The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will enable India to become a modern nation, PM Modi told BJP workers on Wednesday. Delivering an address on “Aatmanirbhar Arthvyavastha” (self-reliant economy), the PM hailed the budget for its focus on the poor, middle class and youth and elaborated on many aspects such as the Centre’s measures for the poor, the introduction of digital currency, domestic manufacturing of defence equipment and the development of border areas. He also took a dig at the opposition for playing politics over poverty instead of ameliorating the problem.
PM Modi remarked, “At present, the country is fighting the biggest global pandemic in 100 years. This period of Corona has brought many challenges to the world. The world has come to a standstill at a crossroads where the turning point is fixed. The world that we are about to see next will not be the same as it was before COVID-19.”
He added, “People, globally, want to see an empowered and strong India. It is imperative for us that we take our country forward at a rapid pace and strengthen it across several sectors. This time is to fulfil new aspirations. It is important that India becomes self-reliant and on that pillar, a modern India is created.”
Watch PM Modi’s full address on Budget here
Key aspects of the PM’s address
-
The expansion of the economy
“This budget has several steps to take India on the road towards modernization. In the last 7 years, the decisions taken are continuously enlarging the Indian economy. 7-8 years ago, India’s GDP was Rs.1.10 lakh cr. Today, our GDP is nearly Rs.2.3 lakh crore.”
-
Increase in tap water access
“Now water from taps has started reaching about 9 crore rural houses. Out of this, more than 5 crore water connections have been given under Jal Jeevan Mission in the last two years. It has been announced in the budget that this year about 4 crore rural houses will be given water connections.”
“The picture of the Bundelkhand region of UP and MP is also going to change with the provision of thousands of crores, especially for the Ken-Betwa link. Now fields of Bundelkhand will see more greenery, drinking water will come in the houses, water will come in the fields”. PM Modi’s statement assumes significance ahead of the upcoming UP polls.”
-
Housing for the poor
“Many people in this country made political capital on poverty. One small effort is the Jan Dhan account. When the poor got the Jan Dhan account, his self-respect increased and the poor too came forward in contributing to savings worth lakhs and crores. If a Jan Dhan account can change his life, we can tell how his life is transformed after getting a house.”
“In this year’s budget, there’s provision for 80 lakh pucca houses for the poor. For the same, Rs.48,000 crore has been allotted. This will help them overcome poverty and take them forward.”
-
Development of border villages
“For the security of the nation, our armies, our jawans are engaged day and night, they also put their lives at stake. But for the soldiers posted on the border, the border villages also act as fortresses. Therefore, the patriotic spirit of those border villages is also amazing.”
“We’ve decided that we will develop the villages on India’s borders. For the same, we are moving forward with a holistic approach. Such villages will have all facilities- electricity, water and others and a special provision has been made in the budget.”
-
The Parvatmala scheme
“Parvatmala will provide modern connectivity and infrastructure in the Himalayan region. This will smoothen access to the hills – both for tourists, pilgrims and most importantly, for our defence forces.”
“This will benefit Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Leh Ladakh, and Northeast people. People from the hills have a lot of talent. They have proven their abilities in several sectors, from sports to the defence forces.”
-
Assurance for farmers
“Many types of things have also been spread about MSP. But our government has made record purchases on MSP in the past years. Talking about paddy alone, farmers are expected to get more than Rs.1.5 lakh crore as MSP this season.”
“In this year’s budget, a provision of rupees 68 thousand crores has been made under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. This amount is also more than last year. This will also benefit about 11 crore farmers of the country.”
-
Digital push in education
“The scope of technology has been continuously expanded over the years to provide better opportunities for education and skills to the youth. In this budget, it has been decided to expand it and make it the first digital university. With this poor children will also be able to easily complete big courses with quality education.”
-
Introduction of digital currency
“There is also a lot of discussion about Central Bank Digital Currency in today’s newspapers. This will give a big boost to the digital economy. This digital rupee will be the digital form of our physical currency and it will be controlled by RBI. It can be exchanged with physical currency.”
-
Increase in capital expenditure
“In 2013-14, public investment was at just Rs.1.87 lakh crore. In this year’s budget, we’ve pegged it at Rs.7.5 lakh crore. Compared to UPA, this has seen a 4X rise. This will promote FDI and will create modern infrastructure in the country.”
-
Ease of Business 2.0
“The government is set to kickstart Ease of Doing Business 2.0. We’ve all faced the pandemic together and strongly. Our economy’s fundamentals are strong, the direction is right and our pace is rapid.”
The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will enable India to become a modern nation, PM Modi told BJP workers on Wednesday. Delivering an address on “Aatmanirbhar Arthvyavastha” (self-reliant economy), the PM hailed the budget for its focus on the poor, middle class and youth and elaborated on many aspects such as the Centre’s measures for the poor, the introduction of digital currency, domestic manufacturing of defence equipment and the development of border areas. He also took a dig at the opposition for playing politics over poverty instead of ameliorating the problem. PM Modi remarked, “At present, the country is fighting the biggest global pandemic in 100 years. This period of Corona has brought many challenges to the world. The world has come to a standstill at a crossroads where the turning point is fixed. The world that we are about to see next will not be the same as it was before COVID-19.” He added, “People, globally, want to see an empowered and strong India. It is imperative for us that we take our country forward at a rapid pace and strengthen it across several sectors. This time is to fulfil new aspirations. It is important that India becomes self-reliant and on that pillar, a modern India is created.” Watch PM Modi’s full address on Budget here Key aspects of the PM’s address The expansion of the economy “This budget has several steps to take India on the road towards modernization. In the last 7 years, the decisions taken are continuously enlarging the Indian economy. 7-8 years ago, India’s GDP was Rs.1.10 lakh cr. Today, our GDP is nearly Rs.2.3 lakh crore.” Increase in tap water access “Now water from taps has started reaching about 9 crore rural houses. Out of this, more than 5 crore water connections have been given under Jal Jeevan Mission in the last two years. It has been announced in the budget that this year about 4 crore rural houses will be given water connections.” “The picture of the Bundelkhand region of UP and MP is also going to change with the provision of thousands of crores, especially for the Ken-Betwa link. Now fields of Bundelkhand will see more greenery, drinking water will come in the houses, water will come in the fields”. PM Modi’s statement assumes significance ahead of the upcoming UP polls.” Housing for the poor “Many people in this country made political capital on poverty. One small effort is the Jan Dhan account. When the poor got the Jan Dhan account, his self-respect increased and the poor too came forward in contributing to savings worth lakhs and crores. If a Jan Dhan account can change his life, we can tell how his life is transformed after getting a house.” “In this year’s budget, there’s provision for 80 lakh pucca houses for the poor. For the same, Rs.48,000 crore has been allotted. This will help them overcome poverty and take them forward.” Development of border villages “For the security of the nation, our armies, our jawans are engaged day and night, they also put their lives at stake. But for the soldiers posted on the border, the border villages also act as fortresses. Therefore, the patriotic spirit of those border villages is also amazing.” “We’ve decided that we will develop the villages on India’s borders. For the same, we are moving forward with a holistic approach. Such villages will have all facilities- electricity, water and others and a special provision has been made in the budget.” The Parvatmala scheme “Parvatmala will provide modern connectivity and infrastructure in the Himalayan region. This will smoothen access to the hills – both for tourists, pilgrims and most importantly, for our defence forces.” “This will benefit Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Leh Ladakh, and Northeast people. People from the hills have a lot of talent. They have proven their abilities in several sectors, from sports to the defence forces.” Assurance for farmers “Many types of things have also been spread about MSP. But our government has made record purchases on MSP in the past years. Talking about paddy alone, farmers are expected to get more than Rs.1.5 lakh crore as MSP this season.” “In this year’s budget, a provision of rupees 68 thousand crores has been made under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. This amount is also more than last year. This will also benefit about 11 crore farmers of the country.” Digital push in education “The scope of technology has been continuously expanded over the years to provide better opportunities for education and skills to the youth. In this budget, it has been decided to expand it and make it the first digital university. With this poor children will also be able to easily complete big courses with quality education.” Introduction of digital currency “There is also a lot of discussion about Central Bank Digital Currency in today’s newspapers. This will give a big boost to the digital economy. This digital rupee will be the digital form of our physical currency and it will be controlled by RBI. It can be exchanged with physical currency.” Increase in capital expenditure “In 2013-14, public investment was at just Rs.1.87 lakh crore. In this year’s budget, we’ve pegged it at Rs.7.5 lakh crore. Compared to UPA, this has seen a 4X rise. This will promote FDI and will create modern infrastructure in the country.” Ease of Business 2.0 “The government is set to kickstart Ease of Doing Business 2.0. We’ve all faced the pandemic together and strongly. Our economy’s fundamentals are strong, the direction is right and our pace is rapid.”