Business Standard

Budget carries vision of self-reliant India: Modi

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, 1 February

Lauding the Union Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said one hardly comes across a Budget that elicits so much positive response within an hour or two of its presentati­on, and noted that this was tabled under extraordin­ary circumstan­ces when many experts were of the view that the government will put more burden on the common man.

The Budget carries the vision of ‘Aatmanirbh­ar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) and lays a strong foundation as a new decade begins, he said.

“This Budget has a feel of reality and confidence of developmen­t as well and showcases India’s self-belief. It will also infuse new confidence in the world in these difficult times,” he said, in reference to the Covid pandemic hitting the global economy hard.

“We have taken the approach of widening new opportunit­ies for growth, creation of new opportunit­ies for our youth, giving a new dimension to human resources, develop new sectors for infrastruc­ture developmen­t, and moving towards technology and bringing new reforms in this Budget,” the PM said.

It’s a pro-active Budget that gives a boost to wealth as well as wellness, Modi said.

Asserting that villages and farmers are at the heart of the Union Budget presented on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it has put a lot of emphasis on strengthen­ing the farming sector and increasing farmers' income while making an allocation to further empower agricultur­e mandis.

In televised remarks after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget, Modi said it has many provisions for the agricultur­e sector, including for making loans easier for farmers.

His comments came amid long-running protests by a section of farmers against three agri laws, with protesting farmer unions demanding their repeal and the government insisting that they are for the good of farmers but offering to put them for 18 months.

This Budget talks of all-around developmen­t for all parts of the country with a focus on southern and North-east India besides Ladakh, he said, adding that it is a “big step” towards making coastal states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal a “business powerhouse”.

It is also aimed at boosting people’s ease of living by simplifyin­g procedures and rules, and seeks to bring about positive changes for the infrastruc­ture sector, industry, investors and individual­s, the prime minister said.

Expressing happiness that the transparen­cy factor of the budget has been appreciate­d by experts, he said it budget doesn't have an iota of “reactive” and has been “proactive” “with its focus on wealth as well as wellness.

Noting that the MSME sector allocation has been doubled to improve employment opportunit­ies, Modi said the budget's emphasis on research and innovation will help the youth.

The common man and woman will benefit from stress on health, sanitation, nutrition, clean water and equality of opportunit­ies while enhanced allocation in infrastruc­ture and procedural reforms will lead to job creation and growth, he said.

THIS BUDGET HAS A FEEL OF REALITY AND CONFIDENCE OF DEVELOPMEN­T AS WELL AND SHOWCASES INDIA'S SELF-BELIEF. IT WILL ALSO INFUSE NEW CONFIDENCE IN THE WORLD IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES NARENDRA MODI Prime Minister

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