Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that Finance Minister’s more than two-hour long presentation of Budget 2020 was “too long” for him to absorb it.
The Finance Minister went on for 160 minutes without a break—the longest budget speech in India’s post-independence period. The speech in fact had to be abruptly cut short only because Sitharaman felt unwell.
“It’s such a long budget, I was unable to absorb it,” was all that reporters got from Manmohan Singh.
Sitharaman had only two pages of her Budget speech unread when she appeared uneasy and was seen wiping sweat from her forehead.
She was offered candies by her ministerial colleagues, but that did not help and she opted to discontinue the speech asking Speaker Om Birla to consider the remaining part of her speech as read.
She broke her own record of a 2-hour-17-minute-long maiden Budget speech in July 2019.
Rahul Gandhi : Unemployment and Economy review concern are out of budget
On a question about the Budget speech of Finance Minister, Rahul Gandhi said- the main issues facing in this country today are unemployment and the situation as far as economy is concerned. I didn’t see any concrete idea, any strategic idea that could help our youngsters to get jobs. I saw lot of tactical stuff, you know, redundant things. I didn’t see any central idea.
I think, it describes the government quite well. How many hours it was? more than 2 hours, 45 minutes I think, I don’t remember exact time. Lot of repetitions, lot of rambling, nothing concrete, so, it is the mindset of the Government, all talk, all talk, all talk, nothing happening, but, the country is off course suffering. You can ask and I will speak directly to the youngsters in university and college.
FICCI welcomes the Budget
Budget 2020 empowers India, Industry and individuals. Commenting on the Union Budget 2020-21 presented today, Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, “Given the constraints that the Finance Minister was facing, this has been a comprehensive statement. The government has done a commendable job and the various measures announced will strengthen India, individuals and industry. By invoking the deviation clause in FRBM Act and relaxing the fiscal deficit to 3.8 per cent in the current year and targeting 3.5 per cent in the next year, the government has underscored its resolve to support the economy at a time when it needs a fiscal boost. This was FICCI’s key suggestion to the government and through this we expect more money will be left in the hands of the people that will spur consumption and industrial growth. Much of this money will go towards capital expenditure in infrastructure and agriculture sector – two areas that can have the maximum growth enhancing impact.”
On budget, Mahendra Singhi, President, Cement Manufacturers Association & Managing Director and CEO, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited reacted as
“The Cement Industry welcomes the Government’s intent to push infrastructure development. The emphasis on highways and roads development is well placed. This captures the priorities of economic development and an aspirational India. We would hope that rural demand gets revived and it assists in job creation. We are actively engaged in dialogue with the Ministry of Commerce on the National Logistics Policy and would expect some of our considerations for upgradation and modernisation of rail infrastructure are particularly carried through. Thirdly, the Cement Industry has also been an active partner to the Government in the Swachh Bharat Mission. Reference and priority in this context being accorded to source segregation and processing should add to creating a more facilitating environment for the role expected of the Cement Industry in waste management given that Polluter to Pay principle has been outlined in the National Resource Efficiency Policy. Overall good to see Budget 2020-21, which reiterates the priorities for economic development. We would look forward to these taking shape. The reaffirmation of commitment towards clean air, Climate Change mitigation efforts are most welcome. More policy interventions to revive real estate and housing would be welcome. Infrastructure development, new 100 airports and emphasis on road would go a long way to revive cement demand.”
Neeraj Akhoury, Vice President, Cement Manufacturers Association & CEO and Managing Director, ACC Limited
said “The special emphasis on infrastructure development that the Government has undertaken over the past few months has been strengthened in the Budget announcement today by the Hon’ble FM. The focus on project preparation facilities for infra projects and the national logistics policy that will be released soon should help boost infrastructure and have a positive impact on the economy. Budget 2020-21 aims at making growth more inclusive while retaining focus on the immediate priorities. Priorities given to household, roads, railways, economic corridors, solar power, accelerated development of highways should help boost development and wealth creation. The Cement industry is committed towards playing a strong role in the Government’s aspirational agenda for transformative economic growth.”
The significant move of putting more money in the hands of people is visible by: a) Personal income tax reduction; b) Rural and Agri push.
Padma Shri Awardee, Dr K K Aggarwal said among the huge expectations surrounding the union budget 2020, there have been some good measures taken by the government. The finance ministry has proposed INR Rs 8,000 crore outlay over 5 years for the National Mission of Quantum Technology and Application. The allocation of INR Rs 69,000 crore for the health sector comes at a time when emphasis on this segment is pertinent. With a holistic vision of healthcare, Mission Indradhanush has been extended to cover new diseases and vaccines. This is a good move considering the rise in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and new epidemics. The PPP mode hospitals to be set up in 112 aspirational districts is also a welcome step. Access to quality and affordable healthcare is the need of the hour and expansion of the Jan Aushadhi Kendras in all districts of country will help achieve this.
The government also aims to strengthen the TB Harega, Desh Jeetega campaign to end the prevalence of the condition by 2025. Air, water, and sanitation are three issues which need immediate attention in the country. We are happy to see that allocation towards all three has been adequate and that provision of clean air is one of the primary motives of the government.
There is a shortage of qualified medical doctors both general practitioners and specialists; it is proposed to attach a medical college to a district hospital in PPP mode. This is also a positive budget for the medical devices industry. The imports of medical devices will be taxed to fund capacity building in healthcare delivery. This will have the twin advantage of accelerating manufacturing of medical devices and addressing the national healthcare security concerns
