Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has commenced the announcement of Union Budget 2021. The preparation of this Budget was taken in circumstances like never before, says Sitharaman as she begins her Budget speech.
She further said that "We couldn't have imagined the global slowdown during the last Budget. We announced the 'Aatmanirbhar' Package in May 2020 to sustain recovery. Atmanirbhar Bharat and Pradhan Mantri Yojana were like 3-4 mini Budgets in themselves."
She highlights that total COVID-19 support measures amount to 13% of GDP. Adding she stated that total COVID-19 support measures by government and RBI totals to Rs 27.1 lakh cr.
FM says, "The budget proposals for 2021-22 rest on six pillars - health and wealth being; physical and financial capital and infrastructure; inclusive development for aspiration India; reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D; minimum government and maximum governance."
This would be the second budget of Sitharaman and a very crucial one in times of Covid-19 pandemic. The Union Cabinet has approved India's first paperless Budget 2021.
The Key Highlights of Union Budget 2021 are as follows:
The Budget outlay for HEALTH and WELLBEING is Rs2,23,846cr in 2021-22, increasing by 137% against Budget estimates of Rs94,452cr of 2020-21.
1. "Investment in health infrastructure in this budget has increased substantially," she added, focus on strengthening three areas - preventive, curative and wellbeing.
For the health system, the FM announces a new centrally sponsorship scheme called "PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana". The scheme will be launched with an outlay of Rs64,180cr for over 6 years. This will develop capacities of primary and secondary and territory care health systems. Further, it will strengthen national institutions and create new institutions. Also, the FM said the scheme will cater to detection and cure of new and emerging diseases.
Some of the features of the scheme are:
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Support for 17,788 rural and 11,024 urban health and wellness centres.
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To set up public health labs in all districts and 3,382 block public health units in 11 states.
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To establish critical care hospital blocks in 602 districts and 12 central institutions.
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Strengthening of the national centre for disease control, 20 metropolitan health surveillance units.
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Expansion of integrated health information portal to connect all public heath labs.
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Operationalisation of 17 new public health units and strengthening of 33 existing public health units.
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Units to be placed at 32 airports, 11 seaports and 7 land crossings.
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Setting up of 15 health emergency operation centres and 2 mobile hospitals.
2. FM to implement Jal Jeevan Mission with an outlay of Rs 2.87 lakh crore to cover houses. This is set to be implemented over the next five years. The scheme aims at a universal water supply in 4,378 urban local bodies with 2.86cr household tap connections.
3. FM announces to implement Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 with an allocation of Rs1,41,678cr for 5 years starting from 2021.
4. To tackle the burgeoning problem of air pollution, the FM proposes to provide an amount of Rs2,217cr for 42 urban centres.
5.FM announced a voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to face out old and unfit vehicles. She states that the policy will help in encouraging fuel efficiency, environment-friendly vehicles thereby reducing vehicular population and oil import bills.
FM said that vehicles will undergo fitness test which is 20 years for passengers and 15 years for commercial vehicles. Details of the scheme to be shared by the ministry separately.
6. FM said pneumococcal vaccine presently limited to only 5 states. Soon to be rolled out across the country. Such will avert more than 50,000 child deaths annually.
FM provides Rs35,000cr for
Covid-19 vaccine in the year 2021-22.
Physical and financial capital and infrastructure:
FM says, "Atmanirbharat-production linked incentive schemes are things, which I would like to place an emphasis." She adds, "For a 5 trillion dollar economy, our manufacturing sector has to grow on double digits on a sustained basis.
"Our manufacturing companies need to become an integral part of Global Supply Chains," FM adds.
1. FM states that
PLI schemes to create manufacturing global champions announced in 13 sectors. Thereby, the government committed Rs1.97 lakh cr over five years starting this 2021-22. The initiative will help bring scale and size and key sectors.
2. To enable the
TEXTILE industry and make it globally competitive, the FM says attract large investments and boost economy generation.
For that, FM announced to launch Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) scheme in addition to the PLI scheme.
To enable create global champions in exports, 7 textile parks will be established over 3 years.
3. FM highlights that
National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) is a specific target which government committed to achieving over the coming years. NIP which was launched with 6,835 projects, has now expanded to 7,400 projects. Further, around 217 projects worth Rs1.10 lakh cr under key infrastructure ministries have been completed.
FM says, "The NIP is a specific target which this government is committed to achieving over the coming years." Adding she said, "The NIP will require a major increase in funding from both the government and the financial sector."
In Budget 2021, FM proposes to take concrete steps to do this in three ways:
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Creating institutional structures.
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Big thrust on monetizing assets.
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Enhancing the share of Capital Expenditure in Central and State Budgets.
4. For infrastructure financing, the FM will introduce a bill for
development financial institutions (DFI) and for capitalising the institution a sum of Rs20,000cr has been provided. Through the bill, the FM announced the ambition of having lending portfolio of Rs5 lakh cr for this DFI in three years.
5. FM to enable
debt financing of INVITs and REITs by foreign portfolio investors. Such will ease access of finance to InvITs and REITs and augmenting funds for infrastructure and real estate sectors.
6. FM to launch National Monetization Pipeline of potential brownfield infrastructure assets will be launched. Also, asset monetization dashboard will be created for tracking progress.
7. NHAI and PGCIP sponsored to attract international and domestic institutional investors.
8. Five operational roads with an estimated value of Rs5,000cr are being transferred.