Today, the third budget was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. For a long time, due to the global pandemic, the economy was going down. So this budget was much anticipated to present it. The pandemic has lowered the income of people. So to boost up the economic recovery, the Government has presented this budget.
The main focus of the Budget
The budget for this year mainly focuses on the seven pillars to revive the economy. The pillars are- Health and Wellbeing, Inclusive development for aspirational India, Innovation and R & D, Physical and Financial Capital and Infrastructure, Highway, Railway Projects, Reinvigorating Human Capital, and Minimum government maximum governance. Even around the securities market, several regulations are proposed to be merged as a single code. Besides this, several indirect and direct tax amendments are also proposed along with the budget. The budget for health and wellbeing is estimated to be Rs 2, 23,846 crores for the fiscal year 2021-22. And so, the increased allocation is expected to expand and also strengthen the existing national health institutions and also the mobile hospitals. Also, another major highlight was the increase in the FDI limits in the insurance sector from 49% to 74%.
Reasons behind the “circumstances like never before”
Budget is a very risk factor. The finance minister and even the whole government think that the preparation of this budget was undertaken in circumstances. And maybe this is the first time that this kind of decision regarding the budget is taken up by the Finance Minister. Covid-19 has hit India to such a large extent, that many people from all parts of India are left jobless and the income graph of the common people has lowered to a huge scale. Sitharaman also stated that while presenting the budget last year, no one had imagined that the global economy would be pushed to such a contraction.
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The Mini Budget packages
In May last year, the Government had announced the Atmanirbhar packages. And then later, two more in the year including all the measures taken by RBI, the total package was estimated to be about Rs 27.1 lakh crore which was more than 13% of GDP. Even at some point, the Government has stretched the resources for the benefit of the poorest of the poor. Almost, there were five mini-budgets in total. To allow the higher FDI, the government has also decided to amend an Insurance Act.
The PolicyTimes Suggestions
- The proposal to exempt senior citizens from filing income tax returns is in the limelight. Section 194P has been newly inserted which is a good move of the Budget.
- The Budget may have had a mind behind it but certainly no heart behind it. In some cases, the price is too high which readily will hurt the common people.
Reference articles
https://www.zeebiz.com/companies/news-reactions-of-industrialists-on-fm-sitharamans-budget-148117
