#18 Union budget 2024-25 analysis for the social impact sector

This edition analyses the union budget FY2024-25 across key themes in the social impact sector, and highlights key initiatives across various government schemes.

I wrote my last newsletter on the Union Budget 2023-24 implications on the social impact sector in February 2023. In this edition, I endeavor to further the union budget analysis for this year (FY 2024-25) and provide a macro-view on key updates, schemes, budgetary allocations, and their implications on various themes of the social impact ecosystem. Budget analysis is critical for implementation agencies (non-profits, consulting organizations, other socially-focused organizations) and financiers, which includes financial services providers (scheduled banks under the RBI), equity investors, bond-market investors, domestic and foreign philanthropic capital providers, and multi-lateral and development financial institutions. This helps in capital allocation, strategic planning, redesigning programs in alignment with strategic priorities, and optimizing resource allocation. In addition, it sets the tone and direction of the complementing work undertaken by various stakeholders in the social impact ecosystem to the government's key priorities, thereby impacting communities at scale.

The prerequisites for budget analysis were covered in the previous edition and can be accessed using this link. It provides a primer for understanding budget estimates, revised estimates, and actuals.

For this particular edition, the analysis uses three documents: the FY2025-25 budget speech, the FY2024-25 expenditure budget of various ministries, and the FY2024-25 outcome budget.

The analysis will cover schemes and resource allocation across significant themes, which are listed below:

• Agriculture and Allied sector

• Education

• Healthcare

• Water supply and sanitation

• Employment and Skill Development

• Rural Development

• Women and Child Development

• MSMEs

I hope writing this edition will help me post regularly on this platform. Please subscribe to this newsletter and support my work.

Grab a cup of coffee, and let’s dive in.

Agriculture and Allied Sector

This sector broadly covers initiatives in the agriculture sector and other supporting and allied sectors, such as fisheries, fertilizers, consumer affairs and public distribution, and food processing.

• Assured income support to all landholding farmers with cultivable land: With a capital outlay of INR 60,000 Crore, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM – KISAN) aims to benefit 10 Crore eligible farmers, those registered on the PM-KISAN portal.

• Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS): With a capital outlay of INR 22,600 Crores, the government aims to INR 8 Crores worth of short-term credit facilities to 7 Crore farmers holding valid Kisan Credit Card (KCC)accounts.

  Loans upto INR 3 lakh is available to farmers engaged in Agriculture and other allied activities, including Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Poultry, fisheries, etc. at the rate of 7% p.a. An additional 3% subvention (Prompt Repayment Incentive - PRI) is also given to the farmers for prompt and timely repayment of loans.

  The implementation of this scheme will include opening 95 lakh KCC accounts (existing accounts, including renewal and upgradation) for farmers who have previously taken out and repaid their KCC loans and 76 lakh new KCC accounts for small and marginal farmers who have never taken the short-term credit facility.

• Crop Insurance Scheme: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, with a capital outlay of INR 14,600 Crores, aims to provide insurance of INR 2.25 lakh Crores, covering over 12 Crore farmers and cultivated landholdings of 5.50 lakh hectares. In addition, the government aims to implement efficient claims assessment through technology and a claim settlement mechanism.

  The Yes-Tech (Yield Estimation System based on Technology) will be implemented across 200 districts. Through Digi-Claims, a target of 90% of approved claims shall be paid to farmers by insurance companies for the ongoing seasons. To build awareness and capacities of stakeholders and farmers, the government intends to conduct 180 trainings in this fiscal, organizing 30,000 Fasal Bima Pathshalas, engaging with 10,000 resource persons trained for ground level knowledge support covering over 5 Crore farmers.

• Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Yojna (PM-AASHA): With a capital outlay of 6437 Crores (a 193% increase from the revised estimates of the previous fiscal year 2023-24), Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan is an umbrella scheme to ensure the Minimum Support Price for farmers.

  The minimum support price mechanism comprises the erstwhile Price Support Scheme (PSS) with certain modifications and rolling out of new schemes such as the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and Pilot of Private Procurement and Stockist Scheme (PPSS). Under the scheme, States or UTs can choose either PSS or PDPS in a given procurement season concerning a particular oilseeds crop for the entire State. Pulses and Copra are procured under PSS. Only one scheme, i.e. PSS or PDPS, may be made operational in one State with respect to one commodity.

• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund: The budget estimate for the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for 2024-25 is INR 600.00 crores, the same as the revised estimate for 2023-24. This central sector scheme, approved in 2020, provides medium to long-term debt financing for investments in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.

  All loans under this financing facility will have an interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of INR 2 Crore. This subvention will be available for a maximum period of 7 years. Further, credit guarantee coverage will be available for eligible borrowers from this financing facility under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for a loan up to INR 2 crore. The government will pay the fee for this credit guarantee coverage.

  The government aims to cover 30,000 projects with the disbursements of funds worth INR 20,000 under this scheme. The interest subvention amount is estimated to be INR 1,105 Crores, with a credit guarantee coverage of INR 249 Crores covering 35% of total credit coverage. Through this fund, the government aims to increase the storage capacity addition in the agriculture sector due to infrastructure activities funded (LMT) by 60%, reduce post-harvest losses and food wastage by 4% from dry storage, and 10% in cold storage.

• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana: The budget estimate for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana for 2024-25 is INR 7553.00 crores, a 19.5% increase from the revised estimate of INR 6150.35 crores for 2023-24. The scheme aims to ensure more inclusive and integrated development of agriculture and allied sectors, focusing on pre-and post-harvest infrastructure, including promoting agri-entrepreneurship, innovations, and value addition.

  Some of the key initiatives under this scheme will include:

  1. Adoption of micro-irrigation by 9.5 lakh farmers

  2. Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for in-situ Management of 25 metric tonne of Crop Residue covering 41 lakh hectares of cultivated land.

  3. Coverage of small and marginal farmers engaged in mechanized agricultural practices touching 1,14,500.

  4. Increased Rainfed Area Development Approach coverage to 0.5 lakh hectares, benefitting 3 lakh farmers.

  5. Organic farming covers 1.5 lakh farmers and 1.5 lakh hectares of cultivable land.

  6. Issuing 50 lakh soil health cards, with over 6 lakh farmers trained in soil sampling collection and testing.

• Krishionnati Yojana: The budget estimate for Krishionnati Yojana for 2024-25 is INR 7447.00 crores, a 17% increase from the revised estimate of INR 6378.47 crores for 2023-24. The scheme is being implemented to develop the agriculture and allied sectors holistically and scientifically to increase farmers' incomes by enhancing production, productivity, and better returns on produce.

  This includes food & nutrition security (increasing yield and additional area under cultivation), Seed and Planting Material (from seed-creating infrastructure to seed storage), Edible Oils-Oilseeds & Oilpalm (increasing in production), Organic Value Chain Development for Northeast Region, Integrated Development of Horticulture, National Bamboo Mission, Agriculture Extension, and Agricultural Marketing.

• Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): The budget estimate for the Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) for 2024-25 is INR 581.67 crores, a 29.3% increase from the revised estimate of INR 450.00 crores for 2023-24. The scheme was launched in 2020 to leverage economies of scale, reduce production costs, and enhance farmers' incomes.

  As of July 2024, all 10,000 FPOs have been created, and this programme is intended to intensify the work in increasing the productivity, access to market, and access to finance of these 10,000 FPOs.

  Under this scheme, FPOs receive financial assistance, equity grants, and credit guarantees to improve institutional credit accessibility. FPOs are provided with financial assistance of up to INR 18.00 lakh per FPO for a period of 3 years. In addition to this, FPOs are being provided matching equity grants up to INR 2,000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of INR 15.00 lakh per FPO and a credit guarantee facility up to INR 2 crore of project loan per FPO from the eligible lending institution to ensure institutional credit accessibility to FPOs.

  The government aims to enable Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF)availed by FPOs of INR 150 Crores, and disburse INR 100 Crores worth Equity Grant Fund (EGF) to FPOs.

• Blended Capital Support to Finance Startups for Agriculture and Rural Enterprises Relevant to Farm Produce Value Chain: With a capital outlay of INR 62 Crores, this scheme aims to finance startups for agriculture & rural enterprises relevant to farm produce value chain. The activities for these startups will include, inter alia, machinery for farmers on a rental basis at the farm level, technology, including IT-based support for FPOs, etc.

• Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY): With a capital outlay of INR 2,352 Crores, this scheme aims to bring about the Blue Revolution through the sustainable, responsible, and holistic development of the fisheries sector in India, including the welfare of fishermen. PMMSY is implemented in all the states and Union Territories for a period of five (five) years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.

  This scheme aims at enhanced fish production and productivity, reduced costs and better prices leading to higher exports, growth of fisheries sector and employment generation, improved fish handling & transport, ensure availability of quality & hygenic fish, and enhanced seaweed production.

  Some of the key initiatives under this scheme will include:

  1. Adoption of new technology and capacity building in fisheries through supporting 500 Re- circulatory Aquaculture System (RAS) and Biofloc units, skill upgradation and capacity building programs covering 80,000 people. This shall create direct and indirect employment of 11 lakh people within the fisheries sector.

  2. A total of 10,000 hectares of area to be brought under aquaculture, covering a total of 3.25 lakh tonnes of fish.

  3. A total of 50 fish-based farmer producer companies being setup undertaking aquaculture and seaweed production activities.

• Prime Minister Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PM FME): With a capital outlay of INR 879 Crores, the PMFME scheme aims to assist 25,000 microenterprises and 7000 SHG members engaged in food processing activities, generating employment of 75,000 people.

• Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry: With a capital outlay of INR 1,444 Crores, this scheme aims to undertake at least 99 applications from companies to incentivize the manufacturing of processed food products (RTE/RTC/F&V/Marine/Mozzarella cheese/innovative /organic/millet products) and 76 applications from companies to incentivize Indian brands for branding and marketing abroad. This aims to catalyze sales worth INR 1.18 lakh Crores, employing over 10,000 people.

• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojna: With a capital outlay of INR 729 Crores, this scheme aims at

  1. Scheme for Creation/Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation - with 100 units of food processing and preservation operationalized, handling a capacity of 15.75 lakh metric tonne of agro-processing.

  2. Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure - setting up of 39 new cold chain units with a capacity of 21.50 lakh metric tonne, benefitting over 3.7 lakh farmers and generating additional 23,400 jobs.

  3. Scheme for Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure - setting up and operationalizing 15 NABL accredited food testing labs.

  4. Scheme for Infrastructure for Agro Processing Clusters - with 2,975 lakh metric tonne of agro-processing capacity.

• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY): With a capital outlay of 2,05,250 Crores, the two Food Subsidy Schemes have been subsumed as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Under the scheme, free food grains are being distributed through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) among PHH (priority households), AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana), and other eligible beneficiaries under NFSA.

Some of the special announcements in the budget speech under the Agriculture and Allied sectors include:

• Release of new varieties: New 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops will be released for cultivation by farmers.

• Natural Farming: In the next two years, one crore farmers nationwide will be initiated into natural farming supported by certification and branding. Implementation will be through scientific institutions and willing gram panchayats. 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centers will be established. 

• Mission for Pulses and Oilseeds: To achieve self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds, the government aims to strengthen their production, storage, and marketing. As announced in the interim budget, a strategy is being implemented to achieve self-sufficiency for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower.  

• Vegetable production and supply chains: Large-scale clusters for vegetable production will be developed closer to major consumption centres. The government aims to promote Farmer-Producer Organizations, cooperatives, and start-ups for vegetable supply chains, including collection, storage, and marketing.

• Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture: Buoyed by the success of the pilot project, the government, in partnership with the states, will facilitate the implementation of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture for coverage of farmers and their lands in 3 years. This year, a digital crop survey for Kharif using the DPI will be taken up in 400 districts. The details of 6 crore farmers and their lands will be brought into the farmer and land registries. Further, the issuance of Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards will be enabled in 5 states.

• Shrimp production and exports: Financial support will be provided to set up a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres for Shrimp Broodstocks. Financing for shrimp farming, processing, and export will be facilitated through NABARD. 

Education

The budget speech was light on substantive aspects covering education. The focus was on education loans and the expansion of digital public infrastructure in the education sector. The total capital outlay for the ministry is INR 1.2 lakh Crores.

• Education loans: The government aims to provide financial support for loans up to INR 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions. E-vouchers for this purpose will be given directly to 1 lakh students every year for annual interest subvention of 3 percent of the loan amount. 

• Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Yojna: With a capital outlay of INR 1,558 Crores, this scheme aims to increase the coverage of education loans through interest subvention and credit guarantee mechanisms, and the provision of scholarships for college and university students.

  Through the component Interest Subsidy and contribution for Guarantee Funds, the Central government provides interest subsidy during the moratorium period on educational loans taken by students with family income of less than Rs 4.5 lakh per annum. A student loan guarantee corpus would be created under the management of a Credit Guarantee Trust to guarantee against default in repayment of student loans. This will substantially protect lending institutions from student default thereby encouraging them to make more student loans.

  In addition, the government guarantee should reduce the rate of interest on student loans. Through the component Scholarship for College and University students, scholarship to 2% of the students passing out of schools is provided every year for pursuing higher studies in Colleges and University system. The scholarship amount is disbursed directly to the beneficiaries through e-banking, to avoid delays.

  This scheme will cover the interest subvention of 1 lakh students that avail education loans for the first time, and an additional 2 lakh students that have previously availed education loans. A total of 1.98 lakh loan accounts are estimated to be covered under the credit guarantee fund. Over 1.62 lakh students are estimated to be supported through scholarships, including fresh applications and existing applications.

• Samagra Siksha: With a capital outlay of INR 37,500 Crores, this scheme merges the erstwhile Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), and Strengthening of Teacher Training Institutions. The merger intends to give a holistic approach to school education. In this scheme, the corpus of Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh (PSK) and Madhyamik and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh (MUSK) in Revised Estimates 2023-24 is kept at INR 28,000 crore and INR 3,000 crore, respectively. In BE 2024-25, the allocation for PSK is INR 31000 crore, and MUSK is INR 6490 crore.

  Under the right to education entitlement quality and innovation interventions, the government aims to provide free textbooks to 6 crore children at the elementary level, provision of Teaching Learning Material under Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to 5 Crore children, provision of learning enhancement/Enrichment Programme (6th to 12th) to 1.8 crore children, provision of Library and Sports Equipment Facility to 7 lakh schools, coverage of 32,000 schools under ICT & Digital initiatives. Around 8 lakh teachers will be covered under teacher training, and 26,000 special educators will be provided with financial assistance.

• Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN): With a capital outlay of INR 12,467 Crores, this scheme aims to improve the nutritional status of children studying in classes I-VIII in eligible schools through the provision of mid-day meals. This scheme aims to cover 9.49 Crore children across 10.76 lakh schools, with 25 lakh people being trained to implement it. The government also aims for 50% of all public schools under this scheme to have school nutrition gardens, with all the students having school health cards.

• Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS): With a capital outlay of INR 1,250 Crores, this scheme aims to ensure that 20% of all government teachers receive need-based training and that 20% of children are enrolled in vocational courses offered at secondary and higher secondary levels.

• PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI): With a capital outlay of INR 6,050 Crores, this scheme aims to setup 4,000 PM SHRI schools. This scheme also aims at 90% of these secondary/senior secondary PM SHRI schools with dedicated Science and Math labs, 80% of the PM SHRI schools covered under ICT & digital initiatives and having smart classrooms, Math/Science kits, and 20 lakh eligible students in PM SHRI schools receiving free uniforms and textbooks. Every teacher of the PM SHRI school will have to participate in at least 50 hours of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities.

• National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS): With a capital outlay of INR 600 Crores, the scheme provides opportunities for practical training to graduate engineers, diploma holders, and 12th vocational pass-outs in industrial establishments and is being implemented through four BOATs/BOPTs. This scheme aims to cover 1.5 lakh non-engineering degree/ non-technical diploma students and 2 lakh non-engineering degree/ non-technical diploma students. DBTs (direct benefit transfers) shall be provided to 40,000 students under this scheme.

Healthcare

Like the education sector, the budget speech was light on substantive healthcare aspects. The total allocation to the healthcare sector saw a 13% increase for FY2024-25, with a total capital outlay of INR 87,565 Crores.

• Flexible Pool for RCH & Health System Strengthening, National Health Programme and National Urban Health Mission: With a total capital outlay of INR 28,783 Crores with an increase of 20% from the previous fiscal, this scheme provides for transfer to state to support decentralized planning and flexible programming by the States, including the development of State and district level Project Implementation Plans (PIPs) with a focus on outcomes particularly relating to vulnerable sections, and community-based monitoring & evaluation. The activities under the Mission provide for the health needs of the rural population, including control of Vector Borne Diseases, TB, and Leprosy, etc.; It also includes transfer to the state to address the healthcare needs of the urban population with a focus on the urban poor and vulnerable sections of society.

  Some of the key initiatives within this scheme includes the following:

  1. Health System Strengthening under NHM: Expanded basket of primary care services provided by Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM) with 1,72,000 functional AAM, SHCs (secondary health centers), PHCs (primary health centers, & UPHCs (Urban Primary Health Care Services). This will include 20% of all public health facilities to be NQAS certified, and 15% of all public health facilities to be IPHS compliant.

  2. Non-Communicable Disease Programme: National Mental Health Programme to be implemented across 743 districts, with 715 district mental health units to be operationalized.

  3. Non-Communicable Disease Programme: National Blindness Control Programme to cover 1.05 Crore catract surgeries, with 17 lakh free spectacles to be distributed to school children with refractive errors.

  4. Disease Control Programme: National Tobacco Control Programme covering 1.5 lakh people, with 30 additional tobacco cessation centers to be operationalized.

  5. Non-communicable Disease Programme: National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-

     NCD) with 753 districts hospitals and 6300 CHCs setting up NCD clinics, 20 crore people screened for high blood pressure, 19 crore people screened for high blood sugar, 18 crore people screened for oral cancer, 9 crore women screened for breast cancer, and 5 crore women screened for cervical cancer.

  6. Non-communicable Disease Programme: National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD) that enables screening of 5.52 lakh for deafness, with 79,000 people being referred for rehabilitation, 32,520 corrective surgeries, and 13,226 people fitted with hearing aids. Target segment for this is predominantly children between ages 0 years to 10 years.

  7. RMNCAH+N (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition): Includes 95% pregnant women registered for ANC to be provided with 180 Iron Folic Acid tablets, 95% of all deliveries assisted by skilled birth attendants, 3000 facilities notified under SUMAN , 300 nationally certified LaQshya units (Labour rooms), and over 90% full immunization coverage.

  8. National Urban Health Mission: Includes 5200 operational Urban Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (UPHC- AAM), and 80% increase in number of UAAM (UPHC&UHWC) rolled out 9 packages of expanded range of services.

Ayushman Bharat—Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY): With a capital outlay of INR 7300 Crore (a 7% increment from the previous fiscal), this scheme provides cashless and paperless benefit coverage of INR 5.00 lakh per annum per family on a floater basis in the empanelled hospitals across India. Currently, AB-PMJAY targets to cover 12 Crore families (more than 50.00 crore of the Indian population).

This includes a coverage of 2 crore hospital admissions, provision of 9 crore Ayushman cards, and expected reimbursement of claims worth INR 20,000 Crores. This scheme aims to empanel 2,100 new Public & Private hospitals this year.

• Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM ABHIM): With a capital outlay of INR 3,756 Crores, this scheme focuses on developing capacities of health systems and institutions across the continuum of care at all levels, primary, secondary, and tertiary, to prepare health systems in responding effectively to the current and future pandemics/disasters.

• National AIDS and STD Control Programme: With a capital outlay of INR 2,892 Crores, this scheme includes activities for (A) Prevention, including (i) Targeted Intervention among High-Risk Groups and Bridge population, (ii) Information, Education, and Communication activities in States and UTs, (iii) Treatment of Sexual Transmission Infection, (iv) Blood safety and quality assurance, (v) Provision of Integrated Counseling & Testing facilities including prevention of Parent to Child Transmission, (vi) Rural outreach through Link Worker Scheme, (B) Activities for providing Care, Support & Treatment to People living with HIV / AIDS, ( C) Capacity Building, and (D) Strategic Information Management. (BTS) Comprises more than 3700 Blood centers in the Country, licensed Blood Centers in Government/NGOs, and Private Sectors, of which 1131 are NACO-supported. Blood centers that could be hospital-based or stand-alone. The BTS comprises - 26 Regional Training Centers, 34 Model Blood Centers,367 Blood Component Separating Units (BCSU), 186 Major Blood Centers, and 544 District Level Blood Banks (DLBB). NBTC is the policy-formulating apex body for all matters pertaining to the organization, operation, standards, and training of a sustainable and safe blood transfusion service for the country.

• Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana: With a capital outlay of INR 2,200 Crores, this scheme aims to correct regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country. The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) envisages the creation of tertiary healthcare capacity in medical education, research, and clinical care in the underserved areas of the country. It aims to correct regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and augment facilities for quality medical education in the country. The scheme has two broad components: (a) the Setting up of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and (b) the Upgrade existing Government Medical Colleges/Institutions (GMCIs).

Water Supply and Sanitation

The budget speech pushed for partnerships with State Governments and Multilateral Development Banks to promote water supply, sewage treatment, and solid waste management projects and services for 100 large cities through bankable projects. These projects will also envisage using treated water for irrigation and filling tanks in nearby areas.  

Besides this, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti has a total capital outlay of INR 77,390 Crores. This budget is mainly towards two schemes:

• Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) / National Rural Drinking Water Mission: With a capital outlay of INR 69,926 Crores, Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship program of the Government of India which aims at providing Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household by 2024. Under this Centrally Sponsored Scheme, financial and technical assistance is provided to states/ UTs to cover all rural households. The program focuses on service delivery at the household level, i.e., water supply regularly in adequate quantity and of prescribed quality. Under this scheme, the government aims to cover 4 Crore households with a Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) in FY 2024-25.

• Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin): With a capital outlay of INR 7,192 Crores, this scheme is being implemented to ensure sustainability of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in all the rural areas and to cover all the villages of the country with Solid and Liquid Waste Management arrangements. Under this scheme for this fiscal year, the government aims at 3.75 lakh villages covered through effective solid waste management, 5 lakh villages covered through effective greywater management, and a cumulative 1 lakh fecal sludge management units.

Employment and Skill Development

With an almost 40% budget increase, this budget provided a major boost to initiatives on skill development and employment. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship had a capital outlay of INR 4520 Crores for this fiscal year.

• Skill India Programme: With a capital outlay of INR 2,685 Crores, the Skills India Programme is a composite Central Sector Scheme consisting of three components namely, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 (PMKVY. 4.0), Pradhan Mantri- National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS) and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS).

  • Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) for Skill Development - supporting the skill training of 4.93 lakh candidates, with 70% of the candidates being women. This scheme aims to certify 90% of the enrolled candidates that undergo skill training.

  • Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PMNAPS): supporting the registration of 5000 new establishments, and enrollment of 9.8 lakh new apprentices, with 20% of these apprentices being women.

  • Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): Supporting the training of 4.5 lakh candidates on short term training courses, 2.54 lakh candidates trained on special projects, 42.60 lakh candidates oriented in recognition of prior learning (RPL), 1.10 lakh candidates trained on futuristic job roles, and 1.10 lakh candidates trained under sub-schemes like PM JANMAN, Nal Jal, etc.

• Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) - EAP (external aided project): With a capital outlay of INR 380 Crores (56% increase since last fiscal), the SANKALP scheme is a World Bank-assisted project that aims at strengthening institutional mechanisms both at national and state level, building a pool of quality trainers and assessors, creating convergence among all skill training activities at the state level, establishing robust monitoring and evaluation system for skill training programs.

• Strengthening of Infrastructure for Institutional Training: With a capital outlay of INR 50 Crores (a reduction of 25% since the last fiscal), this scheme aims at enhancing Skill Development in NE States & Sikkim to enhance the existing infrastructure of skill development in North Eastern States, support skill development for 47 Districts Affected by Left Wing Extremism by the creation of Skill Development infrastructure in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts across 10 states, and upgradation of existing I.T.Is into Model I.T.Is and Polytechnics.

• New ITI Upgradation Scheme: With a capital outlay of INR 1,000 Crores, this scheme aims to upgrade 1,000 ITIs nationwide.

Other important announcements in the budget speech included the following:

• Employment-linked incentive schemes: The government will implement following three schemes for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’, as part of the Prime Minister’s package. These will be based on enrollment in the EPFO and will focus on the recognition of first-time employees and support for employees and employers. 

  • Scheme A - First-Time Employees: This scheme will provide a one-month wage to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors. The direct benefit transfer of one month's salary in three installments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO, will be up to INR 15,000. The eligibility limit will be a salary of INR 1 lakh per month. The scheme is expected to benefit 210 lakh youth. 

  • Scheme B—Job Creation in Manufacturing: This scheme will incentivize additional employment in the manufacturing sector, linked to the employment of first-time employees. An incentive will be provided at a specified scale directly both to the employee and the employer with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first four years of employment. The scheme is expected to benefit 30 lakh youth entering employment and their employers.

  • Scheme C - Support to employers: This employer-focussed scheme will cover additional employment in all sectors. All additional employment within a salary of INR 1 lakh per month will be counted. The government will reimburse employers up to INR 3,000 per month for two years towards their EPFO contribution for each additional employee. The scheme is expected to incentivize additional employment of 50 lakh persons. 

• Skill Loan Scheme: Model Skill Loan Scheme will be revised to facilitate loans up to INR 7.5 lakh with a guarantee from a government promoted Fund. This measure is expected to help 25,000 students every year.

The details of all the three schemes, with the scheme outline are provided in Annexure A of the budget speech.

Rural Development

With a minor 4% increase in budget, the total capital outlay for Rural Development stands at INR 1.77 lakh Crores for FY2024-25. Some major allocations, like the National Social Assistance Program at INR 9652 Crores and MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program) at INR 86,000 Crores, remain unchanged.

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna: The budget for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna has been reduced by almost 30% to INR 12,000 Crores (from INR 17,000 Crores in the previous fiscal). This scheme aims to add 32,000 kilometers of road length connecting villages nationwide.

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna: The budget for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) has seen a 64% increase, with the current capital outlay of INR 54,500 Crores. This scheme aims to complete 40 lakh houses, with 100% of the houses owned by women beneficiaries/ women & men beneficiaries.

• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM): With a capital outlay of INR 15,047 Crores, the NRLM aims at supporting 41 lakh SHGs with bank credit of INR 1.25 lakh Crores. In addition, this scheme will support 64,545 rural enterprises under the SVEP initiative (Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme), skilling and placement of 2 lakh women under the DDU-GKY (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana) initiative, and train another 4.5 lakh women through RSETIs (Rural Self Employment Training Institutes).

One of the key initiatives under the DAY-NRLM is the Lakhpati Didi initiative, announced in the interim budget in February 2024. This initiative aims to provide three crore SHG women with livelihood opportunities that help these households earn at least INR 1 lakh per annum. However, neither the budget speech, expenditure estimates, or outcomes budget document indicates any details regarding this initiative.

Women and Child Development

The budget speech indicates a strong push towards women-led development, with an allocation of more than 3 lakh Crores for schemes benefitting women and girls. The government aims to facilitate higher participation of women in the workforce by establishing working women hostels in collaboration with industry, and establishing creches. In addition, the partnership will seek to organize women-specific skilling programs and promote market access for women SHG enterprises. The government has urged the state governments to lower stamp duties levied against women-owned properties, encouraging more women to own homes, industries, and properties.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has seen a marginal increase in its budget, currently pegged at INR 26,092 Crores.

Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 (Umbrella ICDS- Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyan, Scheme for Adolescent Girls): With a total capital outlay of INR 21,200 Crores, this schemes holds the bulk of the funding for the ministry. This scheme aims to develop practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity among malnutrition. The schemes of Anganwadi Services, Adolescent Girls, and Poshan Abhiyaan have been re-aligned under Poshan 2.0 to maximize nutritional outcomes. Components under the schemes have been reorganized into three primary verticals viz. Nutrition Support for POSHAN and for Adolescent Girls, Early Childhood Care, and Education (3- 6 years), and Anganwadi Infrastructure, including modern, upgraded Saksham Angawadis.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)

This budget paid special attention to MSMEs and manufacturing, particularly labor-intensive manufacturing. As mentioned in the interim budget, the government formulated a package covering financing, regulatory changes, and technology support for MSMEs to help them grow and compete globally.

The Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises' budget has remained unchanged since the last fiscal year and has a capital outlay of INR 22,137 Crores. Some of the major initiatives for the promotion of MSMEs includes the following:

• Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): With a capital outlay of INR 2,300 Crores, this scheme aims to generate self-employment opportunities by establishing micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector by helping traditional artisans and unemployed youth. The maximum cost of supported projects is INR 50 lakh in the manufacturing sector and INR 20 lakh in the service sector. Second financial assistance of up to INR 1 crore with a subsidy of 15 percent (20 percent for NER/Hill areas) is available to upgrade good-performing existing PMEGP/MUDRA units. In this fiscal year, this scheme aims to set up 66,290 new enterprises, with 75% set up in rural areas. Of these 66,290 enterprises, 33% are expected to be setup by women.

• PM Vishwakarma: With a capital outlay of INR 4,824 Crores, this scheme aims to support artisans and craftspeople by issuing a PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, providing credit support at a concessional interest rate, facilitating skill upgradation, offering a toolkit incentive, encouraging digital transactions, and providing marketing support. This fiscal scheme aims to support 18 lakh artisans and craftspeople.

• Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance – RAMP: With a capital outlay of INR 1,170 Crores, this scheme aims to enhance the performance of MSMEs by

  promoting technology upgradation, innovation, digitization, market access, credit, greening initiatives, etc, through active participation of the state governments. The total outlay of the scheme, over a period of five years from FY 2022-23 to FY 2026-27 is INR 6,062.45 crore, with the World Bank support being INR 3,750 crore (USD 500mn).

• Fund of Funds: With a capital outlay of INR 575 Crores, the Government of India has announced a Fund of Funds with the nomenclature Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund to infuse INR 50,000 crore as equity funding in those MSMEs that have the potential and viability to grow and become large units. Under this scheme, the total size of the INR 50,000 crore fund is provided by INR 10,000 crore from the Government of India and INR 40,000 crore leverage through private equity/venture capital funds. This initiative aims to provide growth capital to the deserving and eligible units of the MSME sector. This fiscal year, the SRI Fund aims to support 65 enterprises, unlock exports worth INR 525 Crores, INR 17,090 Crores of gross value production, and employment creation of 3740 jobs.

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I hope this write-up provides a broad sense of major capital allocations across key social impact sector themes. I shall endeavor to write on insights from these findings and their implications for key programmatic interventions, strategic revisions, and funding.

Please email me at aashir.sutar@gmail.com with your feedback, input, and suggestions. If you have a topic you want me to cover, I would be happy to consider it and write about it.