Union Minister for Food Processing Industry and senior Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal today welcomed the Union Budget and described it a 'futuristic, pro-people and pro-farmers' that will give a boost to domestic growth and industrial economy.
Expressing happiness on the budget, she said Rs 47,912 crore has been allocated for agriculture and irrigation sector an increase of 84 per cent from last year would boost growth in agriculture production besides enhancing farmers' income.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for approving and announcing 100 per cent FDI in retail of food produced and manufactured in India, she said, "it would provide a tremendous impetus to investment in food processing sector thereby benefiting farmers and create vast employment opportunities".
She said the move would provide better prices to farmers for their produce through assured marketing mechanism as organized retailers would promote contract farming for quality products. She also welcomed the implementation of unified agriculture marketing scheme which envisages a common e-market platform to procure agri-horti produce of farmers.
To promote use of refrigerated containers, Badal thanked Jaitley for reducing the basic custom and excise duty to 5 pc and 6 pc respectively which was earlier 10 pc and 12.5 pc.
The minister also hailed the enhancement in allocating Rs 90,625 crore for various welfare schemes for women which was 12 pc than the previous year which outlines the priorities of this government and the vision of Narendra Modi.
She thanked the Finance minister for allocating funds for commemoration of Guru Gobind Singh's 350th birth anniversary to be celebrated during this year.
Terming the budget as "historic and realistic", she said Modi and Jaitley have taken the right decision to allow retail shops to operate all seven days of the week that would help the marginal shopkeepers.
She also welcomed the announcement to provide LPG connections to rural households and poor strata which would change the living conditions of rural folk.
