Budget highlights: electric vehicle charging, middle-class living spaces, rooftop solar power.

Budget highlights In an announcement made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Modi administration has effectively navigated challenges to implement significant changes, unveiling the interim budget ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This budget underscores a commitment to sustainable development and inclusive growth through creative programs in renewable energy, healthcare, and agriculture.

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Key points of the 2024 interim budget include:

Rooftop Solarization and Free Electricity:
- Benefiting 1 crore households, rooftop solarization will provide up to 300 units of free electricity monthly.
- Anticipated benefits include potential savings of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 18,000 and the opportunity to sell excess electricity to discoms.
Encouragement of Post-Harvest Activities:
- Promoting both public and private investment in post-harvest operations, including supply chain aggregation, processing, modern storage, marketing, and branding.
Nano DSP Application Extension:
- Following Nano Urea’s success, Nano DAP will be applied to a broader range of crops across all agroclimatic zones.
Middle-Class Housing Program:
- Introducing a program to assist deserving segments of the middle class in acquiring or constructing homes in chawls, slums, rental properties, or unapproved colonies.
Medical Colleges Extension:
- Utilizing existing hospital infrastructure to establish additional medical colleges, with a committee tasked to conduct analysis and provide recommendations.
Cervical Cancer Prevention:
- Encouraging vaccination for girls aged 8 to 14 to prevent cervical cancer.
Comprehensive Mother and Child Healthcare Program:
- Consolidating various programs under the maternal and child healthcare umbrella into a single, comprehensive initiative to enhance implementation synergy.
Ayushman Bharat Coverage Extension:
- Providing healthcare coverage under Ayushman Bharat to all ASHA, Anganwadi, and helper employees.
Agriculture and Food Processing Focus:
- Increasing value-added efforts in agriculture and food processing to boost farmers’ income, emphasizing reducing post-harvest losses and enhancing productivity.
Aatma Nirbhar Oilseeds Abhiyan:
- Developing a self-sufficiency plan for oilseeds through research and contemporary farming methods.
Dairy Development Program:
- Establishing comprehensive support for dairy farmers, leveraging existing initiatives to enhance output.
Matsya Sampada Initiative:
- Creating separate departments for fishermen and promoting sector investment to generate job opportunities.
Encouraging Investment:
- Implementing measures to support consistent foreign investment, including bilateral investment treaty negotiation and providing Rs 75,000 crores.
Social Shifts Committee:
- Establishing a robust committee to recommend holistic solutions for issues arising from population growth and demographic shifts.
Updated Estimates for 2023–2024:
- Revised estimates indicate that taxes will contribute Rs. 23.24 lakh crores to total receipts, with the remaining Rs. 27.56 lakh crores sourced from avenues other than borrowing.