Budget 2024: Sithraman proposes rise in capex by 11.1 pc; deficit estimated at 5.1 pc

Nirmala Sitharaman presenting interim budget/ PTI

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 11.1 per cent to Rs 11.11 lakh crore in 2024-25. Capital Expenditure or capex is used to set up long-term physical or fixed assets.

The interim budget will take care of the financial needs of the intervening period until a new government is formed after the Lok Sabha polls. A full budget will subsequently be presented by the new government in July.

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Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit for 2024-25 is estimated at 5.1 per cent of GDP against 5.8 per cent in the current financial year, Sitharaman added. She said that tax receipts from 2024-25 are projected at Rs 26.02 lakh crore.

The FM informed the Parliament that the fiscal deficit of the Union government touched Rs 9.82 lakh crore or 55 per cent of the annual budget target at December-end 2023, a PTI report stated. The report added that the fiscal deficit in the same period for 2022-23 was at 59.8 per cent of the budget estimates.

The union minister also said 50-year interest-free loans of Rs 75,000 crore to be extended to states to realise the dream of a developed India and added that every challenge of pre-2014 was overcome through economic management, PTI reported.

The Budget Session of Parliament began on Wednesday with President Droupadi Murmu's joint address wherein she expressed that India witnessed remarkable growth. Per the ANI report, she said, "The year 2023 was a historic year for India when it grew the fastest among major economies despite the global crisis. India grew about 7.5 per cent for two consecutive quarters."