The Lok Sabha on Tuesday approved `48.21-lakh crore Budget for 2024-25 of the Union Government. The lower House also approved the Budget of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir with a voice vote.
The Union Budget and Budget for J&K was passed by a voice vote by the Lok Sabha. The relevant appropriation Bills were also passed by the House. Replying to the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the fiscal deficit of the Central Government is proposed to be brought down to 4.9 per cent of the GDP during 2024-25 and further to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.
In her reply to the marathon debate and discussion on the Budget, Sitharaman termed misleading claims by Opposition leaders that if any State is not named in the Budget speech, then it does not get any budgetary allocation.
She asserted that no State was being denied money. She recalled that in the past Budgets by the UPA Government also did not mention names of all States in their Budget speech.
“I have been picking up on Budget speeches since 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and so on. The Budget of 2004-2005 did not take the name of 17 States. I would like to ask the members of the UPA Government at that time — did money not go to those 17 States? Did they stop it?” Sitharaman said.
She was responding to comments by several Opposition members that the Budget has provided funds only to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and nothing to other States.
She also said the Government is complying with the fiscal deficit trajectory. It will bring down the deficit to below 4.5 per cent by 2025-26 from the targeted 4.9 per cent for the current fiscal. The deficit was 5.6 per cent in 2023-24. The Budget has provided substantial financial support of `17,000 crore to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir this year. It includes `12,000 crore towards financing the cost of J&K police.
“That’s the burden we want to take on our shoulders,” Sitharaman said.
The Finance Minister said that the government is working to realise its goal of building ‘Viksit Bharat’ by the year 2047. Sitharaman stressed that the FY25 Budget has not given lesser allocation to any sector compared to FY24 and no state is being denied any money.
“Unemployment rate, for the age group of 15-59 years has actually come down for J&K, from 6.4% in 2020-21 to 5.7% in 2021-22 to 4.4% in 2022-23,” Sitharaman said.
On agriculture the Finance Minister said, “Agriculture had Rs 0.30 lakh crore in 2013-14, whereas now it has Rs 1.52 lakh crore. It is 8,000 crores more than last year, which is 2023-24. Education and employment had Rs 0.85 lakh crore allotted in 2013-14, whereas today it is Rs 1.48 lakh crore, 23% more allocation,” she highlighted.
Sitharaman also defended the customary pre-budget Halwa ceremony, saying that it has been going on since budget papers were printed at a press on Minto Road, and the sweet dish was prepared by the staff themselves as an Indian tradition before the start of something auspicious.
Taking on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who dubbed the traditional halwa ceremony as “budget ka halwa”, Sitharaman said it is an emotional matter for the Finance Ministry staff who spend 5 nights and 4 days in quarantine to ensure the secrecy of the Budget proposals.
