Nirmala Sitharaman Interview with Network18 Updates: Consumer 'not burdened' by agri-infra cess, says FM

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Stimulus was necessary, says FM

"The stimulus was necessary, we are looking at quality expenditure and the way we have designed the Budget monitoring the qualitive expenditure, it will give us the multiplier for the economy," Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview with News18.

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Want to have a holding company for banks' bad assets, says Sitharaman

On setting up of an entity to address the stressed assets of banks, Sitharaman says, "We want to have holding company, which will, with a formulation given, take the bad assets from the banks and put it into the holding company. It will have government participation but largely the IBA will do it."

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

'Farmers' doubt over MSP is surprising'

On being asked whether the farmers' concerns were justified over the provision of minimum support price (MSP) in the context of the new farm laws, Nirmala Sitharaman said she was "surprised" that the farmers were "doubting the government's intention" about MSP. Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the laws for over two months at Delhi's borders.

Sitharaman said, "The farmers' concerns on MSP and their doubts regarding the government's intention is surprising. They should come to the table and specifically tell us where the grievances are. Spending on MSP has been increasing manifold, I have data."

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Importer, consumer 'not burdened 'by agricultural infrastructure cess, says FM

Nirmala Sitharaman addressed concerns about the cess being imposed on agricultural infrastructure.

She stated that the cess will "not burden" the consumer or the importer. "I wanted to make sure that the money for funding infrastructure for agriculture is got a head on which I'm earning certain amount, and that can be used. In case of petrol and diesel, we have applied it on the additional excise duty which is purely central government's money," she said.

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Indian companies have offloaded debts: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, weighing in on key takeaways from the Union Budget 2021, said that the private sector companies in India are seeking to expand and have offloaded their debts.

"We have seen a pick-up in exports; companies are seeing that it's possible to invest and grow. The private sector is seeking to expand its scope," Sitharaman told Network18 on Monday.

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Hope Union Budget is 'well understood', says Nirmala Sitharaman

"Hope the intent of the Union Budget is well understood. We want the country to accept this budget," Nirmala Sitharaman tells News18 on Monday.

#EXCLUSIVE - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) speaks to @Network18Group Editor-in-Chief @18RahulJoshi #BudgetWithNews18 | #FMtoNetwork18 https://t.co/NIgKWv8cCp

— News18 (@CNNnews18) February 1, 2021

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Network18 group editor Rahul Joshi inteviews FM

In her first interview to a news channel after unveiling the Union Budget 2021 on Monday, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman told News18 that the Centre wanted to avoid spending on infrastructure by raising taxes. She added that the Centre has "delivered on healthcare, infrastructure".

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Nirmala Sitharaman says Centre's accounts have been made more transparent

In a press conference on Monday evening, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed questions on the Union Budget 2021, which was unveiled on Monday.

"Our fiscal deficit which started at 3.5 percent during February 2020 has increased to 9.5 percent of GDP, so we have spent, we have spent and we have spent. At the same time, we have given a clear glide path for deficit management," the finance minsiter said.

"We have made government accounts more transparent. We are absolutely upfront with fiscal deficit. We not only ensured repeated review of capital expenditure and ensured that spending was encouraged and not delayed," said Sitharaman insisting that accounting of government expenditure and revenue statements are now a lot more transparent and open. 

Budget 2021 LATEST Updates

Economists say Budget doesn't address inequities

Economists hailed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a "bold budget" focused on fiscal expansion but flagged concerns over the proposals for not addressing the problems of inequitable growth.

Concerns over the impact on the sovereign rating have been sidestepped in the budget by using a wider fiscal deficit for addressing the growth needs, they said. The budget was widely expected to be a fiscally expansionary one, given the concerns on the growth front.

"The budget does not adequately address concerns over inequitable growth which has been a worry across the globe due to the pandemic. There has been no specific support for sectors stressed due to the pandemic like the hospitality sector," HDFC Bank's chief economist Abheek Barua said.