Budget 2024 to be 'futuristic', will entail 'far-reaching policies': President Murmu | Key points

The upcoming Union Budget 2024-25 is set to be "futuristic", and will entail "far-reaching policies", said President Droupadi Murmu, during her maiden address to the elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha on Thursday, June 27.

The President also confirmed that the budget would be rolled out in the upcoming Monsoon session of the Parliament. While the dates have not been confirmed, reports had earlier claimed that the session would be begin in the third week of July.

“In the upcoming session, the government will introduce its first budget for this term. This budget will be an impressive document of the far-reaching policies and futuristic vision of the government. In this budget, along with major economic and social decisions, many historical steps are also to be seen,” the President said.

PSUs soaring

According to the President, the government's reforms have strengthened the public sector undertakings (PSUs), with the "SBI "achieving record profits and LIC becoming more robust".

LIC, the state-run insurance behemoth, had recorded a net profit of ₹13,762 crore in the March 2024 quarter, which was 2.5% higher as against the year-ago period.

SBI, which is the country's largest state-run lender, had logged a 24% year-on-year rise in net profit to ₹20,698 crore in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023-24.

"Our public sector banks are now robust and profitable,” the President said, pointing out that the cumulative net profit of PSU banks came in at ₹1.4 lakh crore in fiscal year 2023-24, which was 35% higher as compared to the preceding financial year.

5th largest economy

"The pledge of reform, perform and transform has made India the fastest-growing economy in the world. In 10 years, India rose from the 11th position to become the 5th largest economy," she said.

Despite a pandemic and conflicts in different parts of the world, India has been able to achieve this growth rate, the President added.

The rollout of Goods and Service Tax (GST) in 2017 was one of the measures that expedited the pace of reform, she suggested. "Today GST is creating a medium to formalise India's economy, to make trade and business easier. For the first time in the month of April, GST collection has crossed the level of Rs 2 lakh crore. This has increased the profit of the states."

Due to the overall reforms, India's share in the global economy has increased, the President said, adding that the country now "contributes to 15% of the global growth".

"My government is working towards making India the 3rd largest economy in the world," she further noted.