Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined changes in allocations for Major schemes in the Interim Budget 2024 that she presented on February 1 this year. Allocations for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme was Rs 86,000 crore, maintaining the same level as the revised estimate for 2023-24.
Initially budgeted at Rs 60,000 crore in February 2023, the allocation had to be increased during the year due to sustained high demand for work under the scheme. The actual Budget allocated for the scheme in FY23 was Rs 90,806.
Schemes that saw significant allocation
Among the notable increases, the ‘Umbrella Scheme for Development of Scheduled Castes’ received a boost, with funding rising from Rs 6,780 crore to Rs 9,560 crore, a Rs 2,780 crore rise aimed at enhancing educational, economic, and social empowerment for Scheduled Castes.
The budget for PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI), a Ministry of Education (MoE) scheme which seeks to upgrade existing government schools to model schools, has risen from Rs 2,800 crore in 2023-24 (RE) to Rs 6,050 crore in 2024-25, an increase of Rs 3,250 crore.
The outlay for Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) was increased to Rs 7,500 crore.
The ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna’ also saw a substantial budgetary increase, climbing from Rs 54,103 crore to Rs 80,671 crore in 2024, marking a Rs 26,568 crore increase. Launched in 2015 by the BJP government, this is a flagship housing credit-linked subsidy scheme with the aim to provide affordable housing to economically weaker sections (EWS), lower-income groups (LIG), and middle-income groups (MIG) across both urban and rural areas.
Boost for manufacturing and renewables
Support for the ‘Modified Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India’ under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology surged from Rs 1,503 crore to Rs 6,903 crore, a Rs 5,400 crore boost promoting domestic manufacturing capabilities.
In renewable energy, the budget for the ‘Solar Power Grid’ jumped from Rs 4,757 crore to Rs 10,000 crore.
The ‘Swacch Bharat’ scheme also received increased funding, climbing from Rs 2,550 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
The government has significantly boosted funding for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes across multiple sectors, including electronics, automotive, and pharmaceuticals.
For the electronics sector, the outlay for the PLI scheme has been increased to Rs 6,200 crore for the fiscal year 2024-25, up from the revised estimate of Rs 4,560 crore in 2023-24.
Likewise, the outlay for PLI schemes in the food processing sector has been raised to Rs 1,444 crore for 2024-25, compared to the revised estimate of Rs 1,150 crore allocated in 2023-24.
Similarly, the outlay for the pharmaceutical sector has been raised to Rs 2,143 crore for 2024-25, compared to the revised estimate of Rs 1,696 crore allocated in 2023-24.
Can fertiliser and infra schemes expect higher allocation?
Conversely, reductions were seen in certain allocations. The ‘Nutrient Based Subsidy’ for fertilizers dropped from Rs 60,300 crore to Rs 45,000 crore, and ‘Urea Subsidy’ decreased from Rs 1,28,594 crore to Rs 1,19,000 crore.
Allocations for the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) declined from Rs 13,200 crore to Rs 10,400 crore, focusing on infrastructure development in water supply, sewerage management, drainage, green spaces, parks, and non-motorized urban transport.
The ‘National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’ also saw a decrease, falling from Rs 2,600 crore to Rs 1,501 crore.