This budget brings major reforms in many sectors, indicating government’s intent to fulfill the needs of different stakeholders such as the middle class, farmers, youth, and women.
Countries that have made the transition to developed status have all invested in education.
Management Education Implications
I feel that the budgetary steps will have deep impacts on management education. Opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, and financial services are now opening for curriculum development, research, and industry interface.
Budget 2025 : A Balanced Approach with Challenges Ahead
Overall Budget 2025-2026 have a potential to create an inclusive and sustainable economy. In understanding such a balanced reform of taxations along with fiscal discipline and sectoral interventions in an economically responsive manner which reflects the government’s commitment to solve economic issues along with laying the foundation for long-term prosperity. It is on us, as educators and thinkers, to analyse these developments critically and prepare our students to contribute effectively to the evolving economy.
More emphasis on MSMEs, Women Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups
Tax Reforms and Middle-Class Empowerment : A notable feature of the budget is the healthy relief offered to the middle class in terms of personal income tax reforms. The tax-free income has been raised to ₹12 Lakhs which means that a section of the population would have lesser tax burden. This would improve disposable incomes, which in turn would raise consumer spending and eventually economic activity.
BUDGET 2024 : Expectations for HEIs – Experts Speak
Modi 3.0 Government’s 1st Budget 2024 perceived by Industry as a “Budget of Hope”
Fiscal Discipline and Economic Growth : The government has set an ambitious target to reduce the fiscal deficit to 4.4% of GDP, signalling a commitment to fiscal discipline. To fund the planned expenditures, the budget outlines a borrowing plan of ₹14.82 trillion through bonds. This approach balances the need for investment in growth-stimulating sectors with prudent fiscal management.
Enhancing Budget Allocation : A crucial step for Transformative Higher education
Sectoral Initiatives and Inclusive Development : The budget focuses much on inclusive development with specific measures to help farmers, youth, women, and underprivileged communities.
The key initiatives are:
- Agriculture: Enhanced support for farmers through increased allocations for rural infrastructure and initiatives aimed at boosting agricultural productivity.
- Insurance Industry: FDI limit in the insurance sector has been raised to 100%. This would increase the entry of international capital into the industry, thereby boosting its growth prospects.