Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the government is not just allocating higher resources but also facilitating higher tax deduction. He clarified that the government does not lack the political will, indicating that reforms measures will not be affected due to collation government.

Addressing a Post-Budget conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said: “In 2014, MSMEs earning ₹1 crore had to pay presumptive tax, now MSMEs with income up to ₹3 crore can also take advantage of this. In 2014, MSMEs earning up to ₹50 crore had to pay 30 percent tax, today this rate is 22 per cent. In 2014, companies used to pay 30 per cent corporate tax, today this rate is 25 per cent for companies with income up to ₹400 crore.”

Reiterating that the government is determined to look after every sector of the Indian economy, the Prime Minister said, “If you look at the different sectors, you will get an idea as to how India is focussing on each one of them.” Drawing a comparison with the previous government, he  said, in the last 10 years, the budgets of railways and highways have seen an increase of eight times. Meanwhile, the agriculture and defence budgets have witnessed a jump of more than four and two times, respectively. 

Budgets in comparison

Putting forth some facts from the recently presented Budget, the Prime Minister compared the current Budget of ₹48 lakh crore with the ₹16 lakh crore Budget of 2013-14 — an increase of three times. Capital Expenditure, the biggest measure of resource investment was ₹90,000 crore in 2004, which was taken to ₹2 lakh crore in the 10 years up to 2014 — a 2 times increase. In comparison, this important indicator has reached beyond ₹11 lakh crore today — more than 5 times increase. 

Highlighting that the Union Budget is not just about budget allocation and tax reduction, but also about good governance, he recalled that before 2014, big announcements used to be made in the Budgets to create a facade of a healthy economy. However, the announcements did not see the light of day when it came to their on-ground implementation. They were unable to spend even the allocated sum on infrastructure completely, but the headlines used to be made during the time of announcements, he said.

Share markets also used to register small jumps, and their governments never prioritised completing projects on time. “We have changed this situation in the last 10 years. You all have witnessed the speed and scale at which we are completing every infrastructure project,” Modi added. 

The Prime Minister stressed that, “Our government has no lack of political will. For us, the aspirations of the country and its citizens are paramount.” Calling India’s private sector a strong medium for creating a Viksit Bharat, the Prime Minister said that wealth creators are the main driving force of India’s growth story. He said India’s policies, commitment, determination, decisions and investments are becoming the basis of global progress.

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