PM Narendra Modi hails 'people-friendly and progressive' Budget

Union Budget is full of possibilities for more investments, infrastructure and jobs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today. Calling the budget "people-friendly and progressive", Prime Minister said the welfare of the poor is an important aspect of the Budget.

The Budget has brought new confidence to usher development in the midst of one the most terrible calamities in 100 years, Modi said in a reference to the COVID-19.

This budget will create many new opportunities for the common people, besides strengthening the economy, Modi said in his televised remarks on the Union Budget.

"This budget is full of new possibilities for more infrastructure, more investment, more growth, and more jobs," the prime minister said, adding that it will also open up the field of green jobs.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a bigger Rs 39.45 lakh crore Union Budget, with higher spending in areas like highways and affordable housing with a view to fire up the key engines of the economy to sustain a world-beating recovery from the pandemic.

While she primed up spending on infrastructure to create jobs and boost economic activity, Sitharaman did not tinker with income tax slabs or tax rates.

(Inputs from PTI)