NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, FEB 1
New reforms announced in the Budget will give a push to the economy. The Government has announced many measures in the Budget to push employment in the country, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the nation on the Union Budget 2020-21.
Export and MSME sector drives employment. In the Budget, several new announcements were made to increase exports. Additionally, a new move has been made to make every district an export hub, he said.
National Logistic Policy will benefit trade, business, and employment, Modi added.
“The target to build 100 airports in India will embolden the will of a general Indian. This infrastructure is very important for Indian tourism,” he said.
Removing the dividend distribution tax will give companies Rs. 25,000 crore which will help them to invest further, he added.
“We trust the citizen of India and there will be no need to audit firms with a turnover of till Rs 5 crore. No CA certification would be needed. The limit was previously at Rs 1 crore,” he said.
Budget to provide unprecedented relief to taxpayers: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Union Budget 2020-21 will contribute significantly to fulfilling the Modi government’s resolve to double the income of farmers and provide unprecedented relief to the taxpayers.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Shah also said world-class highways, railways, ports, airports, metros will be built in the country with the allocation of Rs 100 lakh crore.
In this budget, the Modi govt has taken effective steps to rationalize the tax system, boost the basic infrastructure, strengthen the banking system, promote investment and ease of doing business, which will further Modi govt’s resolve to make India a 5 trillion-dollar economy.
— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) February 1, 2020
“In this budget, the Modi government has taken effective steps to rationalise the tax system, boost the basic infrastructure, strengthen the banking system, promote investment and ease of doing business, which will further the Modi government’s resolve to make India a five trillion-dollar economy,” he said.
“I congratulate the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a budget, which will benefit farmers, poor, salaried middle- class and business class,” he said.
Budget 2020 visionary, transformative, all-inclusive: J.P. Nadda
BJP president J.P. Nadda hailed the Union Budget as “visionary, futuristic, growth-oriented, transformative and all-inclusive” and said it will ensure the development of all sections of society.
The Budget gives impetus to the fulfilment of aspirations of the middle-income groups with a focus on home for all by giving subsidy to first time buyers and announcing relaxation in income tax, he said, while noting its emphasis on the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
No strategic idea, anything concrete: Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said there was no strategic idea or anything concrete in the Union Budget and it described the “hollow” approach of the government that was “all talk“.
Talking to reporters outside Parliament soon after the presentation of the budget, he described the budget as repetitive, saying it does not address the main issue of unemployment confronting the country’s youth.
“The main issue is unemployment. I did not see any concrete, strategic idea that could help our youngsters get jobs. There were redundant things in the budget and I did not see any central idea,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said the youth of the country knew exactly what is going on. “There are no jobs. Nothing happened here to help you,” he said.
The budget provides no plan of recovery from economic slowdown: Yechury
“This is the longest non-budget, budget speech. Nirmala Sitharaman is perhaps the only Finance Minister who was asked to lay down her speech to let the members go for lunch,” said CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury.
“And this is when she didn’t give details of the revenue earned by government and its expenditure plans,” he said.
“No plan of recovery from economic slowdown; complete state of denial, no roadmap to overcome basic causes of economic slowdown,” he added.
Visionary budget: Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that the budget presented by the Finance Minister is visionary and will help boost the economy.
In a seven-page statement, Palanisamy welcomes the budget is prepared for overall rural development. Hailing the special schemes for 100 drought districts, he appeals to Seetharaman to bring all districts in Tamilnadu and allocate more funds for the same.
He also welcomes the schemes to encourage farmers to undertake the production of solar energy in fallow lands.
He also appeals to establish the National Police University or the National Forensic Science University in Tamilnadu.
Budget ignores Kerala’s legitimate needs: Pinarayi Vijayan
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the union budget, saying that it would neither help strengthen the economy nor ensure social security or development, but only further increase inflation and unemployment in the country.
All the legitimate needs of the southern State were completely ignored in the budget, though Kerala had submitted a detailed memorandum on its long-pending demands, Mr. Vijayan said.
“Kerala had put forward a slew of demands, including the Angamali-Sabari railway line, raising rubber subsidy, granting of AIIMS, accelerating the development of national highways, increasing the number of attaches in embassies in the Gulf countries, rehabilitation of expatriates and so on,” he said in a statement.
It was only last month that Kerala had been denied deserved natural disaster relief though it was one of the worst flood-hit States in recent times, he said.
In the case of Kerala, the same “political mindset” was reflected in the budget also, he said.
The Centre, which is constantly denying States their rightful share in the matter of GST, was now trying to ‘grab’ their rights in agriculture and land sectors, going against the federal principles, he alleged.
It was also interesting to note that the union budget had no serious mention about the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Chief Minister added
Disappointing budget for Andhra: Finance Minister
Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy expressed displeasure over the Union Budget 2020. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, he said that this was a disappointing budget for the State as the Union Government failed to allocate funds to the State as per the State Reorganization Act.
Minister Rajendranath Reddy further said that the Union Government decreased the state share of GST returns for about Rs 2500 Crores for the year 2018-19, which is a huge loss for the state financially. “All the promises made during state bifurcation are being dragged and kept pending, which is not the right phenomenon for the state. There is no clarity on the revenue deficit, package for the backward districts and Polavaram reimbursement. Even the government failed to provide industrial incentives.” He added.
Speaking on the overall budget of the Union Government, Minister Rajendranath Reddy said that the budget is far from the ground reality and raising numerous questions regarding its implementation. “According to the GST Acthe centre has to pay the state share to the state. Except for 7-8 states all the other states have to get the tax reimbursement. Apart from these there quite a few good decisions in the budget like introducing the Dhanyalakshmi scheme, setting up kosam rail and Krish Udaan. Even bringing new airports and setting up data centre parks is also a good decision as they would create more employment. Also setting up hospitals in the backward areas under Ayushman Bharat will provide health care facilities in those areas.”
Mamata expresses shock over the selling of Centre’s stake in public institutions
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock over the Union Government’s decision to sell its stake in the Life Insurance Corporation ( LIC) and questioned whether the decision indicated the “end of an era”.
I am shocked & appalled to see how the Central Government plans to ambush the heritage & legacy of public institutions.
It’s the end of a sense of security.
Is it also the end of an era?#LIC #IndianRailways #AirIndia #BSNL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 1, 2020
“I am shocked & appalled to see how the Central Government plans to ambush the heritage & legacy of public institutions,” the Chief Minister tweeted, hours after the tabling of the Union Budget in the Parliament.
The step-motherly treatment meted out to Delhi again: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that step-motherly treatment has been meted out to Delhi again in the Union Budget.
Mr. Kejriwal took to Twitter to express his disappointment over the Budget for 2020-21, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, and asked, “When Delhi doesn’t figure in the BJP’s priorities, why should people vote for it?”
“Delhi had high expectations from the Budget, but step-motherly treatment has been meted out to it again,” he posted on the microblogging site in Hindi.
The AAP national convenor also asked that if the BJP was disappointing Delhi before the assembly elections, “will it fulfil its promises after the polls?”
