'Focus on areas that have not received full support': BJP on upcoming Union Budget

As the nation looks forward to the Union Budget of the year, the BJP on Thursday said that Union Budget 2021 will be a game-changer with a focus on areas that have not received full support. Addressing a press conference on Thursday just a day before the beginning of the Budget Session of the Parliament i.e. from January 29, the BJP has asserted that the economic recovery of India post-COVID is strong and widespread across all segments. 

"PM Modi does not believe in maintaining the status quo and he has decided to bring in transformative changes. Since 2014 he has started schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana and PM Kalyan Yojana for the benefit of the citizens of the country. Good economics is good politics - is the motto of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said in the press conference.

"Budget 2021 will be a game-changer and will focus on areas that have not received full support. We are going to identify such areas that need further support. We are working towards a resurgent India and Atmanirbhar Bharat," he added.

"RBI in its report has written that 'After a winter of discontent, we are moving towards a glorious summer.' The IMF's report that shows India's growth rate at 11.5 per cent is also a strong indicator. The report also suggests that India will continue to hold its tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy. The PMI data for 3 consecutive months has shown expansion in manufacturing. IIP figures on eight core sectors show healthy growth. Labour force participation, too, in the post-COVID era, has seen 85 per cent recovery in mobility," he said.

Further backing his claim Agarwal said that the GST collections have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in the last 3 months, while the Credit growth has increased by over 7 per cent and government expenditure has crossed 248 per cent. "The central government has continued spending hugely on infrastructure, social security, and welfare. Agriculture has shown a growth of 3.4 per cent," he added.

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Union Budget 2021-22

This year's Union Budget will be different from the earlier budgets as for the first time in the history of India, the government decided not to print documents related to the Union Budget. Last year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman discarded the colonial custom of carrying the budget in a briefcase. Instead, she had carried the budget in a bahi-khata resonating with Indian customs. However, this year, the government has decided to ditch the bahi-khata too, as the copies of the budget and Economic Survey that contains an account of the state of the economy, will be circulated digitally to the parliamentarians. The Budget documents will be available on the Mobile App - “Union Budget Mobile App” after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament on 1st February 2021. The two-part Union Budget session will start from January 29 till February 15 and the second session will take place between 8 March and 8 April.

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