Budget 2024 Live Updates: Changes in Tax Structure, Deductions, and Economic Policies

The Union Budget 2024-25 was presented on July 23rd, 2024 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at 11 am. Here's what you need to know about it:

Follow all the live Budget 2024 updates here:

23 Jul 2024, 12:26 PM

Changes in the tax structure of the new tax regime are as follows:
Rs.0 to Rs.3 lakh - NIL
Rs.3 to Rs.7 lakh - 5% 
Rs.7 lakh to Rs.10 lakh - 10% 
Rs.10 lakh to Rs.12 lakh - 15%
Rs.12 lakh to Rs.15 lakh - 20% 
More than Rs.15 lakh - 30% 

Under the new tax regime, taxpayer stands to save Rs.17,500

23 Jul 2024, 12:25 PM

Standard deduction under the new tax regime is now increased to Rs.75,000 from Rs.50,000. The deduction on family pension is increased from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000.

23 Jul 2024, 12:24 PM

Non reporting of Foreign Assets - Movable assets of upto 20 lakhs will be decriminalised. There will be withdrawal of equalisation levy of 2%. Non reporting of Foreign Assets and Incomes (ESOPs & RSU) upto 20 lacs will now be a non penalised offence.

23 Jul 2024, 12:23 PM

STT on Futures and Options increased to 0.02% and 0.1% respectively. Tax on buyback will be in the hands of recipients.

23 Jul 2024, 12:21 PM

Angel tax is abolished for all taxpayers. Corporate tax rate for foreign companies reduced from 40 to 35%.

23 Jul 2024, 12:20 PM

To dispose backlog of appeals, more officers to be appointed to reduce litigation. Vivaad se Vishwaas 2024 will be implemented. The monetary limit to appeal be hiked to Rs.2 crores, and Rs.5 crore respectively.

23 Jul 2024, 12:19 PM

Unlisted bonds, Debentures, irrespective of holding period, will be taxed at applicable rates.

23 Jul 2024, 12:18 PM

Short Term Gains on certain financial assets shall attract 20%. Long Term Capital Gains will be 12.5% on all financial and non-financial assets. Increase in limit on exemption of Capital Gains on certain financial assets to Rs.1.25 lakh from Rs.1 lakh.

23 Jul 2024, 12:16 PM

TDS rate on UTI and Mutual Funds is withdrawn. TDS rates on e-commerece proposed o be reduced from 1% to 0.1%.

23 Jul 2024, 12:14 PM

Two tax exemption regimes for charities are proposed to be merged into one

23 Jul 2024, 12:14 PM

A comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in 6 months for tax certainity and simplification.

23 Jul 2024, 12:12 PM

There will be an extension of the period of export of goods imported for repairs from 6 months to 1 year for domestic aviation.

23 Jul 2024, 12:11 PM

Proposed to remove BCD subject to conditions on oxygen free copper used in electronics.

23 Jul 2024, 12:11 PM

Customs duty reduced on gold and silver reduced to 6%.

23 Jul 2024, 12:09 PM

Customs duty reduced on gold and platinum.

23 Jul 2024, 12:08 PM

Customs duty on BCD reduced to 15% on mobile phone, mobile charger, PCBA. Customs duty on 25 critical minerals fully exempt and reduced BCD on 2 of them.

23 Jul 2024, 12:08 PM

BCD reduced to 15% on mobile phone, mobile charger, PCBA.

23 Jul 2024, 12:07 PM

Customs Duty fully exempt cancer treating medicines.

23 Jul 2024, 12:05 PM

Customs Duty rate structure to be comprehensively reviewed and removal of duty inversion over the next 6 months to rationalise and simplify it.

23 Jul 2024, 12:03 PM

NPS Vatsalaya account can be converted to regular NPS account on attaining age of majority.

23 Jul 2024, 12:02 PM

To enhance the ease of business, the government is working on Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0.

23 Jul 2024, 12:00 PM

Rules and regulations of Foreign Direct Investment and Overseas investments will be simplified.

23 Jul 2024, 11:58 AM

e-Sharm portal integration with other such portals to improve labour data.

23 Jul 2024, 11:56 AM

50 year interest free loans to be provided for promoting land reforms.

23 Jul 2024, 11:54 AM

A venture capital fund of Rs. 1,000 crore to develop space research.

23 Jul 2024, 11:51 AM

Assistance for flood management and related projects in Bihar, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim.

23 Jul 2024, 11:50 AM

Phase 4 of PM gram sadak yojan to be launched to support 25000 rural habitations.

23 Jul 2024, 11:48 AM

Government to ensure strong fiscal support for infra development next 5 years. 3.4% of GDP is invested towards Infrastructure of the country.

23 Jul 2024, 11:47 AM

Support will be provided to micro and small industries, 60 clusters including brass, for cleaner energy measures.

23 Jul 2024, 11:45 AM

Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, roof top solar panels to enable 1 crores household to obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month.

23 Jul 2024, 11:43 AM

The State Governments will moderate the stamp duties and reduce stamp duty for purchase of property by women.

23 Jul 2024, 11:41 AM

Transit oriented development programs for 14 large cities will be implemented.

23 Jul 2024, 11:39 AM

Additional debt recovery tribunals will be set up.

23 Jul 2024, 11:37 AM

Rental Housing with dorm type accommodation in PPP mode for industrial workers.

23 Jul 2024, 11:36 AM

Rental Housing with dorm type accommodation in PPP mode for industrial workers.

23 Jul 2024, 11:35 AM

12 Industrial hubs to be sanctioned.

23 Jul 2024, 11:35 AM

Internship opportunities to 1 crore youth in 500 tops companies over the next  5 years for 12 months with an allowance of Rs 5,000 per month and a one time expense of Rs.6000. Companies to bear training expenses and 10% of allowance as part of CSR.

23 Jul 2024, 11:31 AM

Reduction of threshold limit from Rs.500 crore to Rs.250 crore to onboard the TReDs platform to unlock working capital. Set up of 100 food quality and safety testing labs for MSME.

23 Jul 2024, 11:31 AM

Mudra loans limit enhanced to 20 lakhs.

23 Jul 2024, 11:31 AM

Credit to MSME during stress period - While being Special Mention Account (SMA), credit to be made available to avoid NPA classification.

23 Jul 2024, 11:30 AM

A new credit assessment model to be introduced for MSMEs.

23 Jul 2024, 11:29 AM

Many provisions for MSMEs - A new credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs guarantee fund to provide guarantee upto Rs. 100 crores, scheme for term loans for machinery without collateral and PSU bank to bulit in house capacity to assess MSME's credit.

23 Jul 2024, 11:28 AM

Provision of 2.66 lakh crore for rural development.

23 Jul 2024, 11:27 AM

Rs. 3 lakh crores provided for Women led development. 

23 Jul 2024, 11:26 AM

Under the PM Awas Yojana, 3 crore additional houses to be provided in rural and urban India.

23 Jul 2024, 11:24 AM

Under the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, recognising the capital needs of state, the Central Government will give special financial support of Rs.15,000 crores during the year and additional amount in future years will be provided.

23 Jul 2024, 11:24 AM

New airports, medical colleges and sports corridors in Bihar.

23 Jul 2024, 11:22 AM

Purvodaya for all round development of eastern States - Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

23 Jul 2024, 11:19 AM

Education Loans will be provided and  financial support for loans upto Rs.10 lakhs for higher education in domestic institutions will be provided. E-vouchers for above purpose will be given to 1 lakh students every years for annual interest subvention of up to 3% of loan amount.

23 Jul 2024, 11:15 AM

3 schemes for employment-linked incentives:
A - First Timers - one month's wage to all ppl entering the workforce in all formal sectors - must be registered with EPFO - salary in three installments
B- Job creation in the manufacturing sector - incentive at specified scale to both employee and employer - in first 4 years  of employment
C - support to the employer - additional employment will result in reimbursement to the employer towards EPFO contribution 

23 Jul 2024, 11:13 AM

Rs.1.52 lakh crore allocated in the Budget for agriculture and allied sector.

23 Jul 2024, 11:11 AM

The Budget focuses on 9 areas - 

• productivity and resilience in agriculture,
• employmen and skilling,
• inclusive human resource and development, and social justice,
• manufacturing servces,
• urban development,
• energy security,
• infrastructure,
• innovation and research and development,
• next geneartion reforms

23 Jul 2024, 11:10 AM

New 109 climate resilient varieties of crops will be released for farmers.

23 Jul 2024, 11:11 AM

There is a provision of 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment and skill.

23 Jul 2024, 11:10 AM

The theme of the Budget is - Employment, skill, MSME and middle class

23 Jul 2024, 11:09 AM

This Budget focuses on 4 groups - Gareeb(poor), Mahila(women), Yuva (youth) and Annadaata (farmer)

23 Jul 2024, 11:08 AM

India's inflation is stable and moving to the target of 4%

23 Jul 2024, 11:06 AM

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, commences the Budget 2024-25.

22 Jul 2024, 03:40 PM

India's per capita income is expected to increase from around Rs.2 lakh in FY23 to Rs.14.9 lakh in FY47.

22 Jul 2024, 03:30 PM

A tripartite compact between Industry, Academia and Governments is needed to sustain the growth momentum in India.

22 Jul 2024, 03:27 PM

Trade division by the West away from China and the drive for enhancing manufacturing capacity within the country can deepen trade deficits with China, as per the Economic Survey.

22 Jul 2024, 03:25 PM

According to the Economic Survey, corporate profitability (profit before tax) has increased from 18.5 crores in FY22 to 20.6 crores in FY23. 

22 Jul 2024, 03:20 PM

According to the Economic Survey, Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses a big challenge because it threatens employment. Widespread adoption of AI across the service sectors can significantly reshape and replace jobs. AI has made significant growth in the industry and automotive, agri-tech, healthcare, BFSI and retail sectors in India. Thus, businesses have an obligation to strike the right balance between the deployment of technology and the deployment of labour. They need to figure out how the deployment of technology does not hurt the labour income.

22 Jul 2024, 03:10 PM

According to the Economic Survey, the key areas of policy focus for the short to medium term to ensure growth continues at a pace to achieve Viksit Bharath 2047 are: Generate productive employment, Address the skill-gap challenge, Tap into the full potential of the agriculture sector, Ease regulatory requirements and financial bottleneck for MSMEs, Manage India's green transition, Navigate the Chinese conundrum, Deepen the corporate bond market, Tackle inequality and Improve the quality of health of India's young population.

22 Jul 2024, 03:05 PM

According to the Economic Survey, inflationary pressure is under control, with retail inflation at 5.4% in FY24, the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic. It cleverly contained through administrative and monetary policy initiatives. 

22 Jul 2024, 03:00 PM

India witnessed the least exchange rate volatility in FY24 as per the Economic Survey.

22 Jul 2024, 02:55 PM

India is ranked 8th in the World's other business services exports and 6th in the World's personal, cultural, and recreational services exports as per the Economic Survey.

22 Jul 2024, 02:50 PM

Broad-based acceleration in industrial output at 9.5% in FY24 as per the Economic Survey. PLI schemes have garnered over Rs.1.28 lakh crore of investment, export boosted by Rs. 4 lakh crore, production/sales of Rs. 10.8 lakh crore and employment generation of over Rs.8.5 lakh.

22 Jul 2024, 02:47 PM

Private Corporate Capex grew by 19.8% to Rs.8.7 lakh crore post-COVID as per the Economic Survey.  

22 Jul 2024, 02:45 PM

India's real GDP growth is 8.2% in FY24, posting growth of over 7% for a third consecutive year, driven by
stable consumption, demand and improving investment demand as per the Economic Survey. 

22 Jul 2024, 12:15 PM

The real GDP growth forecast of 6.5% to 7% for FY25 is higher compared to the last Economic Survey, which had predicted the real GDP to grow in the range of 6% to 6.8% in FY24.

22 Jul 2024, 12:10 PM

The Economic Survey forecasts the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the range of 6.5% to 7% in FY25.

22 Jul 2024, 12:05 PM

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, tabled the Economic Survey 2023-2024 and Economic Survey 2023-2024 Statistical Appendix in Lok Sabha.

22 Jul 2024, 10:24 AM

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, gave a speech before the Budget Session. 

In his speech, he stated, "This Budget will set the direction of the next five years of the current government and will lay a strong foundation for the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047”.

He also stated that India is the fastest-growing country among the major economies and has grown about 8% in the last three consecutive years. India is at the peak of opportunities due to a positive outlook, investment and performance.

Budget 2024 LIVE Event

Budget Expectations 2024 From Industries

1. Healthcare Sector: Despite recent increases, India's healthcare expenditure trails neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Bhutan. The National Health Policy 2017 aims to raise spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2025, emphasizing technology integration in public healthcare. Access to generic medicines under schemes like PMJAY is hampered by quality control and prescription enforcement challenges. Prioritizing these issues in the upcoming budget could significantly enhance public health services, benefiting millions across the country.
2. Real Estate Sector: We anticipate the upcoming budget will address critical real estate challenges, including tax relief for homebuyers and expanded deductions on house loan interest. Reforms to enhance affordable housing availability through improved financing and streamlined approvals are crucial. Stimulating growth will involve incentives for sustainable development and better infrastructure in growing urban areas, ultimately boosting the housing market and homeownership opportunities for many.
3. IT Sector: The Interim Budget 2024 presents a pivotal opportunity for India's IT sector growth, emphasizing digitalization and technological advancement across industries like Fintech, Retail, Health, Real Estate, Manufacturing, Telecom, etc. Priority lies in enhancing R&D and nurturing skilled talent to drive economic growth and boost global competitiveness in software development, cybersecurity, and digital solutions. Sustainability-focused initiatives can further drive innovation in agritech, electric vehicles, fintech, and renewable energy, attracting foreign investments and partnerships for international expansion.
4. Education Sector: It is pertinent to increase allocations to educational infrastructure, teacher training, and digital learning tools. This should include bridging rural-urban divides in education, enhancing vocational training, and promoting holistic development through arts, sports, and culture. The focus is on preparing students for modern challenges and fostering a skilled workforce. These measures aim to improve educational standards and support India's socio-economic development.

Budget Expectations 2024 for Salaried Individuals

1. Increase in Basic Exemption Limit: Under the new regime, the current basic exemption limit of Rs.3 lakh is expected to be increased to Rs.5 lakh.
2. Change in Tax Slabs: Under the new tax regime, the tax rate for individuals earning between Rs.15 lakh and Rs.20 lakh should be revised. Currently, this income bracket's tax rate is 30%. A reduction to 22-25% would provide much-needed relief to taxpayers in this segment.
3. Revision of Section 80C Limit: The much-needed revision in the section 80C limit, which has remained unchanged since 2014 despite rising inflation rates. Such a revision would not only help taxpayers combat inflation but also stimulate savings and investments in key financial instruments like ELSS, tax saver FDs, PPF etc. aligning with the broader vision of a financially robust and prosperous India.
4. Increase in Interest Deduction Limit under Section 24(b): To further encourage homeownership, the government should consider increasing the interest deduction limit under Section 24(b) from Rs. 2,00,000 to Rs. 3,00,000. This change would provide additional incentives for purchasing residential properties, supporting both individual financial health and the broader real estate market.
5. Revision in 80D Limit: Given the rising healthcare costs, there is an expectation for an increase in the deduction limit for medical insurance premiums under section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Currently, the limit stands at ₹25,000 for individuals and ₹50,000 for senior citizens. It is anticipated that the budget may raise these limits to ₹50,000 for individuals and ₹75,000 for senior citizens, to support healthcare needs substantially. Additionally, extending the benefits of Section 80D to the new tax regime would not only promote equitable access to healthcare but also encourage wider adoption of health insurance.  

Related Articles: 
1. Budget 2024 Highlights
2. Full List of Schemes Announced in Budget 2024-25
3. Economic Survey 2024 Highlights & Summary
4. Budget 2024 Expectations
5. Budget 2024 Date & Time