Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee Meeting, in her first interaction with the industry after presenting Union Budget for 2020-21, Finance Minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman said, "We are putting money where assets need to be created." The Finance Minister said that the experiences of the last time when India had a real tough situation, and the call taken at that time, and the splurging to make country reach to better levels, are all fresh in our mind.
She added that, yes the situation today also may need pump-priming the economy - yes we are willing to do that, but we are not willing to splurge the money, we have decided to invest money, only in asset creation, especially to create connectivity. "We are showing where the money raised will go so that you can plan your investment," said Ms Sitharaman.
The Finance Minister said that the core idea in this Budget has been to discuss the steps required and think through them and the government has carried the agenda which came up during discussions not only in Delhi but throughout the country further, and then fine-tuned them. She stressed that emphasis has been on creating a trust-based tax system.
The Finance Minister said, "We trust the assesse, we mean that we trust the taxpayers and tax officers have to be lot more objective with the help of technology." Ms Sitharaman said that the 'Taxpayers Charter' is a well-researched charter brought for this purpose, adding that the details of which will tell you what you need as a fallback mechanism.
On the resources to be generated through Budget for asset creation, the Finance Minister said that essentially as the government puts the disinvestment target, it is an intent to create greater infrastructure. She said that everywhere the attempt has been to ensure that the steps are completely thought through and are fiscally prudent. The Finance Minister said that the announcements related to the bond market are very significant. "Various announcements about deepening and strengthening the bond market are exceptional to this budget," said Ms Sitharaman.
Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, "This has been the Budget to truly empower India, Industry and the Individuals. We feel that steering the economy to greater heights is a shared responsibility. We see the green shoots and we need to nurture these." FICCI President also urged the Finance Minister to include healthcare in infrastructure.
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