The Rajya Sabha today resumed the discussion on the General Budget 2025-26. Participating in the discussion, Bhagwat Karad of the BJP said the fiscal deficit was brought down by 0.4 percent due to proactive measures taken by the government. He said the direct benefit transfer helped in stopping leakages and saved the government’s exchequer. Taking part in the discussion, Praful Patel of the NCP expressed confidence that the country will become the third-largest economy in the world in the coming years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the country has witnessed significant progress in building robust infrastructure and other sectors.
Speaking on the Union Budget, Independent MP Kapil Sibal said the government could have revealed its future plans in the education sector, especially when more and more technologies are emerging. Stating that Viksit Bharat means Sikshit Bharat, he expressed displeasure over increasing the budget for education by only seven percent. He alleged that the government did not pay sufficient attention to two important sectors, education and health. He also questioned how the government is going to make the economy competitive and innovative, particularly in making India a manufacturing economy.
He said the manufacturing contribution to GDP has declined to 12.9 percent. Chandrakant Handore of Congress said the welfare schemes planned for 70 percent of the people in the country are not being fully implemented at the ground level. Dola Sen of the Trinamool Congress welcomed the decision to provide a tax rebate up to an income of 12 lakh rupees.
However, she said nothing has been done for the 90 percent of people in the country who earn between 10 thousand and 20 thousand rupees. She demanded lowering the indirect taxes on petrol and other products. She says that the prices of petroleum and cooking gases are increasing, but the budget is silent about it. She alleged that budgetary allocations for several schemes have been slashed, and household savings have declined. The discussion is underway.
WhatsApp us