Budget 2024: 6 Key Budget promises made in recent past

Before the Budget 2024, the Government of India’s Ministry of Finance has highlighted a number of Budget promises that were recently fulfilled.

This has been accomplished through a series of tweets emphasising important government efforts such as faster settlement of insolvency cases, reclaiming shares and dividends through the IEPF, establishing an investment and infrastructure fund, and establishing a social stock exchange, among others.

The series of social media posts has been tagged with #PromisesDelivered.

These are the promises delivered as highlighted:

Faster resolution of Insolvency Cases:

The government has concluded the appointment of 20 new members to the National Company Law Tribunal in order to build a stronger framework for faster resolution of insolvency cases.

In accordance with the announcement, the NCLT framework would be enhanced in order to speed up case resolution. The e-courts system will be implemented, along with alternate debt resolution procedures and a particular framework for MSMEs.

New provisions of LLP Act

The LLP (Amendment) Act, 2021, makes it easier to do business and supports startups across the country by decriminalising crimes, establishing an in-house adjudication procedure, and introducing Small LLPs.

The LLP Act was enacted by both houses of Parliament and notified following the President of India’s assent on August 13, 2021. The LLP Act of 2008 amended 20 sections, removed three sections and added seven new provisions.

Setting up of NIIF

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) was established as a collaborative platform for both international and Indian investors.

NIIF has raised funds from 17 investors in seven countries, including Australia, Canada, UAE, Singapore, United States, Japan, and India. The NIIF supervises three funds: the master fund, the fund of funds, and the strategic fund.

Reclaiming of Shares and Dividends

The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority was founded to make it easier for investors to reclaim unclaimed shares and dividends.

The GoI formed the IEPF on September 7, 2016, to administer investor education and fund protection.

The IEPF is in charge of unclaimed dividends, matured deposits, matured debentures, application money due for reimbursement, and interest thereon, as well as promoting investor education, awareness, and protection.

Higher Deposits for Senior Citizens

To provide greater financial security to senior citizens, the government increased the deposit limit of the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) from Rs.15 lakh to Rs.30 lakh.

The current year’s net collection under SCSS up to September 2023 was Rs.74,801.73 crore, compared to Rs.28,715.44 crore collected during the same period last year.

Establishing a Social Stock Exchange

Sebi established the social market for shares as a separate component of the current stock exchange.

A capacity-building fund with a target corpus of Rs.100 crore was established under the administration of NABARD, with contributions from SIDBI, NSE, and BSE, to raise awareness about social stock exchanges and assist non-profit groups in fundraising on the platform.

Other tweets mention GIFT-IFSC, e-bill system, and Infra Finance Secretariat. As part of the ‘Ease of Doing Business and Digital India ecosystem’, the E-bill system was created to increase transparency and speed up the payment process through transparency, efficiency, and a faceless-paperless payment system.