The big surprise in the Union Budget is the government’s willingness to gamble on the budget deficit. Not since Pranab Mukherjee’s 2009 budget, have we seen such an aggressive budget. The difference, however, is that whilst Mr. Mukherjee ramped up the UPA government s revenue expenditure (especially on NREGA), the NDA government has stepped up capex. The big thrust in this year’s budget is for infrastructure development. The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) is targeted to undertake a total of 7,400 projects this year and a Development Financial Institute (DFI) will be set up with Rs 20,000 crore capitalisation and lending capabilities of 5 trillion over the next three years. This is definitely a big boost for infrastructure projects in the country. In total, government capex for financial year 2021-22 (FY22) is estimated at Rs 5.54 trillion up from Rs 4.39 trillion in FY21, a steep rise which will aid in boosting the economy.
Union Budget 2021: Here is Full Text of Nirmala Sitharaman s Address at the Parliament
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Introduction
Honourable Speaker, the preparation of this Budget was undertaken in circumstances like never before. We knew of calamities that have affected a country or a region within a country, but what we have endured with COVID-19 through 2020 is sui generis. RELATED NEWS
When I presented the Budget 2020-21, we could not have imagined that the global economy, already in throes of a slowdown, would be pushed into an unprecedented contraction.
We could not have also imagined then that our people as those in other countries would have to endure the loss of near and dear ones and suffer hardships brought about due to a health crisis.
Budget stresses on six pillars of Indian economy
By IANS |
Published on
Mon, Feb 1 2021 18:21 IST |
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Post Covid: FY22 Budget to give ample opportunity for economic reset, growth. Image Source: IANS News
New Delhi, Feb 1 : After a Covid hit year, six pillars of health, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development, human capital, innovation and minimum government and maximum governance have been identified as the cornerstones to build a new economy in a New India.
Presenting the Union Budget 2021-22 on Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Budget rests on these six pillars.
There is substantial increase in investment in health infrastructure and the Budget outlay for health and wellbeing is Rs 2.23 lakh crore, as against this year s budget estimates of Rs 94,452 crore, an increase of 137 per cent.
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Budget 2021: Who got what
India s ambitious Budget 2021 had something for everyone. But, infrastructure and healthcare turned out to be the biggest winners. The allocation for the defence sector too wasn t any lesser. In a host of announcements, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought to pull out the country s economy from a creaking financial system, generate more employment opportunities, and ramp up healthcare by prioritizing vaccination for all. There were quite a few firsts during the presentation of the 2021-22 Union Budget in the Lok Sabha. For the first time, the budget went paperless and members were provided soft copies of the speech and documents. The 110-minute speech was her shortest.
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Finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Union government will launch a unified ‘Single Securities Market Code’ in order to streamline the market. While presenting the Union budget for FY21-22, the FM said that market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will be notified as the regulator for a gold exchange. Furhter, the government would create a permanent institutional framework for purchasing investment-grade debt securities.
The unified ‘Securities Market Code’ will include SEBI Act, Govt Securities Act and Depositories Act. All these Acts will be amended for the Code.
The move is aimed at making Indian corporate legal framework simpler, business-friendly and, hopefully, it will help reduce compliance costs. The Securities Market Code is in line with previous discussions on the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA). The Code will help in streamlining the multiple laws, ordinances, guidelines and regulations.