Focus on capex, says FM as Parl approves Budget

New Delhi, February 8

Parliament on Thursday completed the exercise of passing the interim Budget for 2024-25, with Rajya Sabha returning the Finance Bill 2024 and the relevant appropriation bills. The Upper House also returned the appropriation bills related to the Union Territory of J&K.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman said the government did not reduce allocations for any social welfare programmes and increased its focus on capital expenditure without compromising on fiscal prudence. She asserted that “capital expenditure is not expenditure on capitalists” as she took a swipe at the Opposition, which has been criticising the government, saying it is favouring industrialists and neglecting common people.

“With the capital expenditure being in the focus, in the last 3-4 years, we have made sure that our debt management is done in such a way that we honour the glide path for fiscal deficit that we had given in 2021,” Sitharaman said. The minister emphasised capital expenditure for creation of public infrastructure is growing faster than real GDP growth, and assured the House that the government has not reduced allocation for any social sector scheme to meet its fiscal target. She further said that unemployment rate in rural areas has decreased from 5.3% in 2017 to 2.4% in 2023.

Earlier, Congress member Randeep Singh Surjewala highlighted problems plaguing the agriculture sector. He said 1,00,474 agriculturalists had committed suicides during the 2014 -21 period and 11,290 farmers did so last year, according to the NCRB.

Unemployment rate in rural areas dips

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informs the House that unemployment rate in rural areas has decreased from 5.3% in 2017 to 2.4% in 2023.

(With PTI inputs)