The Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman begins presenting first-ever ‘paperless’ Budget 2021 in the Parliament. She has switched from bahi-khata to tablet to present a digital budget.
Government is committed to welfare of farmers, said minister Sitharaman amid loud protests from opposition members. Over Rs 75,000 crore paid to wheat farmers in 2020-21, 43.36 lakh benefited from this. Total amount paid to paddy farmers surged to Rs 1.72 lakh crore in 2020-21.
Finance minister proposes increase in agriculture credit target to Rs 16.5 lakh crore.
Budget 2021 has provided a boost to the renewable energy sector. The finance minister informed Rs 1,000 crore allocation to solar energy corporation and Rs 1,500 to renewable energy development agency.
Rs 3.05 lakh crore outlay is for power sector in budget 2021-22.
Finance Minister informed 217 projects worth over Rs 1 lakh crore completed under National Infrastructure Pipeline. She said the government will introduce a bill to setup a developmental financial institution with Rs 20,000 crore.
As part of the Union Budget 2021, seven textile parks to come up over three years. More economic corridors being planned to boost road infrastructure. The government also aims to complete 11,000 km of national highway infrastructure this year, informed Sitharaman.
Finance minister announces outlay of Rs 2.87 lakh crore for Jal Jeevan Mission Urban.
Also, Sitharaman proposes Rs 2,217 crore outlay for 42 urban centers to tackle air pollution.
Budget proposals for 2021-22 rest on six pillars, said the finance minister. The total budget outlay for healthcare and wellness is Rs 2.23 lakh crore. This is an increase of 137 per cent from last year, she informed. She also announced Rs 35,000 crore for COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines will be rolled out across the country. This will prevent over 50,000 child deaths annually.
Rs 64,180 crore will be invested over six years to improve primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. This is in addition to National Health Mission, said the finance minister.
Today, India has two COVID19 vaccines available and has begun safeguarding not only its citizens but also those from hundreds of other countries. India has one of the lowest COVID19 mortality rates, said the minister.
The minister said that during the lockdown last year, PM Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojna worth Rs 2.76 lakh crore for the poor and the needy. The Atmanirbhar packages introduced by the government were like five mini budgets themselves, she added.
The Atmanirbhar packages introduced by the government were like five mini budgets themselves, said the minister. The government is committed to support the poor and vulnerable.
Earlier in the morning, Sitharaman, and the MoS finance and corporate affairs, Anurag Thakur, met President Ram Nath Kovind.
Ahead of the Budget presentation, the prime minister Narendra Modi chaired the Union Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet meets ahead of Parliament session every year to approve the Budget. The meeting just got over and the Cabinet has approved Budget 2021.
The Budget copies are expected to be disseminated digitally. The documents will be upload on the government website as well as the Union Budget special app
