Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the Union Budget for 2021-22 has set the pace for India to become Aatmanirbhar through the reforms and stimulus. The Finance Minister was replying to the general discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha this morning.
Ms Sitharaman added that reforms taken up by the Government will lay the path for making India one of the top economies of the world. The Finance Minister said, the government took the challenge as an opportunity and took steps for the long term growth of the economy.
Further, Ms. Sitharaman rejected the allegations of the opposition parties about the reduction in the budget allocation for various schemes. She said, the budget provisions have been misread. Talking about the Budget allocation made for various sectors, the Minister said, one lakh 15 thousand crore rupees have been transferred to more than 10 crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.
Ms. Sitharaman said, allocation to the defence sector has been increased by 18.8 per cent in comparison to previous allocation. She added that an increase in capital expenditure will improve the demand for the core industries and generate the employment. She said, the government has taken the holistic step for developing health infrastructure by making water and sanitation a key component of the health sector.
The Finance Minister also rebutted the allegations of the Opposition for helping the crony capitalists. She said, NDA government has taken the steps for the welfare of poor, farmers, small and medium business who are not crony capitalists. She said, poor people have benefited from the various initiatives including Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. She said, a total of 29.87 crore rupees have been provided under three Atma Nirbhar packages and Pradhan Mantri-Garib Kalyan Yojana.
In a sharp attack on the Congress party’s stand in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the Budget, the Finance Minister said, it has become the tendency of the party to propagate false narratives and demean the sanctity of the constitutional bodies.
She asserted that not a single Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee has been closed in the country and on the contrary budget provisions have been made to provide assistance to the states to improve the infrastructure of the APMC.
The Rajya Sabha concluded the first part of the Budget Session yesterday following the Finance Minister’s reply to the discussion on the Union Budget in the Upper House.
The Rajya Sabha recorded 99 per cent productivity in the two week long first part of the session. The second part of the Budget Session will commence from 8th of March.
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