Soon after the presentation of the Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, 1 February, PM Narendra Modi, in a video statement, said it contains a vision of self-reliance as well as inclusiveness.
FM Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, proposed an exemption from filing Income Tax returns for senior citizens aged 75 years and above, who only have pension and interest income. The income tax slab for the financial year 2021-22 will remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit for the FY21 has been pegged at 9.5 percent of the GDP, while for FY22, it has been estimated at 6.8 percent, the finance minister said.
The finance minister also announced a 137% increase in the health budget.
Earlier, chants of 'repeal the farm laws' could be heard in the Parliament as she presented the Union Budget.
- FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 2.83 lakh crore for health and wellness sector, which includes Rs 35,000 crore for COVID-19 vaccines
- A sharp increase in capital expenditure for the next fiscal at Rs 5.54 lakh crore has been proposed
- The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in insurance has been increased from 49 percent to 74 percent
- FM Sitharaman announced a record sum of Rs 1,10,055 crore for the Railways in 2021-22
- The Budget proposals this year are based on six pillars
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Centre Ready to Have Clause-By-Clause Discussion With Farmers: Sitharaman
On farm laws, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government has always been open to dialogue with farmers.
“The agriculture minister has been ready to have a clause-by-clause discussion with farmers on the farm laws. Hence we believe that dialogue is the way forward,” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Fiscal Deficit Increased to 9.5% GDP
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, addressing a press conference after presenting the Union Budget, said that our fiscal deficit has increased to 9.5 percent of GDP.
“Our fiscal deficit which started at 3.5 percent during Feb 2020 has increased to 9.5 percent of GDP, so we have spent, we have spent and we have spent. At the same time, we have given a clear glide path for deficit management,” Shitharaman added.
Health, Infrastructure Focus Of Budget 2021: Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the focus of Budget 2021 was to give importance to health and infrastructure.
“If there are two important features of this Budget, it is that we chose to spend big on infrastructure which spans across roads, power generation, bridges, ports,” said Sitharaman.
She added that as second feature, it tends to the need of the healthcare sector.
“Capacities for better health management had to be brought in in light of what we had gone through last year,” she added.
'Budget Contains Vision of Self-Reliance and Inclusiveness': PM Modi
Soon after the presentation of the Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, PM Narendra Modi said it contains a vision of self-reliance as well as inclusiveness.
Calling it a pro-active Budget that provides a boost to wealth and wellness, Modi went on to say, "The Budget focuses on increasing farmers' income, several measures have been taken in this direction. Farmers will be able to get loans easily. Provisions have been made to strengthen APMC markets with the help of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund."