Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament aimed at giving a major push to job creation with a focus on the country’s youth, empowering women and improving the incomes of farmers. She announced a Prime Minister’s package of five schemes aimed at facilitating employment and skilling, with an allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore.
“The budget has allocated as much as Rs 3 lakh crore in programmes that will enable more women to enter the workforce and contribute to the country’s inclusive development aligned with the Viksit Bharat goal,” the Finance Minister said. Similarly, a robust allocation of Rs 5.2 lakh crore has been made for the agriculture and allied sectors to enhance the earnings of farmers.
Sitharaman said that the Government will undertake a comprehensive review of the agricultural research setup to increase productivity and develop climate-resilient varieties. Domain experts will oversee the conduct of this research to ensure its effectiveness and relevance.
“We need to focus on the garib, mahilaye, yuva, and annadata. For annadata, we announced higher MSP a month ago for all major crops, delivering on our promise. The PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was extended for five years, benefiting more than 80 crore people. Administrative actions for the approval and implementation of various schemes announced in the interim budget are well underway,” FM Sitharaman observed.
