Budget 2024 stresses on job creation, says Rajan Bharti Mittal

The key highlight of Budget 2024 is job creation, according to Rajan Bharti Mittal, Co-Vice Chairman of Bharti Enterprises. The budget outlines a clear roadmap for generating employment, with a focus on youth empowerment, women's empowerment, agriculture, and manufacturing. The government's commitment to capital expenditure on infrastructure, such as roads, coupled with fiscal prudence, has been well-received, Mittal told Republic Business.

Buoyed by improved revenue collection, the government has lowered the fiscal deficit target to 4.9 per cent for the current financial year, down from the 5.1 per cent estimated in February's interim budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has retained the fiscal deficit estimate at 4.5 per cent for 2025-26, as previously announced.

"For the year 2024-25, total receipts excluding borrowings are estimated at Rs 32.07 lakh crore, with total expenditure at Rs 48.21 lakh crore. Net tax receipts are projected at Rs 25.83 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit is estimated at 4.9 per cent of GDP," Sitharaman stated while presenting the budget in Lok Sabha.

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit has been revised down to Rs 16.14 lakh crore from the earlier estimate of Rs 16.85 lakh crore for the current financial year.

"The fiscal consolidation path announced in 2021 has served our economy well. We aim to reach a deficit below 4.5 per cent next year, and the government is committed to maintaining this trajectory. From 2026-27 onwards, our goal will be to ensure that the central government debt declines as a percentage of GDP," she said.

Finance Secretary T V Somanathan explained that the focus post-FY26 will be on the debt-to-GDP ratio rather than a specific deficit number. He noted that a fast-growing economy like India can sustain a higher deficit without expanding debt compared to slower-growing economies.

"The debt dynamics of a fast-growing economy like India differ from those of a slower-growing economy, meaning the sustainable deficit in a particular year could be much higher than 3 per cent," he said.