Anurag Thakur lauds budget for financial year 2023-24; says this budget is for 'New India' New Delhi:Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, Anurag Thakur on Wednesday lauded the budget announced by the central government for the financial year 2023-24 and said that it has something for each section of the society. Calling it a budget that would push 'new India to becoming a 'developed India', Thakur said it had brought smiles on the faces of everyone.
"This is the first budget that has worked to achieve big aims for India. This budget is for villagers, women, middle-class and lower-class people, youths, and farmers. This budget has something for each one of them and it will bring happiness to everyone," said Thakur while speaking to ETV Bharat. He also highlighted that the budget was crafted to "bring all the classes on one level, and together all these will lead to the development of the country".
"The citizens of the country demanded a revision in the tax slab providing tax relief and now we have modified the tax slabs providing complete relief to individuals earning up to Rs 7 lakhs annually," Thakur added. He said the BJP government only aimed for the development of the country. "This is the budget of new India," he said.
As for the sports ministry that Thakur handles, the budget had a lot of positives for it. In a year when the Indian athletes will compete at the Asian Games and prepare for 2024 Paris Olympics, the Sports Ministry has got a fillip with the government allocating Rs 3,397.32 crore, an increase of Rs 723.97 crore, in the Union Budget. The amount is more than the revised budget of the previous financial year (2022-23) when the ministry received Rs 2,673.35 crore, as against the actual allocation of Rs 3,062.60 crore.
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The ministry's flagship programme, 'Khelo India -- National Programme for Development of Sports' continues to be the government's priority, with it being allotted Rs 1,045 crore as against the revised allocation of Rs 606 crore during the previous financial year. This is an increase of Rs 439 crore and points to the government's commitment to the programme, which over the years, has shown the potential to produce athletes for major global events such as the Olympics, Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI), which takes care of organising national camps for athletes, providing infrastructure and equipment to athletes, appointment of coaches and maintaining sports infrastructure, among others, has seen a Rs 36.09 crore increase in its budgetary allocation from the previous year's revised expenditure of Rs 749.43 crore. Their allocation for 2023-24 stands at Rs 785.52 crore.
The National Sports Federations (NSFs) have received an increased allocation of Rs 45 crore, from previous year's revised budget of Rs 280 crore and will now get Rs 325 crore. The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), affiliated to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), which earlier received funding from SAI, will now get it directly.
A provision has been made in this year's budget to provide NADA a funding of Rs 21.73 crore, while NDTL, which conducts the tests, will receive Rs 19.50 crore. With countries across the world striving for sporting excellence and paying more attention to sports science and scientific training of athletes, this year's budget has also made a provision of Rs 13 crore for National Centre of Sports Science and Research.
