Monday, February 3, 2025

Indian Government Budget 2025-26 Part 3

Investment as the third engine

  • Encompasses investing in people, investing in the economy and investing in innovation.
Investing in People
  • The Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programme provides nutritional support to more than 8 crore children, 1 crore pregnant women and lactating mothers all over the country, and about 20 lakh adolescent girls in aspirational districts and the north-east region. The cost norms for the nutritional support will be enhanced appropriately.
  • Fifty thousand Atal Tinkering Labs will be set up in Government schools in next five years to cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation, and foster a scientific temper among young minds.
  • Broadband connectivity will be provided to all Government secondary schools and primary health centres in rural areas under the Bharatnet project.
  • A Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme will be implemented to provide digital-form Indian language books for school and higher education. This aims to help students understand their subjects better.
  • Building on the initiative announced in the July 2024 Budget, five National Centres of Excellence for skilling will be set up with global expertise and partnerships to equip India's youth with the skills required for "Make for India, Make for the World" manufacturing. The partnerships will cover curriculum design, training of trainers, a skills certification framework, and periodic reviews.
  • Total number of students in 23 IITs has increased 100% from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in the past 10 years. Additional infrastructure will be created in the 5 IITs started after 2014 to facilitate education for 6,500 more students. Hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT, Patna will also be expanded.
  • A Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Education will be set up with a total outlay of INR 500 crore.    
  • Government has added almost 1.1 lakh UG and PG medical education seats in ten years, an increase of 130%. In the next year, 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges and hospitals, towards the goal of adding 75,000 seats in the next 5 years.
  • Day Care Cancer Centres in all district hospitals will be set up in the next 3 years. 200 Centres will be established in FY 2025-26.
  • A scheme for socio-economic upliftment of urban workers will be implemented to help them improve their incomes, have sustainable livelihoods and a better quality of life.  
  • PM SVANidhi scheme has benefitted more than 68 lakh street vendors giving them respite from high-interest informal sector loans. Building on this success, the scheme will be revamped with enhanced loans from banks, UPI linked credit cards with INR 30,000 limit, and capacity building support.
  • Recognising contribution of gig workers, the Government will arrange for their identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal. They will be provided healthcare under PM Jan Arogya Yojana. This measure is likely to assist nearly 1 crore gig-workers.  
Investing in Economy
  • Each infrastructure-related ministry will come up with a three-year pipeline of projects that can be implemented in PPP mode. States will also be encouraged to do so and can seek support from the India Infrastructure Project Development Fund (IIPDF) scheme to prepare PPP proposals.    
  • An outlay of INR 1.5 lakh crore is proposed for the 50-year interest free loans to states for capital expenditure and incentives for reforms.  
  • Building on the success of the first Asset Monetization Plan announced in 2021, the second Plan for 2025-30 will be launched to plough back capital of INR 10 lakh crore in new projects. Regulatory and fiscal measures will be fine-tuned to support the Plan.
  • Since 2019, 15 crore households representing 80% of India's rural population have been provided access to potable tap water connections. To achieve 100% coverage, Jal Jeevan Mission will be extended until 2028 with an enhanced total outlay.  
  • Jal Jeevan Mission's focus will be on the quality of infrastructure and O&M of rural piped water supply schemes through "Jan Bhagidhari". Separate MoUs will be signed with states/UTs, to ensure sustainability and citizen-centric water service delivery.
  • Building on the July Budget proposals, urban sector reforms related to governance, municipal services, urban land, and planning will be incentivised.
  • The Government will set up an Urban Challenge Fund of INR 1 lakh crore to implement the proposals for 'Cities as Growth Hubs', 'Creative Redevelopment of Cities' and 'Water and Sanitation', which were announced in the July 2024 Budget.
  • This Urban Challenge Fund will finance up to 25% of the cost of bankable projects with a stipulation that at least 50% of the cost is funded from bonds, bank loans, and PPPs.  An allocation of INR 10,000 crore is proposed for 2025-26.
  • The government will incentivise electricity distribution reforms and augmentation of intra-state transmission capacity by states. This will improve financial health and capacity of electricity companies. Additional borrowing of 0.5% of GSDP will be allowed to states, contingent on these reforms.
  • Development of at least 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047 is essential for India's energy transition efforts. For an active partnership with the private sector towards this goal, amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be taken up.
  • A Nuclear Energy Mission for research & development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) with an outlay of INR 20,000 crore will be set up.  At least 5 indigenously developed SMRs will be operationalised by 2033.
  • The Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy will be revamped to address cost disadvantages. This will also include Credit Notes for shipbreaking in Indian yards to promote the circular economy.
  • Large ships above a specified size will be included in the infrastructure harmonised master list (HML).  
  • Shipbuilding Clusters will be facilitated to increase the range, categories and capacity of ships. This will include additional infrastructure facilities, skilling and technology to develop the entire ecosystem.
  • For long-term financing for the maritime industry, a Maritime Development Fund with a corpus of INR 25,000 crore will be set up. This will be for distributed support and promoting competition. This will have up to 49% contribution by the Government, and the balance will be mobilised from ports and the private sector.
  • A modified UDAN scheme will be launched to enhance regional connectivity to 120 new destinations and carry 4 crore passengers in the next 10 years. The scheme will also support helipads and smaller airports in hilly, aspirational, and North East region districts.
  • Greenfield airports will be facilitated in Bihar to meet the future needs of the State. These will be in addition to the expansion of the capacity of Patna airport and a brownfield airport at Bihta.
  • Financial support will be provided for the Western Koshi Canal ERM Project benefitting a large number of farmers cultivating over 50,000 hectares of land in the Mithilanchal region of Bihar.
  • Mining sector reforms, including those for minor minerals, will be encouraged through sharing of best practices and institution of a State Mining Index.
  • A policy for recovery of critical minerals from tailings will be brought out.  
  • SWAMIH (Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing) Fund 2 will be established as a blended finance facility with contribution from the Government, banks and private investors. This fund of INR 15,000 crore will aim for expeditious completion of another 1 lakh units.  
  • For furthering PPPs and assisting the private sector in project planning, access to relevant data and maps from the PM Gati Shakti portal will be provided.      
  • Top 50 tourist destination sites in the country will be developed in partnership with states through a challenge mode. Land for building key infrastructure will have to be provided by states. Hotels in those destinations will be included in the infrastructure HML.  
  • Following measures will be taken for facilitating employment-led growth:
  • Organizing intensive skill-development programmes for our youth including in Institutes of Hospitality Management;
  • Providing MUDRA loans for homestays;
  • Improving ease of travel and connectivity to tourist destinations;
  • Providing performance-linked incentives to states for effective destination management including tourist amenities, cleanliness, and marketing efforts; and
  • Introducing streamlined e-visa facilities along with visa-fee waivers for certain tourist groups.
  • Continuing with the emphasis on places of spiritual and religious significance in the July Budget, there will be a special focus on destinations related to the life and times of Lord Buddha.
  • Medical Tourism and Heal in India will be promoted in partnership with the private sector along with capacity building and easier visa norms.
Investing in Innovation
  • INR 20,000 crore will be allocated to implement private sector driven Research, Development and Innovation initiative announced in the July Budget.
  • A Deep Tech Fund of Funds will also be explored to catalyse the next generation startups as a part of this initiative.
  • In the next five years, under the PM Research Fellowship scheme, ten thousand fellowships will be provided for technological research in IITs and IISc with enhanced financial support.
  • The 2nd Gene Bank with 10 lakh germplasm lines will be set up for future food and nutritional security. This will provide conservation support to both public and private sectors for genetic resources.  
  • A National Geospatial Mission will be started to develop foundational geospatial infrastructure and data. Using PM Gati Shakti, this Mission will facilitate modernisation of land records, urban planning, and design of infrastructure projects.  
  • A Gyan Bharatam Mission for survey, documentation and conservation of our manuscript heritage with academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collectors will be undertaken to cover more than 1 crore manuscripts. A National Digital Repository of Indian knowledge systems will be established for knowledge sharing. 
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