said the government is committed to cooperative federalism. The total transfers planned for the States this year is Rs 22.91 lakh crore. This is Rs 2.49 lakh crore higher over the last year. The outlays for Union Territories have also been increased. Their allocations are up from Rs 61,118 in 2023-24 to Rs 68,660 crore during 2024-25.

Mrs Sitharaman said these allocations would show that there was a deliberate attempt to mislead States that many of them had been ignored in the Budget as Bihar and Andhra Pradesh were mentioned. In Budgets during Congress rule also there was never mention of all States.

Referring to sectoral allocations, she said agriculture and allied sectors are getting Rs 1.25 lakh crore which is Rs 8,000 crore more than the last year. Compared to this, the UPA had made an allocation of Rs 30,000 crore during 2013-14.

Education, employment and skilling have got Rs 1.48 lakh crore, an increase of Rs 28,000 crore from the Rs 85,000 crore in 2013-14, she said. Allocations for women and girls are 41 per cent higher compared to the last year.

Similarly, Rs 2.66 lakh crore has been allocated for rural development, with an increase also for urban development. For Health and Social Welfare, the allocation stands at Rs 1.46 lakh crore, which is also higher this year.

Talking about the employment situation, she said labour market indicators have improved and women’s labour force participation is also optimistic. The unemployment rate has declined to 3.2 per cent in 2022-23. Employability has also improved.

She said during the Manmohan Singh government, inflation was in double digits. The government took stimulus steps but did not know when to withdraw it. This led to high inflation, crowding out private investment; while no supply-side measures were taken.

During the 10 years of UPA rule, the average inflation rate was 8.1 per cent, while in the NDA’s 10 years, it has been 5.1 per cent inflation, she said.

The Finance Minister said former Finance Minister P Chidambaram wanted the withdrawal of NEET, forgetting it was initiated during the UPA rule and the first exam took place in 2013. Agniveer would only provide younger soldiers to the Indian Army, she said.