NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the “first budget of Amrit Kaal” and said that it will lay a strong foundation for building a developed India. The PM said that the budget gives priority to the deprived and will fulfill the dreams of the aspirational society, the farmers and the middle class.
“The first budget of the Amrit Kaal will build a strong foundation for building a developed India. It gives priority to the deprived. This budget will fulfill the dreams of an aspirational society including poor people, middle class people, and farmers. I congratulate Nirmala Sitharaman and her team for this historic budget”, PM Modi said in a televised address.
Noting that the PM Vishvakarma Kaushal Samman scheme will bring a huge change in the lives of ‘Vishvakarmas’, the Prime Minister said that for the first time, schemes relating to their support has been incorporated into the budget.
“Those toiling traditionally with their hands for the country, the ‘Vishvakarmas’, are the creators of this country. For the first time, a scheme related to training and support for ‘Vishvakarma’ has been brought into the budget. Preparations have been made for their training, technology, credit and market support. The PM Vishvakarma Kaushal Samman, means PM-VIKAS, will bring about a huge change in the lives of crores of Vishwakarmas”, the Prime Minister said.
Modi also underlined the government’s efforts to enhance the lives of women. “The government has taken several steps to make the lives of women, in rural and urban areas, easy. Women’s self-help groups will further enhance them. Special savings scheme will be started for empowering women in households”, the PM said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. This was the third time in a row that the government presented the budget in a paperless form.
The highlights of the budget included big incentives under the new income tax regime. The IT rebate limit in the new regime has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh and the new tax regime will be the default tax regime, the Finance Minister said. Capital expenditure outlay has been increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, accounting for 3.3 per cent of the GDP. (ANI)