 "Thumbs-up for 'guarantee': Budget hits a sweet spot, says PM Modi")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the interim Budget will empower the four pillars of developed India, namely, the youth, the poor, women and farmers.
He listed some proposals for the middle class, such as rooftop solarisation and “income tax remission” under which the government will withdraw old disputed direct tax demands.
In a televised address in the afternoon, the PM said the Budget sought to control the fiscal deficit and provided for a historical increase in the total capital expenditure at Rs 11.11 trillion.
“In economists' parlance, the two are the Budget’s sweet spots,” Modi said.
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Describing the document as “Nirmala ji's Budget,” the PM said it offered the “guarantee” of strengthening the foundation of building a developed India by 2047 and carried the “confidence of continuity.”
He stated the Budget was inclusive and innovative and honoured a young India's buoyant aspirations.
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The PM said the Budget was “not merely an interim Budget but an inclusive and innovative one". Two Budget proposals — a Rs 1-trillion corpus for research and innovation and rebates for start-ups — will create innumerable employment opportunities for India's youth. It will also lead to the creation of modern infrastructure.
The Budget, the PM said, has reached out to the poor and middle class as there will be 40,000 Vande Bharat quality train coaches and 20 million more houses for the urban and rural poor.
In this context, Modi said the government sets big goals, achieves them, and then sets even bigger targets for itself.
He added that the Centre had constructed 40 million houses under the PM Awas Yojana in the last 10 years.
The PM said the income tax remission scheme will provide relief to 10 million people belonging to the middle class. He accused previous governments of using these pending tax cases as a sword hanging over the heads of the country's common citizens.
He spoke of the rooftop solar campaign, the PM Suryodaya Yojana, where 10 million families could avail free electricity.
Further, they could earn Rs 15,000-18,000 annually by selling excess electricity to the government.
Listing the pro-women schemes of the Budget, the PM included Aanganwadi and ASHA workers under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.
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“Our goal was to make 20 million ‘lakhpatis’ among women. This goal has been increased to make 30 million lakhpatis," he said.
The PM said the Budget had taken several measures for farmers' welfare, including the proposed expansion of the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana to boost the fisheries sector.
There is also the 'Atmanirbhar' oil seed campaign to make India self-reliant in edible oils by increasing the domestic output of oilseeds and launching a comprehensive programme to support dairy farmers.
He also said the application of nano-liquid DAP (di-ammonium phosphate), a key fertiliser, will be expanded to all agro-climatic zones.