Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that four distinct castes that play a major role in the Indian economy need to be given special attention during the presentation of the much awaited Union Budget 2024. In her speech, she identified four castes: the impoverished, women, young, and farmers.
The finance minister presented the 2024 Union Budget to the legislature on Tuesday. This is the first budget of the Modi 3.0 government, which was formed after the 2024 Lok Sabha General Elections, which is what makes the sacred document so important.
It is important to remember that Sitharaman will be presenting her seventh budget, which is a record for any Indian finance minister in history.
What does this mean for the four castes?
In the speech, Sitharaman recalled that the interim budget which was presented on February 1, 2024, emphasised the importance of the development of these castes. “As mentioned in the interim Budget, we need to focus on 4 different castes, the poor, women, youth and the farmer,” the Finance Minister averred in her address to the Lok Sabha.
Here’s a look at how the budget facilitated the growth of these four sections of the society;
Farmers
Sitharaman reminded the farmers of the announcement made last month regarding increased Minimum Support Prices for all major crops. The Finance Minister claimed, “For annadata (farmers), we delivered on our promise a month ago by announcing a higher MSP for all major crops.”
Sitharamas stated that the government is emphasizing resilience and production in agriculture in the July budget. In the next two years, 1 crore farmers nationwide would be introduced to natural farming with branding and certification support. Additionally, “Atmanirbharta” for oil seeds like mustard, peanut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower is promoted in the budget.
Poor
She mentioned that the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for the development of the needy was extended for an additional five years. “The PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was extended for five years, benefiting more than 80 crore people. Administrative actions for the approval and implementation of various schemes announced in the interim budget are well underway and the required allocations have been made,” she explained.
The schemes introduced under the Urban Development Scheme also focus on the upliftment of the poor. PM Awaz Yojana 2.0 addresses the needs of 1 crore urban poor and middle-class families with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore.
Youth
For the youth, Sitharaman announced that the government will launch a scheme for internship opportunities for 1 crore youth in the 500 top companies. The scheme is expected to provide these internships over the course of the next five years.
This opportunity will come with an internship allowance of Rs 5,000 a month in addition to a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000. Other than this 12 industrial parks have been sanctioned under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme. Other than this the Finance Minister also introduced an education loan scheme for the youth who didn’t get benefits from any government scheme.
Women
The budget introduced several good initiatives for women under the Employment and Skilling programmes. This includes facilitating higher participation of women in the workforce through setting up of working women hostels in collaboration with industry and establishing creches.
In an effort to ensure inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice, the government proposed to allocate more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls.
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