Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses the officers of the Income Tax department from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh region, in Bhopal.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that she wished she could bring down the taxes in the country to “almost nil” but India’s challenges are severe and they have to be overcome.

Ms. Sitharaman made the statement while addressing students at the 11th convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal.

She said the government has invested heavily in the renewable energy sector and that India is leading in implementing the commitments given in various climate-related conferences like the COP summits.

“The world has promised a lot of money towards transitioning from fossil fuel to renewable energy but that money is yet to come. But India didn’t wait. The promises given in Paris (Paris Agreement) were fulfilled with our own money. There are times when being the Finance Minister, it doesn’t give me motivation when I have to answer people about why our taxes are like this. Why can’t we even be lower than this? I wish I can bring it down to almost nil. But India’s challenges are severe and challenges will have to be overcome,” she said.

“The government is not just talking. It’s putting money into R&D (research and development). I will emphasise and give you some data on that so that you have the confidence that this country and the money it earns out of taxation,” she said, adding that it was her job to generate revenue but not to trouble people.

Ms. Sitharaman highlighted that the country needs money to be able to fund research. “Anyone who disagrees? Do we need to fund research or not?” Mr. Sitharaman asked the crowd.

Sharing insights into the government’s funding for various research and innovation initiatives, Ms. Sitharaman said that in the Interim Budget of 2024, before the Lok Sabha elections, the government announced the establishment of an ‘Anusandhan Kosh’, a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore to provide long-term financing to support research and innovation in sunrise domains.

“We are strengthening Deep-Tech technologies, which will help the Defence Sector become ‘Aatmanirbhar’. ‘Innovation, Research & Development’ is one of the key priorities of our government’s policies for making sure India becomes a developed nation by 2047,” she said.

“We recently approved the ‘India AI Mission’ with a budget outlay of ₹10,300 crore for building computing infrastructure, developing indigenous AI capabilities, attracting AI talent, and financing AI start-ups,” she noted.

“The National Green Hydrogen Mission launched in January 2023 has an outlay of around ₹20,000 crore for 5 years, that will make India a global hub for the production, usage and export of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives and enable India to be energy independent by 2047,” she said.

The Finance Minister said that under the India Semiconductor Mission, launched in 2021, the work has already begun on three units for assembling, testing and packaging of semiconductor chips. “They’re being setup in Gujarat and Assam. More States are coming forward for the same,” she said.

She also attended an interactive session with the Income Tax officers of the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh region.

New Delhi:
INDIA bloc parties will stage protests in and outside Parliament today against what they describe as “discrimination” against opposition-ruled states in the recently unveiled Union Budget.

1. The high-level meeting saw participation from several prominent leaders, including the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress’ deputy leaders in both houses Pramod Tiwari and Gaurav Gogoi, NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, TMC’s Derek O’Brien and Kalyan Banerjee, DMK’s TR Baalu, JMM’s Mahua Maji, AAP’s Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas. Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh were also present.

2. “The concept of a budget has already been destroyed by this year’s Union Budget. They have completely discriminated against most of the states. So, the general sentiment of the INDIA bloc meeting was we have to protest against this,” said Mr Venugopal claimed following the meeting. He later expressed on social media that the budget was “extremely discriminatory and dangerous,” going against the principles of federalism and fairness.

3. As part of their protest, Congress chief ministers will also boycott the NITI Aayog meeting scheduled for July 27. “This government’s attitude is completely antithetical to Constitutional principles. We will not participate in an event that is solely designed to hide the true, discriminatory colors of this regime,” Mr Venugopal alleged.

4. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for 2024-25, marking her seventh consecutive budget presentation, surpassing former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record. This budget is the first under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term in office. During her speech, Ms Sitharaman said that the country’s inflation remains stable and is moving towards 4 per cent, with core inflation at 3.1 per cent.

5. “The ‘#BudgetForViksitBharat’ ensures inclusive growth, benefiting every segment of society and paving the way for a developed India,” wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. 

6. Speaking exclusively with NDTV, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that “no one with a sane mind” will criticise the 2024 Union Budget. “I feel this Budget lays the strongest-ever foundation for ‘atmanirbhar’ Bharat because the Prime Minister has already given a clear-cut vision to make India a developed nation by 2047,” he said. 

7. Ms Sitharaman highlighted several key points in the budget, including rewards for key NDA allies, tax relief for new taxpayers, and a focus on job creation for youth. 

8. The budget introduced several changes to the tax regime, increasing the standard deduction in the new tax regime from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 and revising tax slabs to benefit a broader range of income groups. Salaried employees can now save up to Rs 17,500 in income tax under the new slabs.

9. Additionally, the budget included a major announcement for professionals entering the workforce. The government will provide one month’s salary as a Provident Fund contribution for first-time employees, benefiting an estimated 210 lakh youngsters. Additional measures include raising the exemption limit for capital gains on some financial assets to Rs 1.25 lakh per year and abolishing angel tax for all classes of investors.

10. The budget also earmarked significant projects for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, states whose political leaders recently aligned with the BJP to secure a parliamentary majority. For Bihar, the budget outlines the development of expressways and a power plant, while Andhra Pradesh will see infrastructure projects prioritised, including substantial financial support for capital development.

Post a comment

Chandigarh:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused the Congress on Sunday of “spreading lies and creating a false narrative” against the BJP-led Centre, and asked the party workers to counter this “falsehood” with facts and data.

Nirmala Sitharaman said this while addressing a meeting of the Chandigarh BJP state executive. Later, she also held a meeting with traders to understand their issues and know their demands.

Referring to the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the Congress has now failed to touch the 250-seat mark in the last 10 general elections.

“Even then, they have an artificial confidence,” she said while pointing towards the Congress’s performance in the last 10 Lok Sabha polls.

“The INDI alliance, comprising 13 political parties, could manage to win just 232 seats, while the BJP on its own won 240 seats,” Nirmala Sitharaman said.

She also pointed out that the Congress could not win a single seat in 14 states in this year’s Lok Sabha election.

The finance minister accused the Congress of “spreading lies” and trying to twist certain statements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Union minister Nitin Gadkari in order to create a “false narrative”.

Slamming the Congress for its “lies”, she alleged that the opposition party tried to “spread falsehood” on many issues, including the compensation given to people in Ayodhya for their land acquired for building the Ram temple, the Agnipath scheme for short-term military recruitment and electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Nirmala Sitharaman said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself had stated that his government had given a total compensation amount of Rs 1,733 crore for the land acquired for the Ram temple.

She also accused the Congress of giving false statements against the Agnipath scheme.

“We should seriously understand the strategy of the Congress. Attempts are being made to attack the BJP by making wrong statements, spreading lies and creating a false narrative,” the finance minister said.

She said every “false statement” the opposition party spreads, even on social media, should be countered instantly with facts and data.

Further taking on the Congress, Nirmala Sitharaman said the opposition party and its sympathisers went to courts against several decisions taken by the Centre in the last 10 years, including those related to the Ram temple, abrogating the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, demonetisation, the Central Vista project, the appointment of the chief election commissioner, the National Education Policy and the Mumbai metro project.

On the conduct of Congress leaders in Parliament, she said they raise questions in the House but when ministers give replies to those questions, they stage a walkout.

“That is not the role of a constructive opposition,” she said.

The Union minister said Modi got the mandate to form the government for a third straight time in the Lok Sabha polls.

Similarly, the Congress got less than 100 seats for playing the role of a responsible opposition, she added.

“The Congress must understand that like people give votes to form the government, they gave them votes to remain in the opposition,” she said.

But the Congress is yet to understand this, she asserted.

Nirmala Sitharaman said the government has announced that June 25, the day when the Emergency was declared in 1975, would be observed as “Samvidhan Hatya Diwas”.

“It will remind people of what happened on June 25, 1975 and why did it happen,” she said, adding that every opposition leader was put in jail during that period.

The Union minister asserted that the country is moving forward. “We have very good growth in every sector,” she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 27 said the Modi Government has reshaped the Union budget in the last 10 years from a mere record of expenditures to a strategic blueprint for equitable distribution.

The Minister asserted that the government would continue to maximise the value of taxpayers’ money by putting it to the best possible use.

She said the Modi Government has prioritised transparency in its budgeting practices and numbers. Countries with transparent budgets are often viewed more favourably by international bodies such as the IMF and World Bank. This can lead to improved global trust.

“This starkly contrasts the @INCIndia-led UPA government’s repetitive practice of hiding the deficits through off-budget borrowings and issuance of ‘Oil Bonds’, which somewhat covertly shifted the fiscal burden to future generations. Under UPA, standard fiscal practices were routinely changed to make Budget numbers look favourable,” Ms. Sitharaman said in a series of posts on X.

She said the last decade has witnessed a substantial improvement in the sanctity and credibility of the Union Budget, leaving past constraints and archaic practices behind.

“Our government has reshaped the budget from a mere record of expenditures into a strategic blueprint for equitable development. We make judicious & efficient use of every rupee collected from our taxpayers and give them a transparent picture of public finances,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

Further, she said the Union Budgets under the Modi Government are characterised by fiscal prudence, transparency, and inclusiveness, ensuring investments in social development and infrastructure.

Ms. Sitharaman said the Union Government administers 108 Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) through State and UT Governments, with a budget of approximately ₹5.01 lakh crore for FY 2024-25 and ₹4.76 lakh crore for FY 2023-24.

“Previously, it was challenging to ascertain the timeliness and amount of funds released to the implementing agencies under a CSS and to determine whether the funds were from the Centre or the State. Under the SNA model, each State has to identify and designate a Single Nodal Agency (SNA) for every Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS),” the Minister said.

She said effective implementation of the SNA model has brought about greater efficiency in CSS fund utilisation, tracking of funds, and pragmatic and just-in-time release of funds to the states, ultimately contributing to better cash management and savings for the government.

The unspent balance parked in more than 15 lakh bank accounts of implementing agencies was consolidated into 4,500 bank accounts of SNAs. The SNA System also significantly reduced the possibility of fund diversion by the State or Implementing Agencies earmarked for a particular CSS, she said.

The Modi Government, the Minister said, is committed to harnessing cutting-edge technology, enhancing transparency, and pursuing ongoing reforms to lay a strong foundation for a Viksit Bharat.

“We will continue to maximise the value and impact of hard-earned taxpayer money, ensuring it is put to the best possible use for the benefit of all,” she said.

People watch the live budget speech telecast from Parliament House, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 on February 01, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 presented her sixth consecutive Budget with a speech lasting 56 minutes, her shortest-ever.

Dressed in a turquoise-coloured embroidered Kantha silk saree, as Ms. Sitharaman delivered her speech, it was lauded at regular intervals by the treasury benches — her remarks on the presentation of the full budget by “our government” in July receiving the loudest cheer.

Union Budget 2024 | Follow live updates here

The opposition members listened to Ms. Sitharaman’s budget speech with rapt attention, barring some voices of disapproval to the Minister’s reference to her government returning to power after the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, BJP members raised slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai, Jai Shri Ram, Jai Siya Ram as Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Lok Sabha chamber and took his seat a few minutes before 11:00 a.m.

At 56 minutes, it was Ms. Sitharaman’s shortest budget speech. She also holds the distinction of delivering the longest budget speech at two hours and forty minutes in 2020.

Also Read: Union Budget | Indian economy witnessed profound positive transformation in last 10 years, says Nirmala Sitharaman

In 2019, as India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister, Ms. Sitharaman’s budget speech had lasted for two hours and 17 minutes. In 2021, her speech lasted for one hour and 50 minutes, followed by 92 minutes in 2022 and 87 minutes in 2023.

Ms. Sitharaman’s budget speech found no mention of Tamil poets and thinkers unlike previous occasions, but she referred to Prime Minister Modi at least eight times and quoted from his speeches.

The public galleries saw thin attendance with a few Rajya Sabha members occupying seats in Gallery 2, while relatives of Finance Minister Sitharaman — Krishnamurthy Lakshminarayan and Vidya Lakshminarayan — and her daughter Vangmayi Parakala were seated in the first row of Gallery 3.

Ms. Sitharaman, Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad, and top officers from the Finance Ministry called on President Droupadi Murmu before presenting the Budget.

The President gave Ms. Sitharaman a spoonful of curd and sugar and extended her best wishes for the presentation of the Union Budget.

In her budget speech, Ms. Sitharaman coined new expansion of FDI – First, Develop India and for GDP – Governance, Development and Performance.

Also Read: Govt to take up next-generation reforms to facilitate growth: Sitharaman

“Besides delivering on high growth in terms of Gross Domestic Product, the government is equally focused on a more comprehensive ‘GDP’, i.e., ‘Governance, Development and Performance’,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

In 2019, Finance Minister Sitharaman did away with the traditional Budget briefcase and instead went for a ‘bahi-khata’ with the national emblem to carry the speech and other documents on a tablet computer, a tradition she stuck to on February 1.

JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lalan’ Singh, whose party re-joined the NDA last week, was seen applauding the budget speech on regular occasions.

The Prime Minister walked up to Ms. Sitharaman at the conclusion of her speech and congratulated her for the presentation of the interim budget.

Several Ministers were also seen congratulating Ms. Sitharaman after her speech.

A man watches FM Nirmala Sitharaman read her Budget speech at an electronic shop in Mumbai, on Feb. 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Government will come out with a White Paper on the mismanagement of economy prior to 2014 with an aim to draw lessons. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA came to power in May 2014 after a 10-year rule by Congress-led UPA at the Centre.

“It is now appropriate to look at where we were then till 2014 and where we are now, only for the purpose of drawing lessons from the mismanagement of those years. The Government will lay a White Paper on table of the House,” she announced while presenting the interim Budget for the next financial year on Feb 1.

She said in 2014 when the Modi Government assumed the reins, the responsibility to mend the economy step by step and to put the governance systems in order was enormous. The need of the hour, she said, was to give hope to the people, to attract investments, and to build support for the much-needed reforms. “The government did that successfully following our strong belief of ‘nation-first’,” Ms. Sitharaman said.

Also read: Interim Budget 2024 Live

She further said the crisis of those years has been overcome, and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path with all-round development.

Ms. Sitharaman began her nearly an hour long Budget speech emphasising that the Indian economy has witnessed profound positive transformation in the last ten years. The people of India are looking ahead to the future with hope and optimism, she said.

“With the blessings of the people, when our Government under the visionary and dynamic leadership of Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, the country was facing enormous challenges,” the Minister said.

Ms. Sitharaman, who was presenting her sixth Budget, said that with ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ as its ‘mantra’, the government overcame those challenges in right earnest. Structural reforms were undertaken, pro-people programmes were formulated and implemented promptly, and conditions were created for more opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.

“The economy got a new vigour. The fruits of development started reaching the people at scale. The country got a new sense of purpose and hope. Naturally, the people blessed the government with a bigger mandate (2019),” she added.

With the ‘whole of nation’ approach of Sabka Prayas, Ms. Sitharaman said the country overcame the challenge of a once-in-a-century pandemic, took long strides towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, committed to Panch Pran, and laid solid foundations for the Amrit Kaal.

“We expect that our Government, based on its stupendous work, will be blessed again by the people with a resounding mandate,” the Minister said. The general elections to elect the next Lok Sabha are likely to be held in April-May this year.