Countering Opposition charge that the 2019-20 Budget does not have a vision, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that her Budget will carry forward the vision for a changing India set by Narendra Modi government in its first term.

Replying to a 12-hour-long debate in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, she said the mid-course target will be to reach a $5-trillion economy.

She said the total resources transferred to the States under the Centrally-sponsored schemes have increased by ₹2,44,298 crore than the actuals for 2017-18. She also claimed that the expenditure has shown an increase from comparative budget estimates (BE) of 2018-19. “The gross tax receipts are budgeted at ₹24,61,195 crore in BE 2019-20, which marks an increase of ₹2,13,020 crore, which is a rise of 9.48 per cent over the RE of 2018-19,” she said.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram had alleged that the Centre has set unrealistic targets for revenue collection. “The Centre’s net tax revenue is estimated to be ₹16,49,582 crore, again, with an increase of ₹1,65,176 crore which is 11.13 per cent over the Revised Estimates of 2018-19. The non-tax revenue receipts are estimated at ₹3,13,179 crore in the BE of 2019-20. The revenues expected from disinvestment are budgeted at a realistic ₹1,05,000 crore in BE of 2019-20. So, I just want to very clearly make a point to reiterate that every estimate of receipts, and the projections that we have given are realistic, applying our mind to the points,” Sitharaman said.

Adequate provisions

She said adequate provisions are made for defence expenditure, pensions and salaries, internal security and other welfare programmes and establishment expenditures of the government. “So, to fully finance these expenditure commitments, necessary resource mobilisation from tax and non-tax revenues have all been envisaged,” she added.

She said measures such as further liberalisation of FDI policy and lowering of corporate tax to the level of 25 per cent for those whose annual turnover limit to ₹400 crore, income-tax deduction of ₹1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loan to purchase of electrical vehicle etc will encourage domestic investment.

She said to give focussed attention to issues of growth, the government has constituted the five-member Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth, chaired by the Prime Minister.

On NPAs

She said to address the NPAs, the Centre has taken comprehensive steps. “Change in the credit culture was affected with Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, which fundamentally exchanging the creditor-borrower relationship. The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act has been amended,” she said.

Maintaining NDA’s commitment that farmers’ income will be doubled by 2022, she said the Centre has adopted a lot of strategies based on the recommendations of the Committee on Doubling Farmers Income. “Today, thanks to our policies, our foodgrains production is 289 million tonnes, horticulture output is 385 million tonnes and milk production is 187 million tonnes,” she said.

comment COMMENT NOW