The Ministry of Finance released the "2024 Report on the Implementation of China's Fiscal Policy in 2024". The report pointed out that in 2024, the financial department will increase its efforts to ensure key groups, and the "people's livelihood content" will continue to increase.
In 2024, the financial department will double the quota for national scholarship awards in colleges and universities, increase the national scholarship funding standards for general high schools and secondary vocational schools, and expand the coverage of national scholarships in secondary vocational schools; adjust and improve the national student loan policy, and increase the maximum annual loan amount for undergraduate and junior college students and graduate students from 16,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan and 25,000 yuan respectively. A total of about 95.5 billion yuan of loans were issued in 2024. The increase in national scholarships and expansion of student loans and the reduction in interest rates have benefited more than 34 million students.
In 2024, the central government allocated 70.78 billion yuan to support local affordable housing projects related to work. Adjust and optimize the preferential policy for housing transaction deed tax, and increase the area standard for enjoying the low tax rate of 1% deed tax from 90 square meters to 140 square meters to support residents' rigid and improved housing needs.
In 2024, the central government issued 66.74 billion yuan in employment subsidies, driving the overall improvement of national employment service capacity, and more than 12 million new urban jobs were created throughout the year. At the same time, we will increase efforts to support enterprises and stabilize employment. Actively play the role of government financing guarantee to stabilize jobs. As of the end of 2024, the national financing guarantee fund had a cumulative re-guarantee business scale of 5.39 trillion yuan, and the number of people employed in services exceeded 46 million.
From the spring semester of 2024, the national basic standard for living allowance for boarding students with financial difficulties will be increased, the annual average primary school student will be increased from 1,000 yuan to 1,250 yuan, and junior high school students will be increased from 1,250 yuan to 1,500 yuan; the standard for living allowance for non-boarding students with financial difficulties will continue to be approved at 50% of the national basic standard for living allowance for boarding students, benefiting about 20 million students.
In 2024, the central government allocated about 1.1 trillion yuan of subsidy funds to support the issuance of basic pension insurance benefits in various places on time and in full. The national overall coordination system for pension insurance has been implemented in depth, and the scale of national unified adjustment funds has reached 253.3 billion yuan. 4.14 billion yuan was allocated to support local governments in carrying out welfare work for elderly care institutions, training of elderly care workers, and other elderly care workers, and use them for welfare of other disabled people, children and social welfare work as required; 1.2 billion yuan was allocated to support relevant regions to build family elderly care beds for economic difficulties and disabled and some disabled elderly people, provide home-based elderly care services, and promote local governments to develop elderly meal assistance services according to local conditions.
(CCTV reporter Tian Qiyong Dong Bin)
