In both houses yesterday, the opposition alleged the ruling NDA alliance for presenting an unfair Budget 2024. The opposition alleged that NDA gives special treatment to their ruling states and the rest of the states get very little amount for their development.
Mallikarjun Kharge states that the two states get the most special treatment in Budget 2024 and those are Andra Pradesh and Bihar. That is because they are the NDA alliance and helped the BJP to form a government after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Bihar gets Rs. 58,900 Cr. financial help, while Andhra Pradesh gets Rs. 15,000 Cr. help for their development in Budget 2024.
In reply to this, Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharam said that all states could not be named in the budget but it doesn’t mean that they get less financial help. She mentioned that you all can read the budget thoroughly, there are better schemes for the development of each state and union territory.
What Budget Is Required to Run the Nation?
The budget required to run the nation is 48.21 lakh crore and the amount the government gets from all sources including taxes is 32.07 lakh crore. From tax receipts alone government gets 25.83 lakh crore.
The government covers the budget difference by borrowing. That’s why the major amount of the budget goes into paying the interest on those borrowings.
Major Distribution of Budget 2024
| Sectors | Amount in Crore |
| Infrastructure | 11,11,111 |
| Defense | 4,52,773 |
| Transfer to State | 3,22,787 |
| Rural Development | 2,65,808 |
| Pension | 2,43,296 |
| Education | 1,25,638 |
| Agriculture and Allied Activities | 1,51,851 |
| Health | 89,287 |
| Research and Development (Scheme) | 1,200 |
This distribution shows that the government did not focus much on the Research and Development sector, although that has increased as compared to the last budget.
The major focus of the Budget 2024 is for the Poor, Women, Youth, and Farmers. The government stated that they have also focused on the middle-class population and also the taxation amount in Income tax.
If you are earning between 3-7 lakhs per annum then the tax amount would be 5%, “for 7-10 laks, 10%”, “for 10-12 lakh, 15%”, for 12-15 lakh, 20%”, and “for >15 lakhs, 30%”.
Fund Allocation to Neighboring Countries in Budget 2024
Every year Ministry of External Affairs allocates a budget for the development and support of neighboring countries. This year Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles secured more funds.
| Countries | Funds in Crore |
| Nepal | 700 |
| Sri Lanka | 247 |
| Seychelles | 30 |
| Bhutan | 2068.56 |
| Myanmar | 250 |
| Mauritius | 370 |
| Mongolia | 5 |
| Bangladesh | 120 |
| Afghanistan | 200 |
| Maldives | 400 |
With the budget 2024, Nirmala Sithraman became the first Finance Minister of India who has presented the budget consecutively seven times. Before her, Morarji Desai presented the budget 6 times.
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Opinion
The budget could have been more focused on the middle-class population because rich people don’t get affected by minor changes and the poor get many benefits under government schemes. The taxpayer population is mostly middle class and they are the ones who don’t get benefits from government schemes. There are a few ways the government can provide relaxation to the middle-class population that is in health and medical insurance under some schemes. Can reduce the burden of taxes on the middle class.
But the current scenario is that rich people are always successful in finding a way to not pay taxes and the poor already do not pay income taxes so all burdens come on the shoulders of the middle class. This should be changed now else we should find a government that can reduce the burden of the middle class and distribute it in every class.
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