Budget to bring stability to economy, Nirmala Sitharaman says in Rajya Sabha

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 11

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Budget for 2022-23 stood for continuity, was forward looking and had a vision for 'India at 100'.

It also brings stability to the economy and predictability of taxation, Sitharaman said while replying to budget demand in Rajya Sabha.

The budgetary provisions are aimed at the next 25 years when India will attain 100 years of independence, she said. “If we do not have a vision for the next 25 years, we will end up like 65 years of the Congress when everything was done for a particular family,” she alleged.

She parried the Opposition’s charge that the economy in 2021-22 is marginally above the pre-pandemic levels and that the country lost two years of growth. There were many occasions in the past when the economy had contracted and the loss to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was much higher, she said.

The Indian economy suffered an estimated loss of Rs 9.57 lakh crore due to the pandemic whereas the loss was Rs 2.12 lakh crore during the global meltdown in 2008-09. “Our management of the inflation is that it is only 6.2 per cent and charged,” she said while accusing the Congress of being unable to handle inflation even though the crisis it had faced was less devastating than the pandemic tackled by the Modi government.

On charges that joblessness had risen to unprecedented levels, Sitharaman said the Opposition had cherry-picked the plan to provide 60 lakh jobs in the budgetary provisions. It had not taken into account that Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to encourage the setting up of new manufacturing units which will create many more new jobs. Also, the Rs 7 lakh crore planned to be spent on infrastructure will also generate jobs.

She also deflected criticism that the increase in allocation for Urban Affairs was only for the Central Vista project. The increase in the allocation was actually for the PM Aawas Yojana-Urban, she clarified. Rs 73,000 crore has been provided for rural employment guarantee scheme and will give more if demand comes, she said.

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