Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her team for presenting the first Budget of the decade that was “visionary” and “action-packed”.
In his first remarks after the presentation of the Union Budget 2020, PM Modi said four areas — agriculture, infrastructure, textiles and technology — have been given a lot of emphasis to increase employment generation.
“The new reforms announced in the budget will speed up the economy, financially empower every citizen of the country and strengthen the foundation of the economy in this decade,” PM Modi said.
Income and investment were the two words he emphasised upon in his post-Budget speech, adding that the Budget will help Indians achieve their aspirations.
“We have made several special efforts in this Budget to promote employment generation in the field of technology. Several policy initiatives have been taken for areas such as new smart cities, electronic manufacturing, data centre parks, biotechnology and quantum technology,” said Modi.
He added, through such efforts India can become a key part of the global value chain, something the economic survey also talked about.
He also talked about the importance his government attaches to the industry. “Due to the removal of dividend distribution tax, Rs 25,000 crore will come in the hands of companies, which will help them in further investment,” he said.
On the proposal to develop 100 airports in the country, the Prime Minister said the move is very important for developing India’s tourism sector. “In tourism, there is more possibility of employment or income generation with lesser investment,” he said.
Further on, PM Modi said MSMEs and startups have been given a boost in the Union Budget. He said that dividend tax has been slashed to ease constraints on companies.
He said Adivasi and Dalit children will be benefitted from the budget as the education sector saw a major boost and added that the new recruitment scheme will aid youth who earlier had to travel miles for employment.
Highlighting the 16 action points for rural areas PM said that an integrated approach has been taken to aid agrarian development.
“Increasing employment and doubling farmers’ income have been our prerogative,” he said in his address.
Sitharaman presented a mega 16-point action plan for farmers. The government is committed to doubling farmers’ income by 2022, she said while proposing to allocate Rs 2.83 lakh crore for agriculture and rural sectors such as irrigation.
The Centre is also set to disburse Rs 15 lakh crore among farmers as credit during the year 2020-21.
PM Modi added that various tax concessions have been given to attract outside investment to India. He further stressed that tax benefits have been given for start-ups and real estate sector.
He said his government continues to believe in “minimum government, maximum governance”.