New Delhi: The BJP-led NDA Government on Monday lauded the General Budget for 2016-17 presented by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Parliament, calling it a ‘perfect progressive budget’.
“This is a perfect people’s budget. It is full of development and faith. This budget is to strengthen the youth and the farmers. It is a perfect progressive budget. It has stood up to the people’s expectations,” Minister of State (MoS) for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told the media here.
Echoing similar sentiments, Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal said it’s an outstanding budget.
“I can’t even imagine the vast subject that has been covered in the budget. Truly as the Finance Minister said, it’s a transformational budget and it is the foundation of transforming the nation,” he added.
Dubbing the General Budget as ‘progressive’ and ‘visionary’, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar said this budget is for everyone and a gift for the poor.
Presenting the General Budget proposals for 2016-17 in Parliament today, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government’s agenda is to transform India, with incentives for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, rural employment and development of infrastructure, covering all welfare and health services as well as making India as a knowledge based and productive society.
Jaitley said that government will reorient its intervention in the farm and non-farm sectors to shift focus beyond the country’s food security to farmers’ income security.
He said that a total allocation of Rs.35, 984 crore is proposed for this purpose in order to double the income of farmers by 2022.
He said that a Unified Agricultural Marketing E-Platform will be dedicated to the nation on the birthday of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar on April 14 this year to help the farmers in accessing markets, which is critical for enhancing their income. (ANI)