Here are some highlights of the Indian Interim Budget 2024:

• Focus on Infrastructure Development: The government has allocated significant funds for building highways, railways, airports, and other critical infrastructure projects to achieve the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) by 2047 https://innovateindia.mygov.in/viksitbharat2047/. This push for infrastructure spending is expected to create jobs and boost overall economic growth.

• Boost to Social Welfare Schemes: The budget aims to uplift people out of poverty by increasing spending on social welfare programs like education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation. This focus on social welfare should benefit a large portion of the Indian population.

• Investment in Research and Innovation: The government announced a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore to provide long-term financing for research and development in sunrise sectors. This initiative is expected to propel India’s technological advancements and self-reliance (Atmanirbharta) https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1845882.

• Measures for Sustainable Development: The budget promotes sustainability through initiatives like rooftop solarization. A target has been set to enable one crore households to generate their own solar power and potentially even sell surplus electricity back to the grid. This scheme is likely to increase clean energy adoption and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

• Support for MSMEs and Farmers: The budget proposes measures to support small businesses (MSMEs) and farmers. This may include tax breaks for MSMEs and continued financial assistance to farmers under schemes like PM-KISAN. These initiatives are expected to give a leg up to these crucial sectors of the Indian economy.