GOI has Taken Capital Expenditure Route to Revive Economy Post-Covid Era: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the government has taken the Capital Expenditure route to revive the economy post the Covid-19 pandemic.

Replying to the discussion on the Union Budget in Lok Sabha, she said that this budget is presented with the background that India was coming out of the pandemic and there was also a path of recovery that was distinctly observed. She said that despite facing problems, the Indian economy is the fastest-growing major economy.

The Finance minister said that in this budget, the government has tried to balance the requirement of India’s development imperatives within the limit of fiscal prudence.

She said that by taking pre-emptive measures and also adhering to monetary policy decisions by the RBI, the government is able to return to the realm of the tolerance band as defined by the RBI.

The Finance Minister said that by taking these measures, the Consumer Price Index came down to below six per cent level. Highlighting the measures taken in the budget she said the new tax regime has been made very attractive and the agriculture credit target for 2023-24 has also been increased to 20 lakh crore rupees.

Rejecting the opposition allegation that the food subsidy has been cut, the Minister said that it has almost doubled to 1.97 lakh crore rupees. Sitharaman also said that fertilizer subsidy has been raised to 2.25 lakh crore rupees for the current fiscal.