Budget Speech 2021-22
FM Nirmala Sitharaman began her Union Budget 2021 speech at 11 am Monday amid heckling by parliamentarians. Among big-ticket measures, FM proposed a Rs 64,180-crore Aatmanirbhar Swastha Bharat scheme in view of the pandemic.
Budget Speech 2021-22
“Only three times has the Budget followed a contraction in the economy. This time, unlike before, the situation is due to a global pandemic. Budget 2021 provides every opportunity for the economy to capture the pace and grow sustainably,” she began.
The Budget 2021 proposals rest on six pillars —health & well-being, physical & financial capital & infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation & research & development, minimum government and maximum governance, she added.
Benchmark stock indices Nifty and Sensex gave a thumbs up to government’s ‘expansionary budget’ as FM Sitharaman chose the path of additional borrowing instead of taxing the super-rich or raising taxes on high-income individuals.
The FM had earlier promised a “never before” budget not seen in a hundred years to ward off the economic devastation caused by a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic which rendered millions out of jobs, shuttered scores of small businesses and snuffed the spending power of the bottom of pyramid populace.
FM said the government will borrow about Rs 12 lakh crore in FY22, adding that the expenditure for the next fiscal has been pegged at Rs 34.83 lakh crore, which includes Rs 5.54 lakh crore of capital expenditure. The fiscal deficit for FY21 was pegged at 9.5% of GDP and will come down to 6.8 per cent in FY22, she added.
FM Sitharaman during her budget speech said the government made a provision of Rs 15,700 crore for the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in the Union Budget 2021-22.
“We have taken a number of steps to support the MSME sector in this budget. I have provided Rs 15,700 crore more than double the previous year,” said Sitharaman while tabling the Union Budget 2021 in the Parliament on Monday.
“Financial Inclusion: To further facilitate credit flow under the scheme of Stand Up India for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and also women, I propose to reduce the margin money requirement from 25 per cent 15 per cent only and to also include loans for activities in allied activities in agriculture,” she added.
FM proposed direct tax relief for senior citizens of 75 years and above, who are dependent only on pension and interest income, by exempting them from filing the income tax returns.
“We shall reduce the compliance burden on our senior citizens who are 75 years of age & above – for senior citizens who only have pension & interest income, I propose exemption from filing their Income Tax return,” the FM proposed.
For more details download the Budget Speech 2021-22 in PDF format using the official link given below or an alternative link.
Also Check – Budget Speech 2021-22 in Hindi
