New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party Monday hailed the Union Budget 2016-17 presented in parliament as ‘‘historic,’’ whereas the Opposition parties have termed it a ‘‘mixed bag’’.
The NDA government’s third budget which has emphasised rural economy and agriculture sector has divided the Opposition parties.
In his second full-fledged budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitly has underlined the need for increasing spending on social and farm sectors in an effort to strengthen rural economy.
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Juel Oram has termed the Union Budget as ‘Pro-poor, pro-farmer and pro common man.”
“This government is committed to the development of the poor, downtrodden, youth and women. This has been reflected in this budget. Efforts have been made to strengthen rural economy by increasing spending on irrigation, road infrastructure and health facilities in rural areas. It is a very good budget for Orissa. It is a historic budget,” said Union Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
BJD leader Bhartruhari Mahatab also could not but praise the Union budget for its focus on social and farm sector to improve rural economy. However, he was sceptical about the budget’s potential to boost the confidence of domestic as well as foreign investors.
Mahatab said, “Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made a course correction in this Budget. The government had stressed on industry and corporate sector in his earlier two budgets. But this time, he has emphasised on agriculture and rural sector. Due to investment in rural sector, there will be growth and employment generation in rural areas. It is a positive sign. The biggest challenge before us is that domestic and foreign investors are not keen on investing in India. But, I do not find this budget will boost investors’ confidence. In the context of Orissa, we were hopeful that government will announce special package for backward districts, especially KBK districts and Maoist-affected districts. I do not find any announcement for Orissa.”
However, MP Ranjib Biswal (Cong) criticised the budget as directionless.
He said, “It is a mixed budget. It lacks foresight. The government had supported industry and corporates in its earlier budgets. Since the government failed to bring any foreign investment, it has changed the strategy.” PNN