Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday termed misleading claims by opposition leaders that if any state is not named in the Budget speech, then it does not get any budgetary allocation.
Replying to a Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman asserted that no state was being denied money. She recalled that in the past Budgets by the UPA government also did not mention names of all states in their Budget speech.
“I have been picking up on Budget speeches since 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and so on. The Budget of 2004-2005 did not take the name of 17 states. I would like to ask the members of the UPA government at that time – did money not go to those 17 states? Did they stop it?” Sitharaman said.
She was responding to comments by several opposition members that the Budget has provided funds only to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and nothing to other states.
Sitharaman said India is the fastest-growing economy globally and has overcome the after-effects of the pandemic due to heavy capex push.
She also said the government is complying with the fiscal deficit trajectory. It will bring down the deficit to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26 from the targeted 4.9 per cent for the current fiscal. The deficit was 5.6 per cent in 2023-24.
The Budget has provided substantial financial support of Rs 17,000 crore to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir this year. It includes Rs 12,000 crore towards financing the cost of J&K police.
“That’s the burden we want to take on our shoulders,” Sitharaman said.
The central government is complying with the fiscal deficit trajectory and will bring it down to below 4.5% by 2025-26, she said while speaking during the discussions on the Union Budget 2024-25 in Lok Sabha.
Sitharaman said that Budget 2024 allocated increased funds for social sectors including agriculture, education and employment. “We have provided substantial financial support of Rs 17,000 crore in the Union Budget of UT Jammu and Kashmir this year. It includes Rs 12,000 crore towards financing the cost of Jammu and Kashmir Police. That’s the burden we want to take on our shoulders so that Jammu and Kashmir has more flexibility to spend money on development activities,”
Treasury benches on the other hand lauded the Rs 48.2 lakh crore Union Budget presented in Parliament on July 23 saying the country has made all-round development.
Participating in the general discussion on the budget, senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi reeled out data on GDP growth, rising foreign exchange reserves, declining fiscal deficit and a sharp increase in foreign remittances to highlight the achievements of the government on the economic front.
Seeking to counter the charges levelled by opposition parties during the discussion regarding the government favoring corporates, Trivedi said the corporate taxes have been reduced to make the industry competitive.
He pointed out that global MNCs are shifting away their base from China where corporate tax is 25 per cent.
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‘States not ignored’: FM Sitharaman dismisses Opposition’s charge on Budget 2024
