Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her first Budget 2024 speech of the Modi 3.0 government today, said in order put more focus on employment, skilling, MSMEs and the middle class, the government will come up with five schemes to power 4.1 crore youth in the next five years, with a central outlay of ₹2 lakh crore.

She says India's economic growth continues to be the shining exception and will remain so in years ahead. "Turning attention to the full year and beyond, in this budget, we particularly focus on employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class. I am happy to announce the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over 5 years with a central outlay of ₹ 2 lakh crore," says the FM.

The FM says the Modi government will focus on 4 different areas -- castes, poor, women, youth and farmers. She also talks about higher minimum support prices for all major crops and the extension of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for 5 years, which benefitted over 80 crore people. The FM also talks about Union Budget 2024's 9 priorities, which include productivity, jobs, social justice, urban development, energy security, infrastructure, and next-generation reforms.

"The people of India have reposed their faith in the government led by PM @narendramodi and re-elected it for a historic 3rd term under his leadership. We are grateful for their support, faith and trust in our policies. We are determined to ensure that all Indians regardless of religion, caste, gender and age make substantial progress in realizing their life goals and aspirations," says the FM.

Earlier, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Union Budget 2024. It is Sitharaman's 7th Union Budget 2024 speech today and with this, she will surpass the late Morarji Desai's record of six budget speeches. Earlier today, the Union Minister of Finance along with MoS for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget.

Before the tabling of the Economic Survey 2024 in Parliament on Monday, PM Narendra Modi had said the Budget 2024-25 is an important budget of 'Amritkaal' to fulfill aspirations of a developed India in 2047 and urged political parties to rise above party politics for the next four and a half years. “We have got an opportunity of five years, the budget will also determine the direction of our work for those five years and this budget will come before the country tomorrow with a budget that lays a strong foundation to fulfill our dream of a developed India in 2047, when we will celebrate 100 years of independence,” said the PM.

Follow us on Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp to never miss an update from Fortune India. To buy a copy, visit Amazon.