Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, asserted that the BJP-led Government at the Union has worked with an approach to development that is “all-round, all-inclusive and all-pervasive” (‘sarvangin’, ‘sarvasparshi’ and ‘sarvasamaveshi’) and said that the trinity of “Democracy, Demography and Diversity” can help fulfil the aspirations of every Indian.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting her sixth Budget ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, said that the Indian economy has witnessed a profound positive transformation in the last 10 years.
“The next five years will be the years of unprecedented development. Trinity of democracy, demography and diversity can help fulfil the aspirations of every Indian. The Indian economy has witnessed a profound positive transformation in the last 10 years, The people of India are looking ahead to the future with hope and optimism,” the Finance Minister said in her budget speech. Stating that her government’s vision of development covers all castes and people at all levels, Sitharaman said the aim is to make India a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed Bharat) by 2047.
“As our Prime Minister firmly believes, we need to focus on four major castes, they are gareeb (poor), mahilayein (women), yuva (youth) and annadata (farmers). Their needs, their aspirations and their welfare are our highest priority,” Finance Minister said while stating that the main focus of the Interim Budget stands on four pillars.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed hope that the good policies and the work done by the Union Government will help the BJP return to power for the third consecutive time in a row. “Our young country has high aspirations, pride in its present and hope and confidence for a bright future. We expect that our government based on its stupendous work will be blessed again by the people with a resounding mandate,” she said.
Rise in capital expenditure by 11.1 per cent to Rs 11.11 lakh crore
The Government proposes to increase capital expenditure outlay by 11.1 per cent to Rs 11.11 lakh crore in 2024-25. A capital expenditure, or capex, is used to set up long-term physical or fixed assets. Last year, which was the last full Budget under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s second term, the government proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which was estimated to be 3.3 per cent of the GDP.
With the substantial increase in capex, it is Union to the Government’s efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd in private investments and provide a cushion against global headwinds. The Indian economy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has witnessed a profound transformation in the last 10 years when the government took several pro-people reforms that were structural, said the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her initial remarks.
“In 2014, the country was facing enormous challenges, the government overcame those challenges and undertook structural reforms, pro-people reforms were undertaken, conditions for jobs and entrepreneurship were set in, fruits of development started reaching people at scale, country got a sense of new purpose and hope,” Sitharaman said.
“In second term, the government strengthened its mantra and our development philosophy covered all elements of inclusivity, namely social and geographical With a whole of nation approach, the country overcame challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, took long strides towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and laid solid foundations for Amrit Kaal.”
She said her government is working towards development which is all round, all inclusive and all pervasive, covering all castes and people at all levels We are working towards making India a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Earlier, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Interim Budget 2024. PM Modi chaired the cabinet meeting ahead of the Interim Budget presentation in Parliament.
The interim budget will take care of the financial needs of the intervening period until a Government is formed after the Lok Sabha polls after which a full budget will be presented by the new government in July. With this Budget Presentation Sitharaman will equal the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who as finance minister, presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964.
The Budget Session of Parliament commenced on January 30 with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
In her address to Parliament, the President said the year 2023 was a historic year for the country and among other steps, the country kept up the momentum of being the fastest-growing major economy. “The year 2023 was a historic year for India when it grew the fastest among major economies despite the global crisis. India grew about 7.5 per cent for two consecutive quarters,” she said. The Indian economy is projected to grow close to 7 per cent in the financial year 2024-25 which starts this April, said the Ministry of Finance in a review report.
India’s economy grew 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. The Indian economy is expected to grow 7.3 per cent in the current financial year 2023-24, remaining the fastest-growing major economy. The last full Budget of Modi government 2.0 had proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which would be 3.3 per cent of the GDP. It was almost three times the outlay in 2019-20.
(with inputs from ANI)
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