Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman On Tuesday presented her seventh straight Union Budget and laid a roadmap for 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. This was the first budget presentation of the Modi Government 3.0 in the Parliament that was mainly focused on youths, employment & infra push for states like Bihar & Andhra Pradesh. In the Union Budget 2024-25, the government identified nine priorities- productivity and resilience in agriculture, employment and skilling, social justice, manufacturing & services, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, innovation R&D, and next-generational reforms. A major chunk of the fund was allocated for the development of Bihar & Andhra Pradesh. This sparked a furor on social media and the opposition called it the 'Kursi Bachao Budget'.
Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi took to his X handle and pointed out that the Modi government in Budget 2024 made 'hollow promises ... at the cost of other states.'. Congress veteran leader Shashi Tharoor while speaking to a newswire also talked about what was missing in Budget 2024. Tharoor said, "The government is simply not addressing several key issues. MGNREGA wasn't even mentioned. Health and education showed no indication of any increase in the share of GDP allocated to these vital subjects. There was nothing in the announcement about how to address the income inequality in this country."
Keeping the controversies aside, the question arises what was missing in Nirmala Sitharaman's speech during the tabling of Budget 2024- 25?
1) Railways
In most of the budget, Railways are mentioned by the Finance Ministers of India. Even the Modi Government has made major announcements in terms of railways during the budget in the past. That includes Vande Bharat & Special trains. However, during the 2024 Budget, Indian Railways did not feature in FM Sitharaman's budget speech. The only part of the FM's speech that mentioned the word "railways" was in the context of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act. Sitharaman said, "Under the Act, for promoting industrial development, funds will be provided for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways, and roads in Kopparthy node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor."
2) Health sector
As pointed out by Shashi Tharoor, healthcare got a limited mention in Nirmala Sitharaman's speech. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on July 23 that the government has proposed the exemption of three more cancer medications from customs duties.
Although Sitharaman did not mention much about the health sector, the government has allocated ₹89,287 crore for developing, maintaining, and improving the country’s healthcare system, marginally higher from Rs 88,956 crore in FY24. The government has also allocated Rs 2,143 crore for PLI for the pharmaceutical industry.
Earlier in March 2023 the government had fully exempted Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a Merck cancer drug used for cervical cancer, from basic customs duty. The government also exempted customs duty for foods and drugs used for rare diseases. Some of the rare diseases mentioned in the National Policy For Rare Diseases 2021 list include Wilson's disease, cystic fibrosis, and Pompe disease.
3) Agniveers in Defence scheme
Under the defence sector, the Agnipath scheme has been one of the most talked-about schemes in India since it was implemented in 2022. The scheme was not mentioned by Sitharaman in her Budget 2024 speech. Under it, both male and female candidates between ages 17.5 and 21 are recruited into the cadre below the officer's rank for four years, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.
The scheme was also a big factor in BJP's electoral losses in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. However, it has also not found any mention in FM Sitharaman's speech. Earlier this month, the Haryana government separately announced a 10 percent reservation for Agniveers in some jobs.
It is pertinent to mention here that despite less mention about defence in budget 2024 speech, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday thanked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for "giving the highest allocation" to defence sector. "As far as the allocation to the Ministry of Defence is concerned, I thank the Finance Minister for giving the highest allocation to the tune of Rs 6,21,940.85 crore, which is 12.9% of the total Budget of GoI for FY 2024-25," he said in a post on X.
4) No mention of Punjab & many other states
Multiple states were not mentioned in Sitharaman's speech including Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab. Punjab being a bordering state expected a special package from the centre, however, it was not mentioned by Sitharaman in her speech. The only time Punjab was mentioned was when Sitharaman made announcements for Bihar under the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor.
As a result, members of Parliament from Punjab protested outside Parliament alleging Punjab ignored in allocation of funds in the Union Budget 2024. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was quoted saying that discrimination in Punjab should stop. "Why no mention of Punjab the budget?" asked Warring while talking to a newswire.
It is pertinent to mention here that the BJP could not win even a single seat in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 from Punjab. BJP lost by 13-0 in Punjab with farmers protest, Agniveer schemes & MSPs played a significant role in their fall.