Finance Budget paves the way for a resurgent Indian Economy : Vijender Gupta

The Former Delhi BJP President, Sh. Vijender Gupta called the budget tabled by the Finance Minister, Sh. Arun Jaitley progressive, people friendly and development oriented. All possible efforts have been made to revive the economy from the state of stagnation and decline, left as the legacy of UPA rule. The budget aims to unburden the common man while showing enough fiscal prudence for long term health of the economy.

He said that the Finance Minister has made a comprehensive policy document with a visionary outlook to take Indian growth story forward by leaps and bounds.  The budget ensures not just equal distribution of resources but also equal participation of even the marginalised sections of the society, paving the way for fulfilment of egalitarian developmental goals. The government decision to hike the tax exemption limit to Rs. 2.5 lakh from 2 lakh has brought in huge relief to the tax prayers during the period of inflation. The crores of senior citizens have got further benefit from the extension of the tax exemption limit to Rs. 3 lakhs. In addition, investment limit under 80C has been raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh, thus, giving more money in the hands of the households to save and invest judiciously that would play a significant role in revitalising the economy.

The finance budget specifically targets improvements in the manufacturing and agriculture to ensure that the fundamentals of the domestic sector are strengthened for the long-term benefits. Provision to finance 5 lakh landless farmers, improvement of irrigation facility under Pradhanmantri Krishi Sichai Yochna, setting up a Price Stabilization Fund with a corpus of Rs. 500 crore to help farmers deal with volatility and development of farmers’ markets in town areas to enable farmers to sell their produce directly are some of the measures taken to give the agriculture a much needed boost and help protect farmers’ interests. These steps will work to break the monopoly of middlemen making markets more efficient and competitive for both the consumers and farmers. A wonderful initiative in the form of ‘Kissan TV’ has been taken to provide real time information on the agriculture and other related issues to the farmers. The project is likely to be launched in the current year.

This budget caters to the needs and requirements of one and all including the youth, defence forces, women, senior citizen, traders, industrialists, farmers, villages, landless, homeless, unemployed, employed, weavers, artisans, sportsmen and so on. The budget is full of ground breaking ideas including the revolutionary step to launch Jal Marg Vikas project that would connect Allahabad and Haldia through inland waterways. The foundation stone for 100 smart cities have also been laid by allocation of Rs. 7,060 crores for their development. By extending the gift of metro rail to Lucknow and Ahmedabad, the process of modernisation of these cities has been accelerated.

Being the national capital, Delhi got special mention in the Finance Minister’s speech, where he proposed to allot Rs. 500 crore and Rs. 200 for water and electricity reforms respectively to turn it into a world class city.

These measures will prove to be instrumental in turning around the economy in the next five years. It will not be wrong to say that the maiden budget is of Modi government is the extension of promises made by BJP before the elections to provide a necessary impetus to “ache din”!!