AN ASPIRATIONAL BUDGET

FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA SITHARAMAN TALKS ABOUT SOCIAL SECTOR SPENDING, CAPEX, THE NEW TAX REGIME AND WHY THIS YEAR'S BUDGET ISN'T A POPULIST ONE

REFUTING SUGGESTIONS THAT the Budget 2023-24 proposals were populist in nature, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tells a panel of Business Today and Aaj Tak Editors that the Budget is, in fact, rather forward-looking. Taking questions on a wide range of issues from social sector spending to revision in income tax rates to the Adani-Hindenburg saga, Sitharaman says that the next 25 years of Amrit Kaal would be all about addressing India's collective aspirations. Edited excerpts:

Rahul Kanwal: What is your reaction to the Opposition's remarks on the reduction in allocation for social sector schemes?

I invite them to go and look into the details of the Budget. When it comes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, (MGNREGA), the allocation is announced at the time of the Budget because it’s a demand-driven programme. We keep adding to it by raising the supplementary demand for grants. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, and also after the pandemic, there has never been a drop. However, if the focus is only on MGNREGA, you are missing out on several other items. Who are the ones building homes? There is a 66 per cent hike in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Will the ₹79,000 crore spent there not benefit the same set of people? We have also given a higher allocation through our water programme, Jal Jeevan Mission. Building water tanks, taking piped water connections to the villages and from there to households, these tasks are now being performed by MGNREGA workers. I would like to ask the Opposition to please spare some time to look at these initiatives and then come back to me.