New Delhi:The Union Budget for 2023-24 announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday is focused on growth and welfare with a priority to provide support to farmers, women, marginalised sections and the middle class. Giving a boost to education, skill development and job creation, the Union Budget lays a solid foundation for transforming India into a technology-driven, knowledge-based economy. The budget proposals will drive economic growth further.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the budget proposals will lead the country towards achieving its goal of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy and "top three" economies globally within a few years. "The Union Budget for 2023-24 presented by FM Smt. @nsitharaman under the guidance of PM Shri @narendramodi is focused on growth and welfare, with a priority to provide support to farmers, women, marginalised sections and the middle class," he tweeted.
"By creating jobs through investments in infrastructure projects paired with increased spending on agriculture, housing, healthcare and manufacturing sectors will help create more opportunities for everyone and help in driving economic growth further ahead! The increase in the Income Tax exemption limit to Rs 7 lakhs and several other tax-related reforms will provide a huge relief to the middle class including salaried individuals and retired people. I congratulate the FM and thank Pradhanmantri ji for taking this people-friendly decision," Rajnath added.
Reacting to the announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech in Lok Sabha, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Union Budget for 2023-24 has drawn a meticulous blueprint for "India@100". "Giving a boost to education, skill dev, entrepreneurship, R&D, digital infrastructure, green growth & job creation, #AmritKaalBudget draws a meticulous blueprint for India@100 and lays a solid foundation for transforming India into a technology-driven knowledge-based economy," Pradhan tweeted.
Three centres of excellence for artificial intelligence in top educational institutions, 100 labs in engineering institutions for developing applications using 5G services, national digital library for children and adolescents for facilitating availability of quality books across geographies, languages and genres and recruitment of 38,000 teachers and support staff in the next three years for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools are among the announcements made by Sitharaman for the education sector. "...a brilliant, people-centric and growth-stimulating #AmritKaalBudget that includes everyone, empowers poor & middle class, that reaches the last mile and that brings cheer to all," Pradhan said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Union Budget 2023 would take India forward in the direction of the welfare of the poor."New India rising under the leadership of PM Modi. My best wishes to PM Modi and FM Nirmala Sitharaman for the presentation of the Union Budget 2023. Under PM Modi's leadership, a prosperous, powerful India is being built and our resolution is the welfare of the poor. Budget will take India ahead in this direction," he said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the Union Budget for 2023-24 has given "nirasha" (despair) instead of "asha" (hope) to people of the country. He also claimed that the budget further increases inflation and unemployment. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 in Lok Sabha on Wednesday and said it hopes to build on the foundation of the previous budget and blue print for India@100.
"The BJP is completing a decade of its budgets, but when it did not give anything to the public earlier, what will it give now?" Yadav tweeted in Hindi. "The BJP's budget further increases inflation and unemployment. It does not give 'asha' but 'nirasha' to farmers, labourers, youth, women, professionals and the business class. This budget is for the benefit of a few rich people," he added.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the Union Budget 2023 will be a "pro-people" budget that will support the growth of the economy. Talking to reporters, CM Bommai said, "India's economy is expected to grow at 6.8 per cent. It will be a pro-people budget that will support the growth of the economy."The Chief Minister also stated that it would be a budget without any burden "It will be a pro-people budget with priority given to different sectors in the country. If the country's economy gets a boost, every citizen will get the benefit," said Bommai.
Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi hailed the Union budget, saying it has beaten the global economic slowdown and the "Bharat bashing brigade's propaganda". Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the last full Budget of the second term of the BJP-led NDA government. "The Union budget 2023-24 has beaten the global economic slowdown and the Bharat bashing brigade's propaganda and is committed to the country's inclusive development. This is not just a budget, but a gazette of the country's inclusive development and empowerment," Naqvi said. The former Union minister also said it is due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's far-sighted leadership that the country's economy has not been affected despite challenges.
BJP MP Tejashvi Surya tweeted and said that "I want to thank PM Modi and FM Sitharaman for the announcement of the over Rs 5,000 cr irrigation project for the Upper Bhadra region of Karnataka. This project will be a game changer for the state."
PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti reacting to the budget says, "This Budget is the same that had been coming in for the last 8-9 yrs. Taxes increased, and money was not being spent on welfare schemes and subsidies. Tax is being collected for some crony capitalists and big businessmen. The public should benefit from taxes but it's breaking their back. Instead of benefitting them (common people), welfare schemes and subsidies are being scrapped. People who had risen above the poverty level have fallen below the poverty level again."
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shatrughan Sinha said that the Union Budget presented in the Parliament had a major focus on "Hum Do Humare Do" and had nothing special for the people belonging to the middle-class strata. Shatrughan Sinha said, "The budget was presented keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and there was nothing special mention for the middle-class people. Looking at the budget, it seems as if it has been created to specially care about the 'Hum Do Humare Do' as it is evident from the significantly reduced highest slab for Income Tax payers. People understand it well whom have they done it for."
