New Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that due to the government’s better management of the economy and capital expenditure on infrastructure, India achieved high growth after the Kovid epidemic and today our country is the fastest growing major economy in the world. Responding to the discussion on Budget 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha, she also said that the absence of a state’s name in the budget does not mean that no allocation has been made to it.
Sitharaman said, “The total budget of Rs 48.21 lakh crore for the current financial year emphasizes social and geographical inclusion. That is, attention has been given to every section and region.” She said, “Due to the government’s better management of the economy and capital expenditure on infrastructure, our economy has grown rapidly after the pandemic. Today we are the fastest growing economy in the world.” Sitharaman said, “Not only is our economic growth better but we are also on the path of reducing the fiscal deficit. It is noteworthy that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in 2023-24 has been 8.2 percent and India has retained the status of the fastest growing major country in the world.
He said, “We are moving towards the target of bringing down the fiscal deficit to 4.5 percent in 2025-26 under fiscal consolidation. It is estimated to be 4.9 percent in the current financial year. The credit for this goes to better economy management.” The Finance Minister rejected the allegations of opposition parties of reducing allocation for social sectors and said that the budget document states the opposite. Rs 1.48 lakh crore has been allocated for the education sector. This is more than the previous financial year.
Responding to the discussion in Hindi, Sitharaman said, “Opposition members said that only two states have been given money in the budget. This is nothing but an attempt to mislead people.” She said, “17 states were not named in the 2004-05 budget… 19 states were not mentioned in the 2010-11 budget, 10 states were not mentioned in the 2014-15 budget.” Sitharaman said, “Everyone knows that due to the wrong policies of the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, inflation had reached close to double digits, but today it is under control to a large extent. This is the result of the better policies of the government.”
FTA review talks with Japan, South Korea, ASEAN slow: Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that talks to review existing free trade agreements (FTAs) with Japan, South Korea and ASEAN are progressing at a slow pace. He also added that India is taking forward these talks. These agreements were signed and implemented during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Goyal said that these agreements are harming the domestic industry and almost all the companies have said that these are unfair agreements.
“I am helpless because these agreements were implemented before we came to power. I am unable to change it until we finish the negotiations,” he said at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event on Developed India. “We are renegotiating but obviously when they (Japan, South Korea, ASEAN) realised that the Congress agreement is better for them, they are happy to keep the agreements rather than change them… They are moving very slowly, (but) we are moving ahead with the negotiations,” the minister said.
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is one of India’s major trading partners, accounting for 11 per cent of the country’s global trade. Bilateral trade with it was US$122.67 billion in 2023-24. The India-Korea agreement, called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), came into force in January 2010. India has sought greater market access from South Korea for some products such as steel, rice and shrimp. India and Japan implemented the CEPA in August 2011.