‘This Budget forward looking, has vision for India at 100’: Sitharaman

New Delhi: The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said in the Rajya Sabha that the General Budget 2022-23 stood for continuity, was forward looking and has a vision for ‘India at 100’.

Replying to the general discussion on the General Budget 2022-23, she said that stable and sustainable recovery was one of the motives for this Budget and highlighted the importance of emphasising digital technology in governance that will help in transparency in governance beyond easing the process for common man.

Citing the example of Kisan drone, she said that through this technology, the spraying of fertilizers and pesticides will be done quickly and effectively while the crop density and other surveys can be made easily.

Replying to the budgetary provisions aimed at the next 25 years when India will be attaining 100 years of independence, she said that if we do not have a vision for the next 25 years, we will end up like 65 years of Congress when everything was done for a particular family, she alleged.

Noting that there were many occasions in the past when the economy of the country contracted, she further said that this pandemic period of crisis is a big one, and the loss to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is much higher.

“Our management of the inflation is that it is only 6.2 per cent and charged,” she said charging the Congress Members, “lesser crises you could not handle inflation, you took it to 9.1 per cent.”

Replying to the issue of unemployment, Sitharaman said, “One big number that people (opposition) picked up was the 60 lakhs jobs provided in the budgetary provisions, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) which has been now being given for 14 sectors will create 60 lakh jobs in the future.”

Over Rs seven lakh crore is being spent on infrastructure and this will also create jobs, she added.

The Finance Minister also said that questions were asked on the increase in allocation of Urban Affairs, as they (opposition) said that the increase was purely for Central Vista. She clarified that the increase in the Housing Ministry Budget was not for Central Vista, but for the PM Aawas Yojana-Urban.