Lucknow: Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget on 23 July 2024. Engineer D.P. Singh, President, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of UP, welcomed the budget and said that this year’s budget focuses on employment, skilling, MSMEs and the middle class.
In this budget, the government has made a provision of Rs 1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sectors. A strategy is being developed to achieve ‘self-reliance’ for oilseeds like groundnut, mustard, soybean, sesame and sunflower.
L.K. Jhunjhunwala, former President of the Chamber, said that the budget is good but more incentives are needed to become the 3rd Economy. There is a need for more investment-inspired tax discounts in personal taxes.
Senior Vice President Tariq Hassan Naqvi welcomed the budget and said that PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme has been launched for 1 crore households to get 300 units of free electricity per month through rooftop solarization. The government will establish a mechanism to promote private sector driven research and innovation at commercial level with a finance pool of Rs 1 lakh crore.
Manish Agarwal, Vice President, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of UP said that the model skill loan scheme will be revised to facilitate loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh for students with guarantee from a government promoted fund and the government has provided Rs 2.66 lakh crore for rural development and rural infrastructure. Agarwal also said that the government has announced three crore additional houses under the PM Awas Yojana in rural and urban areas.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of UP hopes that the announcement made in the budget will be implemented in earnest later. The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uttar Pradesh considers the budget to be very good, visionary and having far reaching impact.
