India's 2024-25 Budget boosts social schemes | Fusion - WeRIndia

In a significant move towards bolstering social welfare, India’s interim budget for 2024-25 reflects a commendable 30% surge in the allocation for core centrally sponsored schemes, reaching ₹1.12 lakh crore.

Key programs, including MNREGS, National Social Assistance, and various development initiatives, will benefit from this increase.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her sixth consecutive budget, allocated ₹86,000 crore to the MNREGS program, marking a 43% rise from the previous fiscal year’s budget estimates.

Centrally sponsored schemes, crucial for integrated health and nutrition, received a substantial boost, with a total allocation of ₹3.8 lakh crore, compared to the revised estimate of ₹3.3 lakh crore for 2023-24.

Addressing malnutrition concerns, the budget earmarks a 3% increase, amounting to ₹21,200 crore, for key programs under the women and child development ministry, such as Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.

Minister Sitharaman emphasized consolidating various maternal and childcare schemes into a comprehensive program for more effective implementation.

The budget estimates for the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 scheme stand at ₹20,554 crore for FY24, reflecting a 1.4% increase over the revised estimate allocation of ₹20,263 crore.

Sitharaman highlighted the accelerated upgrading of Anganwadi centres under these schemes, aiming for improved nutrition delivery and early childhood care.

India’s flagship drinking water program, Jal Jeevan Mission, sees a marginal increase to ₹70,162 crore for 2024-25, aligning with the ongoing fiscal year’s estimates.

The mission, initiated in August 2019, aims to connect all of India’s rural households with tap water by 2024-end, providing 55 litres of clean water per person daily.

Currently, the Jal Jeevan Mission has connected nearly three-fourths of rural households, a substantial leap from the 2019 baseline.

This initiative is pivotal, especially considering that over 141.5 million rural households, or 73.48% of the total, now enjoy functional tap-water connections.

As India progresses towards meeting its water access targets, the budget’s focus on social schemes and water initiatives demonstrates a steadfast commitment to enhancing the nation’s welfare landscape.

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