Indore (Madhya Pradesh): MP Shankar Lalwani said that the Interim Budget takes forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed India by 2047 and sets the direction for the next 23 years, when the country will be celebrating a century of Independence.
This budget is built on the basis of last year, in line with the Modi government's motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, inclusiveness for the poor, youth, farmers and women, the MP added.
The budget highlighted the work done by the Modi government during the year of India's G-20 presidency, achieving the vision of a prosperous India with nature, modern infrastructure and equal opportunities for all, he said.
Lalwani said that despite inheriting a broken economy with high non-performing assets and a depressed corporate sector, the Modi government implemented the targeted trinity of stimulating public investment, gradually increasing capital expenditure outlay and providing targeted public services. Positive fiscal consolidation has been achieved through a balanced policy. “As a result of these proactive measures, the fiscal deficit is estimated to be reduced to 5.1% of GDP from 5.6% in the previous fiscal year. This puts the country in a position to complete fiscal consolidation by FY 2025-26, with the fiscal deficit expected to be below 4.5% of GDP,” the MP said.
To highlight the Modi government's efforts to transform India from a fragile pre-2014 economy to a world leader in economic management, the government will table a white paper before the Parliament to draw lessons from the previous period of mismanagement.
Lalwani said that in line with the PM's vision of sustainable and long-term development, the budget for expenditure on important projects for the financial year 2024-25 has been increased to Rs 11,11,111 crore, which is equivalent to 3.45 of the country's gross domestic product. This is a significant increase compared to Rs 2,57,641 crore allocated for expenditure in fiscal year 2013-14 during the UPA government, which was only 2.8% of GDP. This implies that spending on critical projects has been increased four times, and this increase is expected to have an approximately 2.45 times positive impact on all sectors of the economy, including infrastructure and social development.
