Addressing the members of corporate India at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is taking the most fiscally prudent route and not pump-prime the economy.
She further said the spending proposed in the Union Budget is being done with a clear picture of asset creation.
“We are putting money where assets will be created. When the money is put into infrastructure, it would have a cascading effect,” she said.
“The money garnered from the divestment target would not go into a revenue expenditure item, but would create infrastructure for the economy and this would have a multiplier effect,” minister added.
“We are willing to spend if we have to. But we will not repeat past mistakes of splurging,” she said.
On the question ‘why was Sensex not happy on Budget day’, she said, “But I see them being happy today. Monday is the true working mood, and today’s mood is that they are happy.”
“Aren’t they? Not exuberant but happy somewhat,” she quipped.
She said that the Budget has not given anything sector-specific, but has given a macro picture of the economy.
“The Budget was also about whether we are being fiscally responsible or not,” she added.
She also expressed the government’s faith in taxpayers and said the Budget has unveiled a taxpayer’s charter.
“We are relying on technology to bring about faceless assessment,” she added.