FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 40 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JULY 24, 2024 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.com Sports The Age Spectrum Dhinidhi Desinghu Swimming, India ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL Enough delegates for Kamala Harris NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Nation AAP, Cong hit out at centre for ignoring Punjab P.11 Budget Centre to promote Nalanda for tourism P.8 UNION BUDGET: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 7th Budget has good news for taxpayers opting for new regime Jobs push, reward for allies, markets unhappy Agencies NEW DELHI The first budget of Modi 3.0 has rewarded key NDA allies, relieved taxpayers under the new regime and focused on creating job opportunities for youngsters. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2024 speech had good news for taxpayers opting for the new regime. The standard deduction in the new tax regime has been increased from ` 50,000 to ` 75,000. This Budget has also revised tax slabs under the new regime. Annual income up to ` 3 lakh will now attract zero tax, income in the ` 3 lakh-7 lakh bracket will be taxed at 5 per cent. The rate will be 10 per cent for income between ` 7 lakh -10 lakh, 15 per cent for ` 10 lakh - 12 lakh and 20 per cent for ` 12 lakh - ` 15 lakh. Annual income over ` 15 lakh will attract 30 per cent tax. Sitharaman said salaried employees can save up to ` 17,500 in income tax under the new tax slabs. The Budget has made no changes to the old tax regime, which a large section of professionals opts for. Budget 2024 had a big announcement for professionals entering the workforce. Sitharaman announced that the Centre will give one-month's It promises to boost productivity in agriculture, enhance employment and skilling, and elevate human resources and social justice. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister It is politically biased and anti-poor. Bengal has been completely deprived. It is directionless and has no vision. It is only to serve a political mission Mamata Banerjee, WB Chief Minister A ‘kursi bachao budget’. It makes ‘hollow promises’ to BJP allies at the cost of other states. It is ‘copy and paste’ job of the Congress manifesto Rahul Gandhi, LoP, LS India's economic growth continues to be the shining exception, will remain so in years ahead Nirmala Sitharaman Finance minister salary to those joining their first job. This amount will be provided as a Provident Fund contribution. The move, she said, will benefit 210 lakh youngsters. The Finance Minister said this amount would be provided through the Direct Benefit Transfer route. Firsttime employees registered with EPFO will get a month's salary -- up to ` 15,000 -- in their PF accounts in three instalments. Ms Sitharaman also announced reimbursement to employers up to ` 3,000 per month for two years towards their EPFO contribution for each additional employee. Budget 2024 also proposed to raise the limit of exemption of capital gains on some financial assets to ` 1.25 lakh per year. The Finance Minister announced that angel tax will be abolished for all classes of investors. The first Budget of Modi 3.0 earmarked key projects for two states -- Bihar and Andhra Markets pare losses after Budget jitters over capital gains, trading taxes Pradesh. This comes after Nitish Kumar's JDU and N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP backed the BJP, which fell short of majority in this election, to cobble up the required numbers. Sitharaman announced plans to develop expressways connecting Patna and Purnea, and Buxar and Bhagalpur and another connecting Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbanga. Additionally, Bihar will get a two-lane bridge over Ganga in Buxar district. The Finance Minister also announced a 2,400 MW power plant at Pirpainti in Bhagalpur. Bihar is also part of the Purvodaya initiative announced by Modi 3.0 to step up development in the eastern part of the country. "We will formulate Purvodaya for all-round development of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh," the Finance Minister said. In Andhra Pradesh, where the NDA swept the recently held Assembly polls, infrastructure projects in Railways and roadways will be prioritised, the minister announced. "Recognising Andhra Pradesh's need for capital, to facilitate support through multilateral development agencies, ` 15,000 crore to be arranged for Andhra Pradesh for development of capital," she said. HIGHLIGHTS Standard deduction for those under new regime raised from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 Short-term gains on some financial assets to attract 20% tax, up from 15% Long-term capital gain on financial, non-financial assets to be taxed at 12.5%, up from 10% Angel tax removed from all classes of investors Rental housing with dormitory-type accommodation for industrial workers 1 crore farmers to be shifted to ‘natural farming’ Up to Rs 10 lakh higher education loan for colleges in India New expressways to be built in eastern India at Rs 26,000 crore Rs 5,000 internship allowance, one-time aid of Rs 6,000 PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli scheme for rooftop solar panels in 1 crore houses Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the steps of Parliament before her Budget 2024 speech What’s cheaper and costlier after Budget PTI NEW DELHI I ndian equities pared most of the losses but still closed in red after hikes in capital gains and securities transaction taxes (STT) in the Union Budget 2024 sparked a massive sell-off earlier in the day. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today the Long Term Capital Gains taxes will be hiked from 10 to 12.5% and Short Term Capital Gains taxes on some assets from 15 to 20%. The securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options will be increased to 0.02% and 0.1% respectively, she said. After the announcement, the 30-share Sensex pack fell over 1,000 points and briefly slipped below the 80,000 mark. At the end of the day, both Sensex and Nifty had pared most of the losses. The BSE benchmark closed at 80,429.04 points while the 50share Nifty pack closed at 24,479.05. Gold, silver, imported mobile, cancer drugs to be cheaper; garden umbrella, solar glass dearer New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) Gold, silver and other precious metals along with imported mobile phones, certain cancer drugs and medical devices are set to become cheaper with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing cuts in customs duty in the Union Budget 2024-25. However, certain items such as imported garden umbrellas and laboratory chemicals are also set to become costly due to an increase in basic customs duty. Cheaper: u Gold bar and ore u Silver bar and ore u Platinum, Palladium, Os- u u u u mium, Ruthenium and Iridium Coins of precious metals Cancer Drugs - Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib, Durvalumab Medical Equipment All types of polyethylene for use in manufacture of orthopaedic implants X-ray tubes for use in manufacture of X-ray machines Flat panel detectors (in- u u u u u u u u u u u u u cluding scintillators) for use in manufacture of X-ray machines for medical use Imported cellular mobile phone Charger/Adapter of cellular mobile Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) of cellular mobile phone Fish lipid oil for use in manufacture of aquatic feed Crude fish oil for use in manufacture of aquatic feed Natural Graphite Natural sands of all kinds Quartz Critical Minerals Lithium carbonates Lithium oxide and hydroxide Nitrates of potassium Steel Sector - Ferro Nickel and Blister Copper Textile and Leather Sector - Methylene Diphenyl Di-isocyanate (MDI) Costlier u Poly vinyl chloride (PVC) flex films u Garden umbrellas u Laboratory chemicals u Solar glass for manufacture of solar cells or solar modules u Tinned copper interconnect for manufacture of solar cells or solar modules. offgrid Angel tax on startups scrapped PTI Over 1L startups NEW DELHI Giving a big relief to startups, the government on Tuesday announced removal of angel tax for all classes of investors to further promote the growth of budding entrepreneurs of the country. Angel tax refers to the income tax that the government imposes on funding raised by unlisted companies, or startups, if their valuation exceeds the company's fair market value. "To bolster the Indian startup eco-system, boost the Over 1.17 lakh startups are registered with the government. They are eligible for availing of incentives under the government's Startup India initiative. entrepreneurial spirit and support innovation, I propose to abolish the so-called angel tax for all classes of investors," she said. Ahead of the Union Budget, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recommended removal of this levy on startups. In September last year, the Income Tax Department notified new angel tax rules that comprise a mechanism to evaluate the shares issued by unlisted startups to investors. While previously the angel tax -- a tax levied on capital received on the sale of shares of a startup above the fair market value -- ap- plied only to local investors, the Budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year (April 2023 to March 2024) widened its ambit to include foreign investments. Commenting on the announcement, Deloitte India Partner Sumit Singhania said it is a positive move as it would help reset not only the tax cost matrix for investors in startup, but for foreign strategic investors as well. "It also puts out a progressive view of tax policy making by the government. 4Continued on | P11 Government to partner with private sector to set up ‘Bharat Small Nuclear Reactors’ ‘Budget to usher better growth, bright future’ PTI NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the Union Budget for its measures for every section of society, asserting that it has heralded better growth and a bright future. Modi lauded the budget's sharp focus on the youth, backward sections, women and middle class as also on manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, and asserted that the proposed employmentlinked incentive schemes will create crores of new jobs. "This visionary budget will uplift and empower every stratum of our society, paving the way for a brighter future for all," he said, stressing his government's commitment to generating employment and self-employment opportunities. The employment-linked incentive scheme will create crores of jobs, he said, noting that the first salary of the first job of a youngster will now be borne by the government. He also mentioned provisions for higher education and the scheme for internships for 1 The budget will act as a catalyst in making India the third-largest economy in the world and will lay a solid foundation for a developed India crore youths. "Working in top companies under the scheme, the young interns will find new avenues of possibilities," Modi said. The rise in the limit of collateral-free loans under the Mudra scheme from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh will greatly benefit small businessmen, women, Dalits, backwards and the deprived, he added. 4Continued on | P11