Prime Minister Narendra Modi characterised the Interim Budget tabled on Thursday as “inclusive and innovative”, one that “carries the confidence of continuity”, a reference to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s assertion in Parliament that it will be yet another Modi-led government that will present the full Budget in July after the Lok Sabha election.
“This Budget will empower all pillars of developed India — the youth, the poor, women, and farmers. It carries the guarantee of strengthening the foundations of Viksit Bharat by 2047,” he said in remarks made directly after the tabling of the Union Budget.
On Wednesday, the start of the Budget Session, Mr. Modi had, in his customary remarks, said that the Interim Budget will not have any major announcements but broad guidelines for the future, and the Budget speech on Thursday reflected that.
Stating that the Budget reflected the aspirations of “young India”, he highlighted two significant announcements in the Budget — that of a fund of ₹1 lakh crore for research and innovations, and the extension of tax exemptions for start-ups.
“We set a big goal, achieve it, and then set an even better goal for ourselves,” he said, referring to the target to build two crore more houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and create three crore ‘Lakhapati Didis’ as part of women’s empowerment.
He added that keeping the fiscal deficit under control at a time when the total expenditure had seen a historic rise to ₹11,11,111 crore in this Budget was “in the parlance of economists, hitting a sweet spot”.
“It will create millions of new employment opportunities for the youth along with the creation of modern infrastructure of the 21st century,” Mr. Modi said. He singled out measures taken by his government for the poor and the middle class, including the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana, the roof-top solar campaign where one crore families are to avail free electricity while also have the potential to earn ₹15,000-18,000 annually by selling excess electricity to the government.
He made a special mention of the tax remission scheme announced in Thursday’s Budget speech that is expected to provide relief for one crore tax payers caught up in disputes with tax authorities over petty amounts from as far back as the 1960s, stating that this too would give relief to the middle class.
