New Delhi, Feb. 1 (UNI) Presenting her third budget in Parliament on Monday under the BJP-led NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of measures to facilitate the recovery of the economy battered by the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping the focus on six pillars from healthcare to infrastructure.
The Union Budget for 2021-22 also kept an eye on the poll bound states, specially West Bengal where assembly polls are hardly two months away. Nirmala Sitharaman announced infrastructure projects for Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam.
Wearing a popular ``Laal Paad’’ saree of Bengal, Nirmala Sitharaman also quoted Nobel laureate and widely respected poet Rabindranath Tagore and proposed the total allocation of Rs. 25,000 crore for highway construction in West Bengal. Poll-bound states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam also got their share of highway projects but the attention on West Bengal was overwhelming.
She announced a 3,500 km corridor in Tamil Nadu, 1,100 km in Kerala at an investment of Rs 65,000 crore, 675 km in West Bengal at a cost of Rs 95,000 crore, and 1,300 km in Assam in the next three years.
The Modi government’s big announcement was on the proposal to provide Rs 35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccination in 2021-22 and its pledge to providing more funds. The Finance Minister also proposed the introduction of Aatmanirbhar health programme with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore. This will be in addition to the national health mission. The total spend on health care was proposed at Rs. 2 lakh crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had indicated on January 29 when the Budget session of Parliament began that last year 4 to 5 mini budgets in the form of packages were announced and the 2021-22 budget would be on the similar lines in that series.
According to the Economic Survey 2020-21, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, predicted the growth of Indian economy at 11 per cent in 2021-22 financial year.
Middle classes and the salaried class were disappointed as the Income Tax slabs have remained unchanged in this year’s Budget proposals.
Pointing out the departure from the tradition, the Finance Minister said this year’s Budget is unique as for the first time it is paperless and has gone digital. Last year, she had given up the customary leather briefcase for a traditional `bahi khata’’ – a red, handmade ledger, saying it was time that the government moved away from the British hangover. For the first time, she read out from a tablet and said the budget proposals rest on six pillars – health and well being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, including development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and research and development, and minimum government and maximum governance.
Highlighting the hardships that India and other economies in the world faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Finance Minister quoted Rabindranath Tagore to dub the post-Covid world the "dawn of a new era". She said: "Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."
She announced schemes for improving the healthcare infrastructure in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and also launched a Centrally-sponsored scheme PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana with an outlay of about 64,180 crores over 6 years.
"I have provided ₹35,000 crores for Covid-19 vaccine and committed to provide further funds if required. The government is fully prepared to support and facilitate the economy’s reset. This budget provides every opportunity for our economy to rise and capture the pace it needs for a sustainable growth,’’ she said.
Markets showed cheer after the budget proposals were announced as the Sensex jumped by over 1600 points.
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