New Delhi: Shortly after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Union Budget on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation saying its main goal was to improve the condition of rural India.
“Common man must be relieved from complex Income tax processes,” Modi said and added that “the budget clearly calls for electrifying all villages and will give an impetus to rural infrastructure. Through this budget housing sector will also be strengthened and this will boost our dream of 'Housing for All'.”
Emphasising that the budget was mainly about helping to manifest the dream of the people, Modi said, “For us primary education is very important. A qualitative transformation of the education sector is what we are giving priority to.”
Women, farmers and rural India are the focus of the budget, Modi re-emphasised, and added that important steps have been taken in the “Budget in the direction of doubling income of farmers by 2022.
Claiming that the budget will create a big change in the lives of common people, Modi said that the it has laid a roadmap to alleviate poverty in a time-bound manner.
"Several steps have been taken for the farmers. The most important is Pradhan Mantri Krishi Yojana," he said.
For MNREGA, there has been the biggest allocation, he added.
Meanwhile BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani dubbed the General Budget for 2016-17 as the best ever, saying it has the potential to boost India's economic growth with employment generation while reducing social imbalances.
"Have seen many budgets being presented in Parliament, the one presented by Finance Minister Jaitley today is certainly one of the best budget so far. Budget 2016 has potential to boost India's economic growth with employment generation, while reducing social imbalances. ," Advani said.
"Budget 2016 has made unprecedented provision for accelerating and modernising infrastructure in critical areas such as highways, railways. At a time when global economy remains weak, India's growth is laudable. It looks to become even brighter in the coming years," he added.
Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan termed the Budget as "development oriented", and said it is in the interest of poor, farmers and youth.
"The budget is development-oriented. It is in the interest of poor, farmers, and youth. There is special focus on agriculture, infrastructure, rural development, education and social sectors," Paswan tweeted.
In the Budget, an allocation of Rs 1.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Food Ministry, which is almost similar to the last year. Of this allocation, Rs 1.34 lakh crore is earmarked for food subsidy.
For the Consumer Affairs Department, the allocation has been increased substantially to Rs 1,241.61 crore for 2016-17 from Rs 306.13 crore in the previous year.
The allocation has increased as the Price Stabalisation Fund has been shifted to this department from the Agriculture Ministry.
While presenting the budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley emphasised the need to ensure MSP reaches to farmers across the country. For which, he proposed three initiatives which will be carried out by the Food Ministry in 2016-17.
"First, the remaining states will be encouraged to take up decentralized procurement. Second, an online Procurement System will be undertaken through the Food Corporation of India. This will usher in transparency and convenience to the
farmers through prior registration and monitoring of actual procurement. Third, effective arrangements have been made for pulses procurement," Jaitley said.
Meanwhile, Power Minister Piyush Goel described the Budget as a "transformational" one and said, "Vast subjects have been covered in it".
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "It is a Budget for every Indian. This budget has taken care of the rural India, gram panchayat, and urban India. It takes care of those who need healthcare. It has taken care of infrastructure. It brings a stable tax regime."
The BJP veteran further said the most heartening of the Budget is its strong emphasis on the neglected task of revitalisation of agriculture and rural development.
"Prime Minister and Finance Minister adopted approach that promises to make India stronger and more prosperous, while making 'Antyodaya' central theme of economic growth," he added.
