Amit Shah lauds ‘all-inclusive and visionary budget’

• Shah said budget-2023 brought by the Modi government lays a strong foundation of Amritkal
• He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving huge tax relief to the middle and salaried class
• Cooperative sugar mills will get Rs 10,000 crore relief from this proposal, he said

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the "comprehensive and visionary" budget for 2023-24 will give further impetus to the Narendra Modi government's resolve to build a self-reliant India, taking into account all parts.

In a series of tweets in Hindi with the hashtag "#AmritKaalBudget", Shah said the target of increasing capital expenditure by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore for infrastructure development and keeping the fiscal deficit at 5.9 per cent is laudable. This reflects the foresight of the Narendra Modi government to build a new India with strong infrastructure and a strong economy, he said.

“Budget 2023 presented by the Narendra Modi government is a budget that lays a solid foundation for Amritkal. “I am confident that this comprehensive and visionary budget will give further impetus to the Modi government's commitment to an independent India that takes every part with it. Congratulations to @narendramodi and (Union Finance Minister) @nsitharaman for this,” he said.  Shah thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a huge tax break to the middle and salaried class when the budget proposed to increase the tax credit limit from Rs 5 crore to Rs 7 crore. “Unprecedented changes in tax rates will be a big boon for the middle class. Along with this, I also welcome the relief given to government employees,” he said.

Welcoming the decision to set up a National Digital Library to make books available to the youth, the Home Secretary said that the foundation of any country's bright future is its educated and skilled young generation. He said the allocation for agricultural loans has been increased to Rs 20 crore. An agricultural acceleration fund will be created to encourage start-up agricultural businesses of young entrepreneurs. Along with this, for the next three years, 1 million farmers will be assisted in natural farming and 10,000 Bio Input Resource Centers will be established.

Shah said that a budgetary provision of Rs 2.4 crore has been earmarked for railways to connect remote areas with railways. Along with this, the decision to revive the country's 50 airports, heliports and forward airstrips will increase regional air connectivity, which will boost tourism. In this budget, he said, it has been decided to launch the Prime Minister Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman Yojana to make the country's traditional artisans and craftsmen self-reliant. This decision will make a big impact on the lives of "Vishwakarmas" by enabling them to improve the quality and market reach of their products.

The Narendra Modi government is working with a determined spirit to raise the standard of living of millions of people through cooperatives, in line with the mantra of 'cooperative prosperity', he said. “Today, this resolution is symbolized by the unprecedented decisions taken in the budget to strengthen the cooperative sector,” he said. With the plan to set up the world's largest decentralized storage facility in the budget, he said, farmers linked to cooperative societies will be able to store their produce and sell it at the right time and get a fair price. This will play an important role in Modi's determination to increase farmers' income, he said.

Also, in the next 5 years, the Home Minister said, the government will facilitate setting up of new multi-purpose cooperative societies, primary fisheries societies and dairy cooperative societies in every panchayat. Thus, the cooperative movement will get a new direction and dynamism, due to which the sector will be more empowered, he said. "I thank Prime Minister Modi for keeping cooperative societies in the manufacturing sector formed in only 15 percent tax net till March 31, 2024," he said. In another important decision for the cooperative sector, sugar cooperatives have been allowed to factor in payments to farmers prior to 2016-17 in their expenditure. Cooperative sugar mills will get a relief of Rs 10,000 crore from this proposal. "I welcome that," he said.