'Union Budget laid foundation to make India developed nation in next 25 yr'

Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao on Sunday said that the Union Budget laid the foundation to make India a developed nation in the next 25 years.

"India is now the fifth largest economy and is on course to become the third largest economy alongside China and the USA in the next five years," he said.

The BJP MP held a meeting on the Union Budget with intellectuals, representing various sectors, in Visakhapatnam. The meeting was organised to create awareness of the transformational aspects of the Budget as part of the conferences being organised in various parts of the country.

Speaking on this occasion, MP Rao said that budget conferences of intellectuals are being organised in all states as part of the outreach efforts by the Union Government and addressed by Central ministers and the party's senior leaders/ MPs.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central government has successfully overcome the Covid impact on the economy, Narasimha Rao observed.

Hailing the allocations for railways, MP GVL noted that Rs 8,406 crore has been allocated for the railway sector in Andhra Pradesh. "Giving a huge relief to the middle class, the personal income tax exemption limit has been raised up to Rs 7 lakhs. This demonstrated PM Narendra Modi's special concern for the middle class," he said.

He mentioned that 7.5 per cent interest has been announced for women's savings accounts and that the senior citizens' savings accounts limit has been increased from Rs.15 lakhs to Rs.30 lakhs.

Highlighting important announcements in the Union budget, MP Rao stated that 30 Skill India Development Centres have been proposed for youth employment abroad.

He further added that three centres related to Artificial Intelligence as Centres of Excellence (CoEs) have been announced in the budget. In addition, 100 new laboratories will be set up in engineering colleges to develop 5G applications in agriculture, health and other sectors, the MP informed.

Expressing deep concern that Andhra Pradesh lags behind in the IT sector, the MP suggested that the state government should immediately submit proposals to the Central government to set up new IT centres in Andhra Pradesh to help improve the IT sector in Andhra Pradesh.

He said that BJP will work to get these benefits and Kisan Credit Cards to as many as 50,000 fishermen in Visakhapatnam. Substantial funds have also been allocated to fishermen in the budget, he marked.