New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that the government has been able to keep retail inflation under control at 6.2 per cent despite a fall of Rs 9.57 lakh crore in the Indian economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. . The Finance Minister, while replying to the discussion on the general budget in the Rajya Sabha, said that the budget for the financial year 2022-23 is to bring stability, continuity and confidence in taxation in the economy.
The objective of the budget is to achieve sustainable economic revival. Comparing the performance of the UPA government, the Finance Minister said that the retail inflation rate during the global financial crisis of 2008-09 was 9.1 per cent, while it stood at 6.2 per cent during the Covid pandemic. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a far more adverse effect on the economy. He said the Indian economy suffered a loss of Rs 9.57 lakh crore due to the pandemic as against Rs 2.12 lakh crore in 2008-09 at the time of global slowdown.
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Sitharaman also said that the impact of capital expenditure is wider than that of revenue expenditure and hence the government has emphasized on increasing public capital expenditure to boost the economy. He said that the government is also promoting startups, which has resulted in many ‘unicorns’ (startups with a valuation of over $1 billion) during the pandemic. Sitharaman also said that the difference between the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate estimates in the Economic Survey and the Budget is not a cause for concern. The reason for this difference is the data taken from different sources.
Regarding public expenditure, the Finance Minister said that an expenditure of Rs 7.5 lakh crore will generate employment on a large scale. He said that MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) is a demand based programme. For this, an allocation of Rs 73,000 crore has been made and if the demand increases, the amount will be increased. Sitharaman said that a provision of Rs 79,530 crore was made in the budget for 2021-22 for fertilizer subsidy, which has increased to Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the revised estimate. It tells that the government takes care of the need and takes steps as per the need.
On the allegation of closure of small industries by opposition parties, he said that 67 percent MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) were temporarily closed due to ‘lockdown’. Sitharaman said inflation has gone above the satisfactory limit of 6 per cent only six times since the NDA came to power in 2014. This suggests that inflation management is sound. It is noteworthy that the government has given the responsibility to the Reserve Bank to maintain the inflation based on the Consumer Price Index at four percent with a variation of two percent. He said there is no question of slowdown or slowdown as the GDP growth rate is expected to be 9.2 per cent in the current financial year.
Regarding cryptocurrencies, the Finance Minister said that whether it will be banned or not, it will be decided after ongoing deliberations. “Whether it is legal or not is a different question but I have proposed to tax the profit derived from it as it is our sovereign right,” he said. Referring to the use of drones in the agriculture sector, the Finance Minister said that it will prove to be effective in making Indian agriculture better and modern.