Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated today that the government is working towards a resilient and self-reliant India by promoting economic growth and ensuring inclusive development. Responding to a discussion on the Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister said that high growth has been maintained while keeping inflation low. She stated that the National Statistics Office projects the country's GDP to grow by 7.4 percent in the financial year 2025-26. She also said that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has softened to 2 percent, which reflects the strong growth fundamentals of the country's economy.
Ms. Sitharaman emphasized the importance of building domestic manufacturing capacity. She said that this year's budget reflects the government's vision for the manufacturing sector. She also mentioned that special provisions and budgetary allocations were made for the Biopharma, Semiconductor Mission 2.0, rare earth corridors, container manufacturing ecosystem, sports goods, textiles, and Champion MSMEs. She said that focus has been made to develop human capital, which will lead to creating employment opportunities in the coming years. She also mentioned that banking and credit availability have seen considerable growth.
The Finance Minister countered the opposition's charge of curtailing expenditure in various welfare schemes. She said that sufficient budgetary allocations have been made for these schemes. She also refuted the opposition's allegations of suppressing the middle class, stating that the economic reforms undertaken by the government under the NDA government have led to the expansion of the middle class.
The Finance Minister said that all senior citizens aged 70 years and above are included in the PM Jan Aarogya Yojana, making free health coverage of 5 lakh rupees available for them. She also said that GST on several important items has been reduced, which will benefit senior citizens. Ms. Sitharaman also highlighted that the Indian market is undergoing a structural transformation, with record-low unemployment. She pointed out that India's unemployment has fallen from 5.6 percent in 2017-18 to 3.2 percent in 2023-24, and the economy is actively absorbing labor. The Finance Minister stated that there is no inflation crisis currently, and it has been tamed and stabilized. She also said that the government will rejuvenate 200 legacy industrial clusters. She added that the budget introduces ten thousand crore rupees in the name of the SME growth fund.
