India-Bharat gap to narrow down: PM

Singh says Budget will help minimise the impact of global recession

“The focus of the budget is to ensure that the short term requirements of the economy are reconciled with the medium term goals of our social and economic policies. Right now, the major concern is to minimise the impact of the international recession on the Indian economy. And for that it is necessary to provide stimulus to our economy –– that process began in December last year. This budget carries that process further,” Singh said soon after the presentation of the budget.

Congratulating Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for presenting an inclusive budget, he said there were medium term concerns that the growth momentum of the economy must be restored notwithstanding the decline in the international demand for exports.

“The road to do that is to strengthen infrastructure investment both in the public sector and in the private sector through the PPP route. The budget does that admirably well,” he said.

Simultaneously, he said, it also would carry forward the process of inclusive growth, its expenditure programmes taking care of the UPA government’s flagship programmes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Calling it a rural development-oriented budget, he said there had been a record increase in allocation for the NREGS funds, increased money for irrigation benefit schemes and the Bharat Nirman programme.

These programmes will primarily benefit our rural areas and reduce the gap between Bharat and India, he said. Home Minister P Chidambaram also welcomed the budget saying it had been prepared with “great skill and wisdom” aiming at stimulating the economy and returning to the high growth path.

In a statement, Chidambaram pointed out that the biggest stimulus in the budget was the Plan Expenditure of Rs 3,25,149 crore and the Gross Budgetary Support of Rs 2,39,840 crore for the Central Plan. “It is hoped that this, together with other measures announced by the Finance Minister, will give a boost to the economy,” he said. 

“The budget speech contains a number of innovative ideas, including switching over to nutrient-based fertiliser subsidy and moving towards a system where the subsidy is paid directly to the farmer, introducing the National Food Security Act, the prime minister’s Adarsh Gram Yojna for villages with a majority population of SC/STs, and an interest subsidy for educational loans taken by students belonging to economically weaker sections,” he said.

DH News Service