Budget was aimed at stable recovery: FM
Stable and sustainable recovery was one of the important motives and objectives of the Union Budget 2022-23, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her response to the Budget discussion in Rajya Sabha on Friday, adding that the Budget would stand for continuity which will bring stability to economy, predictability in taxation and provide a vision for India at 100 years of Independence.
“The budget aims at continuity in giving stimulus through public expenditure. We also wanted the underline the stability and sustainable recovery that we so need now, at a time when the economy must grow and grow at a good pace, it is important for the economy also to be stabilized,” she said.
The finance minister said that providing stability and predictability was a crucial requirement at a critical time of the economy coming out of the pandemic, and therefore the present Budget as well as the previous one focuses on growth and infrastructure spending for the betterment of India’s peoples.
“The sustainable growth is what is going to ensure that India remains on the top and unless that level of growth is maintained, we are not going to be having the trickledown effect of the economy and the benefits of the economy reaching the poorest of the poor,” she noted.
The finance minister also emphasized that besides stable and sustainable recovery as one of the important motives and objectives, continuing infrastructure spending, disinvestment, more privatization or ease of doing business and also adapting technology were the key instruments of taking India into the next 25 years.
“Another thing that continues with the growth focus is, in order to attain growth, we wanted to undertake public expenditure in building infrastructure for a modern India and an India going towards India at 100,” Sitharaman said.
She took on the Opposition stating that it was important to have a vision for the next 25 years—which the government terms as Amrit Kaal—else the country will suffer on similar lines as it has in the past 70 years, of which 65 years when the Congress was in power.
“There was no vision except for supporting, building and benefitting one family,” she said.
Sitharaman pointed to the increase in job creation with the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme which is being given for 14 sectors which is creating 60 lakh jobs, and added that the government was taking other steps such as spending on infrastructure creation which was adding to job creation.
She cited the latest periodic labour force survey which shows urban unemployment rate in January to March quarter of FY22 declined to pre-pandemic level of 9% after peaking at 20.8% of unemployment.
“Now it has already come down. The unemployment issue is addressed and unemployment numbers are coming down,” she noted.
The finance minister further stated that the government chose to go through the capex route versus the revenue expenditure route as it would create a higher multiplier effect in the economy.