Budget 2024 debate💬
This was the first general budget of the 18th Lok Sabha.An allocation of ₹1.52 lakh crore has been made for the year 2024-25.
The government aims to make India a developed country by 2047.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday responded to Budget 2024-25 debate in Lok Sabha and slammed Opposition parties for ‘misleading claims’ that the Budget has provided funds only to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and nothing to other states.
If a state's name is not mentioned in Budget speech, it doesn't mean that no money is given to them," said Nirmala Sitharaman.
Recalling that the UPA government budgets also did not mention names of all states in their Budget speech, Sitharaman said that she has 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? If they have stopped it, then they have every business to raise questions," asked the Finance Minister.
Budget 2024-25, she said, tries to bring in a balance among many objectives such as growth, employment, welfare spending, capex, and fiscal consolidation, and has not reduced allocations for any social sector.
Following the Budget announcement, the Opposition accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of favouring its allies- the JD(U) in Bihar and the TDP in Andhra Pradesh.
Refuting allegations of not adhering to the principle of 'cooperative federalism', Sitharaman said that no money is being denied to any state. She said that all states are getting what is due to them.
Core elements of Budget 2024
Sitharaman said that the core elements of social inclusivity and geographical inclusivity has been highlighted in the Budget. "We are taking a whole of nation approach to meet the aspirations of people. The expenditure of this govt has grown exponentially, at Rs 48 lakh cr in FY25."
Sitharaman highlighted the Modi government's increased focus on quality expenditure through capex even as the government is adhering to its promise of fiscal consolidation.
In FY22, I promised that the government will bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by FY26. From Covid-era high, we have kept in touch to the projection and complying to the target given by us.
UPA vs NDA
Countering the Opposition with the policies introduced by the UPA government, Sitharaman said that leaders in the latter dispensation from top schools couldn't control inflation.
Harvard, Oxford-educated leaders used to run the country during UPA but they did not know when to withdraw stimulus leading to high inflation between 2009-13," claimed Sitharaman.
In comparison, Sitharaman said, inflation under the NDA government wasn't affected by Covid-19 as badly.
Savings have increased under NDA: Sitharaman
Sitharaman claimed that household savings in India have increased in the last ten years by upto 17 per cent.
"Net financial savings of the household sector has risen from Rs 8.32 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs 14.16 lakh crore in 2023-24. Potentially, 20 per cent of Indian households are channeling their household savings into financial markets," said Sitharaman.
Household savings had touched a peak of Rs 23.29 lakh crore in FY21, the year which saw the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Following that it has been on a decline. It then fell to Rs 17.12 lakh crore in 2021-22 and further to Rs 14.16 lakh crore in 2022-23, data showed.
She also accused UPA of not being transparent enough. "Lack of transparency was seen in UPA, not NDA," she added
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