Modi and other BJP Leaders Arrive For BJP Parliamentary Meet
BJP President Amit Shah, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh arrive for the BJP Parliamentary party meeting.
Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Other Congress Leaders Hold Opposition Party Meet
Sonia Gandhi, Former PM Manmohan Singh and other leaders arrive at Parliament Library Building for the meeting of the opposition parties.
Chidambaram Slams Jaitley's Budget, Says Farm Sector Will Continue to Suffer
MP and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, AICC Communications in charge Randeep Surjewala, and Rajasthan Congress General Secretary Avinash Pandey hold a press conference about Rajasthan Bypoll and Budget 2018.
Chidambaram slammed Jaitley’s Budget and said, “Farm sector stress will continue. Medical health care is a big jumla. Nothing in the budget to boost private investment. No tax relief to the average tax payer. Is the FM serious?”
He added, “I did not hear any measure to boost exports, as the Govt has run out of ideas. FM has imposed additional custom duties to restrict imports.The PM's speech at and the spirit of Davos has been forgotten within a few days.”
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Addresses the Media After Presenting the Budget
“Budget blends fiscal prudence with the requirements and needs to the economy,” said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addressing the media at National Media Centre in New Delhi.
He said the fiscal deficit breached the set target of 3.2 percent to 3.5 percent as GST stabilisation will take time.
Addressing the concerns of middle-class in the Budget, Jaitley said, “Step by step, in every budget, I have been putting surplus money in the hands of the middle-class taxpayer.”
He added, “The budget proposes an institutional mechanism to fix the emoluments of the elected members, thereby addressing the criticism that they fix their own salaries.”
2018-19 Budget Key Numbers & Estimates
The Press Information Bureau released a list of key numbers from the past two financial years to highlight what the impact of the 2018-19 Union budget could be in the upcoming year.