It was more or less what an interim budget ought to be, with Pranab Mukherjee presenting the country's statement of accounts, and staying away from making major announcements.
However, he did stress on the need to lower tax rates in times of crisis , besides proposing in increase in defence allocation to Rs 1,41,903 crore, in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Stressing that the UPA government had made every effort to deliver commitments, Mukherjee said the per capita income of the country grew to 7.4%, and that the country had achieved a sustained growth of 9% in the past four years under teh UPA regime.
Underlining that India was also affected by the global meltdown, he said GDP growth was lower at 7.1% for the current fiscal, but was still the second highest in the world. Agriculture, manufacturing, services, along with trade and construction were growth drivers.
Farm and social sectors
Mukherjee said farm sector growth was up 3.7% and that the country's food grain production rose by 10 million tonnes a year to touch a peak of 230 million tonnes in the previous fiscal. The outlook for food production remained positive in coming year, he said.
The farm and social sectors remained on top of the UPA government's agenda and Mukherjee said the farm loan waiver had benefitted 36 million households.
Stressing that the National Minimum Programme makes growth more inclusive and faster, Mukherjee said that with 65% population living in villages, the agricultural plan allocation was increased by 300% in four years under the UPA government.
He also said 60.12 lakh houses for rural poor have already been constructed under Indira Awas Yojana and that Rs 30,100 crore has been allocated to rural job schemes in FY10.
