Key Highlights:
- The Government has increased the basic customs duty on specified telecom equipment.
- Basic customs duty is reduced on mobile phones and related components.
- Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund announced for the space economy.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced India’s Union Budget for 2024-25, which prioritised economic growth, investment, and technology. The budget promises to lower mobile phone taxes, promote the space sector, and increase higher education and employment, establishing India as a worldwide digital leader. Here are some of the most important tech announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2024–25.
The Union Budget 2024–2025 would include significant investments in space technology, logistics, and R&D, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. These programs seek to improve domestic logistical infrastructure and establish India as an international player in the advanced technology economy. Sitharaman’s announcement of a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund for the space economy, along with the removal of the Angel tax and more focus on research and development, are seen by the start-up community as encouraging moves towards bolstering the nation’s startup environment.
To support the nation’s space technology industry, the Indian government intends to create a venture capital fund worth Rs 1,000 crore. The fund’s objective is to increase the space economy five times in the next ten years, which will assist Indian businesses, including several space technology startups.
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The Finance Minister has suggested setting up e-commerce export hubs in public-private partnerships so that traditional artisans and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses can sell their goods abroad within a framework of logistics and regulations.
Mobile phones, and chargers to be affordable after Union Budget 2024–25’s reduction of the basic customs duty (BCD) to 15% on mobile phones and related components. Mobile chargers and printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) are also subject to the reduction, bringing the total BCD down to 15%. While the country’s PCBA tariff on telecom equipment has gone from 10% to 15%. The Government has increased the basic customs duty on specified telecom equipment.
The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, intends to equip 1 crore homes with rooftop solar technology capable of producing up to 300 units of energy per month.
By encouraging uniformity, transparency, prompt processing, and better stakeholder supervision, an integrated technological platform will improve results under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
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To improve the financial stability of urban local governments, Sitharaman announced the creation of an IT-based system for property records and tax administration.
According to the budget announcements, the government intends to create a financing package of around Rs 1 lakh crore to support research and innovation driven by the private sector.
