Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the Union Budget 2009-10 is aimed at minimising the "impact of the global recession" and achieving 8 to 9 per cent growth in the medium term.
Describing the Budget as rural-development-oriented, Singh said its focus was to ensure that short-term requirements of the economy as well as medium-term goals were achieved.
"The Finance Minister has done an admirable job," the Prime Minister said minutes after the Union Budget for 2009-10 was presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Singh said right now the major concern was to minimise the "impact of global recession" on the Indian economy.
"We should aim to achieve 8-9 per cent growth in medium term," Singh said.
He said handsome additional allocation has been made for inclusive growth and other flagship programmes like Urban Renewal Mission and National Rural Health Mission. "It is essentially a rural development-oriented budget," the Prime Minister added.
"Right now the major concern is to minimise the impact of international recession on the Indian economy and for that it is necessary to provide stimulus to our economy," Singh said.
"The process(providing stimulus) began in December last year and this budget carries this process further," he said.
"At the same time there are medium-term concerns that the growth momentum must be restored," the Prime Minister noted.
On the increased allocation for various rural programmes such as National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme for which Rs.39,100 crore has been earmarked and Bharat Nirman for which allocation has been hiked by 45 per cent, Singh said "..These are all programmes which will primarily benefit our rural areas and reduce the gap between Bharat and India."
Replying to a question as to why no allocation was made for the proposed National Food Security programme, Singh said it was too early to come out with a specific fund as the whole act was yet to be put in place.
"The Finance Minister mentioned that he will soon come out with a draft, put on the website, and we will invite large scale discussions with the interested groups and civil society" before translating it into a legislation, he said.
On food subsidy for below poverty line (BPL) families, Singh said Government's commitment in this regard "has to be honoured and we will honour it in a credible way."
He said the budget has also taken into account the government's commitment for a "slum-free" India. Referring to disinvestment, the Prime Minister said he has not done any detailed calculation on the issue.
"The Finance Minister has committed to increased disinvestment while maintaining public sector character of PSUs," he said adding that disinvestment process depends on various factors including world economic situation, state of the stock and commodity markets and that was the reason no figure was given in the budget speech.
On stock market concerns over high fiscal deficit, Singh said this matter has been referred to the Finance Commission for its advice.
The Finance Commission will be submitting its report in October and unless its recommendations are not taken into account, anything said about it will counter-productive, he said.
"....I think once the Finance Commission's report is available, once the devolution pattern they recommend is known for the next five years, it is only then we can make credible guesses and work out strategies, how to handle the problem of fiscal deficit," Singh said adding the government recognises it as an "important problem".
About administrative reforms, he said the government will set up an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) to go into the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission, which has submitted as many as 15 voluminous reports so far.
Reiterating government's commitment to do "all that is necessary to modernise the security and intelligence services", the Prime Minister said "we do not have adequate number of policemen. The police forces in our country are under-staffed. The security forces need our understanding and support."
"Law and order is a pre-requisite of sustained development," Singh added.