Updated Feb 05, 2021 | 09:40 IST
FM Sitharaman has proposed a sharp increase in expenditure on infrastructure, doubling of healthcare spending and raising the cap on foreign investment in insurance in her third Budget for the next fiscal IMF hails India s focus on growth in Budget 2021
Washington: The IMF has welcomed India s Union Budget for focussing on growth and said fiscal policy can and should play an important role in facilitating a strong and inclusive economic recovery.
Gerry Rice, Director of Communications at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at a press conference here said the Union Budget rightly focuses on health, education, public infrastructure and, if fully implemented, can help increase India s growth potential.
The Union Budget for FY22 proposed to recapitalise public sector banks (PSBs) for Rs 20,000 crore and set up a bad bank to remove non-performing assets (NPAs), two decisions that are likely to boost credit flow.
Last month, the Financial Stability Report (FSR) released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) predicted that banks’ gross non-performing assets (NPAs) may rise to 13.5 per cent by September 2021, from 7.5 per cent in September 2020 under the baseline scenario.
Further, Bajaj mentioned that the Centre had adopted a neutral approach with the National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) and allowed it to decide where it wants to park funds. While NIIF’s investment track record has been under the scanner, the economic secretary said it has pledged equity of Rs 21,000 crore and debt of Rs 8,600 crore.
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The finance secretary clarified that the government tried to remove the incongruity, mentioning that “if the unit gets linked to an investment like a mutual fund, it should also get taxed in the same manner.”
Responding to a query on whether the finance ministry was concerned about rating downgrades due to the expanded fiscal deficit estimate of 9.5 per cent of GDP for the current financial year, Pandey said that rating agencies should take a 360-degree view of India’s reforms undertaken in the time of the Covid-crisis.
The daily quoted him as saying, “It will not be appropriate to go entirely by a simple arithmetic formula of a fiscal deficit. Rating agencies need to see where the amount of money is being spent, on what activity, the kind of asset creation and other reforms which the country is attempting.”
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The proposed budget for the Union Women Child Development Ministry was reduced by over 18 per cent as compared to the last fiscal. Also, there is no allocation earmarked for the Centre’s flagship Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme.
The sum set aside for the ministry in 2021-22 is Rs 24,435 crore. It was Rs 30, 001 last year, which was later revised to Rs 21,008 crore.
Of the total budget, the highest amount Rs 20, 105 crore has been allocated to the newly announced Saksham Anganwadi and Mission Poshan 2.0 scheme.
Mission Poshan 2.0 in an umbrella scheme covering the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan, scheme for adolescent girls and the national creche scheme.