The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said in the Rajya Sabha that the General Budget 2022-23 stood for continuity, was forward looking and has a vision for 'India at 100'.
Replying to the general discussion on the General Budget 2022-23, she said that stable and sustainable recovery was one of the motives for this Budget and highlighted the importance of emphasising digital technology in governance that will help in transparency in governance beyond easing the process for common man.
Citing the example of Kisan drone, she said that through this technology, the spraying of fertilizers and pesticides will be done quickly and effectively while the crop density and other surveys can be made easily.
Replying to the budgetary provisions aimed at the next 25 years when India will be attaining 100 years of independence, she said that if we do not have a vision for the next 25 years, we will end up like 65 years of Congress when everything was done for a particular family, she alleged.
Noting that there were many occasions in the past when the economy of the country contracted, she further said that this pandemic period of crisis is a big one, and the loss to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is much higher.
"Our management of the inflation is that it is only 6.2 per cent and charged," she said charging the Congress Members, "lesser crises you could not handle inflation, you took it to 9.1 per cent."
Replying to the issue of unemployment, Sitharaman said, "One big number that people (opposition) picked up was the 60 lakhs jobs provided in the budgetary provisions, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) which has been now being given for 14 sectors will create 60 lakh jobs in the future."
Over Rs seven lakh crore is being spent on infrastructure and this will also create jobs, she added.
The Finance Minister also said that questions were asked on the increase in allocation of Urban Affairs, as they (opposition) said that the increase was purely for Central Vista. She clarified that the increase in the Housing Ministry Budget was not for Central Vista, but for the PM Aawas Yojana-Urban.
--IANS
ams/dpb
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU