The 2024 Union Budget outlines significant provisions for education and employment, with a total allocation of INR 2,000 billion aimed at benefiting 41 million youth over five years. Key initiatives include financial support for first-time employees, internships in top companies, support for women's employment, and skill development through ITI upgrades. The budget adopts a multi-faceted approach to enhance job creation and entrepreneurship, emphasizing private sector engagement and an outcome-focused strategy in skills and job support.

1. Union Budget 2024
Education,
skilling and
social sector
© 2024 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP.
The PM’s package includes key schemes for education,
skills and employment, benefiting 41 million youth
over the next five years through a budget provision of
INR 2,000 billion:
•
Offering benefits to first-timers: It offers a direct
benefit equivalent to one month's salary of up to
INR 15,000 to first-time employees with salaries up
to INR 100 thousand per month in formal sectors,
benefiting 21 million youth.
•
Creating jobs in manufacturing: It provides
incentives in the manufacturing sectors for first-
time employees and employers for salaries up to
INR 100 thousand for four years, benefiting 3 million
youth and their employers.
•
Supporting employers for additional job
creation: It offers PF contribution support of up
to INR 3,000 per month in all sectors for salaries
up to INR 100 thousand for two years respectively,
creating employment for 5 million people.
•
Enabling women's employment and self-
employment: It includes the creation of working
women hostels and creches, and provides support
for organising self-help groups by women,
facilitating market access for them.
•
Providing internships: It offers 10 million
internships over five years in the top 500 companies
for a period of 12 months with a stipend of up to
INR 5,000 per month. Interns will receive a one-time
payout of INR 6,000, where the training cost and 10
percent of the internship cost will be borne by the
companies through their CSR funds.
•
Expanding opportunities for skilling: 1,000 ITIs
will be upgraded in a hub-and-spoke model and 2
million youth will be skilled over a period of
five years.
•
Skill and education loans: Skill loans guaranteed
by a government fund will be provided to benefit
25,000 students per year and education loans of
up to INR 1 million for higher education in domestic
institutions through vouchers will be provided,
benefiting 100 thousand students. It includes a 3
percent interest subvention for up to three years.
1.
Education and skilling are among the nine
priorities of the government. Youth are among

2. the four priorities of the government, along
with farmers, women and the poor, with a
total outlay of INR 1480 billion for education,
employment and skilling.
2.
Some other proposals also have a direct impact
on education, skilling, entrepreneurship
and employment. These include establishing
hostels for working women under the PPP
mode with anchor industries, implementing DPI
applications in education, developing Nalanda
University, creating portals that connect youth
with job opportunities, integrating the e-Shram
portal with other portals and revamping the
Shram Suvidha and Samadhan portals.
3.
In addition to the above package, other budget
provisions that indirectly support the skilling
and employment efforts were introduced. These
include social justice initiatives and saturation
approaches, Eastern region development
projects, industrial corridors and nodes,
highways and the PM Rural Roads Scheme,
support for the tourism sector, new power
plants, new capital in Andhra Pradesh, the
solar rooftops scheme, flood control projects
in several eastern and northern states, Digital
India initiatives, GST and BCD reductions in
several sectors, including mobile, solar, telecom,
marine products, leather, textiles and select
metals.
4.
Similarly, income tax proposals for domestic
cruises and diamonds also contribute to job
creation. Further, the abolition of the angel tax
aims to promote entrepreneurship.
5.
The other eight priorities, including
productivity and resilience in agriculture,
inclusive human resource development and
social justice, manufacturing and services, urban
development, energy security, infrastructure
innovation and RD and next-generation
reforms also contribute to skilling and job
creation.
6.
This budget focuses on skilling and employment,
which was expected given the current needs
and government priorities for the sector.
The government has taken a multi-pronged
approach that includes supporting and
encouraging entrepreneurship, jobs and
training. One remarkable characteristic of
the budget on skilling and employment is its
outcome-focused approach. While there is
support for upgrading ITIs, education and
skill loans and employment portals, the
emphasis is on supporting internships and job
opportunities.
7.
Engagement with the private sector spans
internships, working women’s hostels or creche
and PF support, making the corporate sector a
partner to the government.
© 2024 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP.

3. 8.
The balance between jobs and
entrepreneurship is supported through
proposals related to angel tax, income tax and
GST and BCD interventions.
Direct taxes
Withdrawal of Equalisation Levy (EQL) on
e-commerce operator (relevant to online education
service providers)
•
EQL of 2 percent on “e-commerce operators” will
not apply to e-commerce supplies or services made/
provided/facilitated on or after 1 August 2024.
•
Consequently, the income tax exemption on income
arising from e-commerce supplies or services will
continue to apply only up to 31 July 2024.
Merger of two charitable trusts/institutions
•
Merger of two charitable trusts/institutions will not
attract tax on accreted income provided:
– The other trust/institution has the same/similar
objects
– The other trust/institution is registered for tax
exemption
– The merger fulfils such conditions as may be
prescribed
Rationalising tax exemption provisions for
charitable trusts/institutions
•
Trusts/institutions governed by the Specified
Institutions regime are now proposed to be
governed by the Charitable Trusts regime in a
phased manner.
•
Under the Charitable Trusts regime, PCIT/CIT is
empowered (in reasonable cases) to condone the
delay in filing the application for seeking approval to
avail the tax exemption.
•
Rationalisation of timelines for trusts/institutions to
seek approval under the Charitable Trusts regime
and Section 80G.
Indirect taxes
•
Custom duties exemption on the temporary import
of specified pedagogic materials (such as models,
instruments, apparatus, machines and accessories
and material used for educational or vocational
training), spare parts of such materials and tools
specifically designed by non-profit-making education
or vocational training institutions has been
extended from 31 March 2024 to 30 September
2024, subject to conditions.
•
Custom duties exemption on the import of second-
hand computers and computer peripherals,
when received as donations by schools run by
the government or non-commercial educational
institutions will be discontinued from
30 September 2024.
© 2024 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP.