Union Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman copied internship and ELI scheme from election manifesto, Congress claims

With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget 2024 focusing on job creation, the Indian National Congress party on Tuesday alleged that the government is borrowing heavily from the party’s Lok Sabha election manifesto.

Sitharaman was presenting the 2024-25 Budget, her seventh consecutive one, surpassing the record set by former chief minister Morarji Desai. This was the first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NDA government’s third term in office.

In her budget speech, Sitharaman announced that the government would introduce three employment-related schemes, which would be based on membership in the Employees’ Pension Fund Organisation (EPFO), she told the lower house of the Indian parliament.

The first Congress reaction to the Budget came from Jairam Ramesh, who praised Rahul Gandhi for bringing the unemployment crisis to national attention during the general elections.

Jairam Ramesh, spokesman and general secretary of the Indian National Congress, said: “After a decade of denial – neither the non-biological prime minister nor his party’s Lok Sabha election manifesto mentioned employment – the Union government appears to have finally come to a tacit admission that mass unemployment is a national crisis that requires urgent attention.”

Ramesh argued that the budget announcement to promote internships was clearly modelled on the Indian National Congress’s Nyai Patra 2024. Announced by Nirmala Sitharaman, the scheme will provide internships to 10 million young people in the top 500 companies over five years. Interns will be given a lump sum of Rs 6,000 in addition to a monthly salary of Rs 5,000.

“The Finance Minister is copying INC’s Nyay Patra 2024 and the internship programme is clearly modelled on the apprenticeship programme proposed by INC called Pehli Naukri Pakki. But as is their trademark, the scheme is designed to grab attention with arbitrary targets…”

P. Chidambaram, a senior BJP leader, also criticised the government over the Union Budget and said he was pleased that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had read out the Congress’ 2024 manifesto following the results of the Lok Sabha elections.

“Following the election results, I am pleased that the Finance Minister has read the Congress manifesto LS2024. I am pleased that she has effectively adopted the Employment Linked Incentives (ELI) outlined on page 30 of the Congress manifesto,” Chidambaram said in a post on X.

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“I am also pleased that she has introduced the apprenticeship scheme along with allowances for all apprentices which is enshrined on page 11 of the Parliamentary Manifesto. I would have liked the Finance Minister to have emulated some of the other ideas in the Parliamentary Manifesto. I will list out the missed opportunities shortly,” the former Finance Minister said.

The move to claim credit for the internship scheme also dovetails with the Indian National Congress’s attempt to woo a student community disillusioned by the paper leaks and NEET controversy. At election rallies, Rahul Gandhi had spoken extensively about the Indian National Congress’ promise of providing an apprenticeship allowance of Rs 10 lakh to degree holders under the age of 25. But the central government scheme has no such provision.

The BJP also argued that many of the budget provisions were taken from its manifesto, citing employment-related incentives as an example.

With the unemployment crisis seen as a major factor in the BJP’s dwindling popularity in India’s Lok Sabha elections, it is not surprising that job creation is a major focus of the Union Budget 2024.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said the government plans to increase the capital gains tax exemption limit on certain financial assets to Rs 12.5 lakh per year for the middle and upper middle classes.

Presenting her Budget proposals for 2024-25, she announced an increase in the securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options instruments by 0.02% and 0.1% respectively. Proceeds from share buybacks will be taxed at the hands of the recipient, Sitharaman added.

The finance minister also announced the abolition of angel tax on all investor classes in startups. “To begin with, I propose to abolish the so-called angel tax on all investor classes in order to strengthen India’s startup ecosystem, boost entrepreneurship and support innovation,” she said.

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The abolition of angel tax is expected to be a boon for startups as it will promote a more favourable environment for startups.

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“I am also pleased that she has introduced the apprenticeship scheme along with allowances for all apprentices which is enshrined on page 11 of the Parliamentary Manifesto. I would have liked the Finance Minister to have emulated some of the other ideas in the Parliamentary Manifesto. I will list out the missed opportunities shortly,” the former Finance Minister said.

The move to claim credit for the internship scheme also dovetails with the Indian National Congress’s attempt to woo a student community disillusioned by the paper leaks and NEET controversy. At election rallies, Rahul Gandhi had spoken extensively about the Indian National Congress’ promise of providing an apprenticeship allowance of Rs 10 lakh to degree holders under the age of 25. But the central government scheme has no such provision.

The BJP also argued that many of the budget provisions were taken from its manifesto, citing employment-related incentives as an example.

With the unemployment crisis seen as a major factor in the BJP’s dwindling popularity in India’s Lok Sabha elections, it is not surprising that job creation is a major focus of the Union Budget 2024.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said the government plans to increase the capital gains tax exemption limit on certain financial assets to Rs 12.5 lakh per year for the middle and upper middle classes.

Presenting her Budget proposals for 2024-25, she announced an increase in the securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options instruments by 0.02% and 0.1% respectively. Proceeds from share buybacks will be taxed at the hands of the recipient, Sitharaman added.

The finance minister also announced the abolition of angel tax on all investor classes in startups. “To begin with, I propose to abolish the so-called angel tax on all investor classes in order to strengthen India’s startup ecosystem, boost entrepreneurship and support innovation,” she said.