Budget 2024 Speech: This is the sixth budget that Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting, which means that she has equalled the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Budget 2024: Full text of Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech

Budget 2024 Speech: This is the sixth budget that Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting, which means that she has equalled the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Here is the full text of Sitharaman’s Budget 2024 speech:

The economy has witnessed a profound transformation in the last 10 years. The people of India are looking ahead to the future with hope and optimism. With the blessings of the people, our government under the visionary and dynamic presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi office took office in 2014. The government has overcome challenges in earnest, structural reforms were undertaken, and pro-people programs were formulated and implemented promptly. Conditions were for more opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. The economy got a new vigour. And the fruits of development started reaching people at scale.

The country is proud of youth scaling new heights in sports. Chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa put up a stiff fight against the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in 2023. Today, India has over 80 chess grandmasters.

 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs.

We have made triple talaq illegal, and provided reservations for one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies. We gave over 70% houses under PM Awas Yoajana in rural areas to women have enhanced their dignity.

All forms of infrastructure- physician, digital or social are being built in record time. All parts of the country becoming active participants in economic growth. Strengthening of the financial sector has helped in making savings, credit and investment more efficient. A new world order is emerging after the Covid pandemic.

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Budget 2024: Here’s a look at the evolution of India’s Union Budget since independence

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the interim budget on February 1, 2024 at 11am- marking her sixth budget. The budget precedes the Lok Sabha elections 2024 and is therefore interim in nature.

James Wilson, a Scottish economist working with the East India Company, presented India’s first interim budget in 1860 during the British era.

In 1947, RK Shanmukham Chetty presented India’s inaugural interim budget which addressed critical issues like food grain scarcity, surging imports, and rampant inflation.

Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, in 2001, shifted the announcement time of the Budget from 5:00 pm to 11 am, breaking a colonial tradition.

Till 2016, the Budget used to be presented on the last working day of February.

In 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman changed the visual narrative of the budget, replacing the traditional briefcase with a ‘bahi khata’.

The move towards a paperless budget marked a significant technological shift in 2021.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has delivered the longest budget speech in India’s history in 2020- two hours and 42 minutes. The speech, however, fell short of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s word count record.

In 1950, the Union Budget was leaked during Finance Minister John Mathai’s tenure.

After 1980, the budget printing process was moved from Rashtrapati Bhawan to Minto Road.

The shift to bilingual presentation occurred in 1955-56, with budgets being printed in both English and Hindi.

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The government has now announced the appointment of three full-time members and one part-time member of the Commission.Ajay Narayan Jha, Annie George Mathew, and Niranjan Rajadhyaksha have been appointed as full-time members, while Soumya Kanti Ghosh has been appointed as a part-time member. 

Jha, who has served in previous Finance Commissions, was also a member of the 15th Finance Commission. The Commission’s main role is to decide the tax sharing formula between the Centre and the states. The 16th Finance Commission is expected to submit its recommendations by October 31, 2025, covering a five-year award period starting from April 1, 2026.

 In November, the Union Cabinet approved the Terms of Reference for the Commission, which outline its responsibilities regarding tax distribution and grants-in-aid for the states. 

Finance Secretary TV Somanathan stated that the Terms of Reference are comprehensive and have been prepared after consulting with the states.

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This decision aims to address the demands of smartphone companies and industry bodies. 

Components such as battery covers, front covers, main lenses, and GSM antennas are among those affected. 

Additionally, the import duty on inputs used to manufacture these components has been cut to zero.

 The move comes after the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) called for lower tariffs on components and sub-assemblies to boost smartphone exports. 

According to a report by the ICEA, the country’s high tariffs on inputs hinder growth and limit export potential. 

The report also suggests that mobile phone exports from India could make up 30% of total production in the current fiscal year, but only if the country can compete with China and Vietnam’s competitive tariff regime.

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Despite the temporary nature of the budget, investors will closely watch for any announcements, particularly regarding taxation on investment in capital markets. 

Overall, sentiment remains positive ahead of the anticipated budget.

 Meanwhile, in the international market, oil prices rose due to higher global economic forecasts and ongoing tensions between the US and Iran. 

The Indian currency opened flat against the American dollar.

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Paytm Ayodhya Offer: Paytm is also offering a ‘Free Cancellation’ option which provides a full refund without needing a reason.

Paytm announced cashback offers for travelers visiting Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya using which they can avail up to 100 per cent cashback on bus and flight bookings. In order to avail this offer, all you need to do is use promo codes ‘BUSAYODHYA’ and ‘FLYAYODHYA’ for bus and flight bookings, respectively.

Every tenth user who uses the codes will be granted the cashback which is ₹1,000 maximum for bus travelers while flight bookers can get up to ₹5,000. Additionally, Paytm is also offering a ‘Free Cancellation’ option which provides a full refund without needing a reason.

“Being at the forefront of mobile payments and QR technology, we are delighted to introduce this exclusive offer for devotees travelling to Ayodhya. Through our exclusive offers, including 100 per cent cashback on bus and flight bookings, our goal is to help users with seamless travel to Ayodhya,” a Paytm spokesperson said as per Business Today.

Earlier, Paytm allowed users to contribute to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust through its app. To donate, users can follow these steps:

Go to the Paytm app

Click ‘View all’ from Bill Payments

Go to ‘Devotion’

Select ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomu Teerth Kshetra’

Add details like name, e-mail ID, and the amount you wish to donate

Click on ‘Proceed to Pay’

The Ram Janmabhoomi Temple opened for the public on January 23, a day after the pran pratishtha ceremony led by PM Narendra Modi. The darshan takes place in two slots– 07:00 am to 11:30 am and 02:00 pm to 07:00 pm.

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 The stock opened at ₹6,993, a decline from the previous close of ₹7,187.50, and dropped to a low of ₹6,841.65 later in the morning. 

By 10 am, the share price had decreased by 3.78% to ₹6,915.55. Last year, the stock reached its highest point at ₹8,190 in October and its lowest point at ₹5,487.25 in March.

 Bajaj Finance reported a YoY increase of 31.3% in its revenue from operations to ₹14,161.09 crore for Q3FY24. The company’s profit after tax also rose 22.4% YoY to ₹3,638.95 crore.

 In addition, Bajaj Finance announced that its consolidated assets under management surpassed ₹3,00,000 crore, reaching ₹3,10,968 crore by the end of December 2023. 

The company reported a 29% increase in net interest income to ₹7,655 crore during the period.

 Bajaj Finance disclosed that the gross non-performing assets (NPA) and net NPA as of December 31, 2023, were 0.95% and 0.37% respectively, compared to 1.14% and 0.41% on December 31, 2022. The provision coverage ratio on stage 3 assets was 62% as of December 31, 2023.

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