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Soon after the presentation of Budget 2024–25, India's G20 Sherpa and former CEO of government think tank Niti Aayog asserted that the main highlight of the annual budget is job creation.
"Very progressive, very pragmatic, and a very forward-looking budget. It lays the roadmap for the next 3 decades...But India also has to create jobs, so this budget really focuses; the high key point of this budget is employment creation," Kant said, speaking to ANI.
Employment Boost
"Employment creation is not only through specific schemes of employment alone but also through sectors like tourism, MSME, startups, and the space sector. All these sectors and good quality jobs will greatly be created by the focus on urbanisation, new industrial corridors, growth centres, and the 100 cities where the new industrial paths will be created. All these will be drivers of growth." Asked how the budget will benefit the middle class, Kant said he looked at the budget in its totality and not in isolation.
"I look at the budget in its totality, because you can't break it into lower-middle class or upper-middle class. The budget is beneficial to the middle class because they get a benefit of Rs 17,500 from a tax standpoint. But the budget should not be looked at only for the benefit of taxes.
The budget should be looked at in terms of the growth of the economy. If India grows, the middle class grows. If India grows, the middle class benefits. So, this budget will make India grow, and the middle class will benefit," Kant added.
The budget presented today by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman turned attention to the fullest on employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class.
To facilitate employment, skilling, and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period, she announced a package with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore. This year, Rs 1.48 lakh crore has been allocated for education, employment, and skilling.
For first-timers in the job market, a one-month salary of up to Rs 15,000 is to be provided in three installments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO.The government proposed to reimburse up to Rs 3,000 per month for two years towards the EPFO contributions of employers for each additional employee.
Youth Internship
20 lakh youth to be skilled over a 5-year period, and 1,000 industrial training institutes to be upgraded. Also, a new scheme for internships in 500 top companies for one crore youth in 5 years was proposed.
Nirmala Sitharaman proposed that, for the interns to get exposure to a real-life environment, an internship allowance of Rs 5,000 per month would be provided. Companies facilitating the internship, she said, will bear training and 10 percent of the training cost from their respective corporate social responsibility funds.
