Rajya Sabha resumes discussion on General Budget 2025-26

By  News On Air   Feb 11, 2025

The Rajya Sabha today resumed the discussion on the General Budget 2025-26. Participating in the discussion, Bhagwat Karad of the BJP said the fiscal deficit was brought down by 0.4 percent due to proactive measures taken by the government. He said the direct benefit transfer helped in stopping leakages and saved the government’s exchequer.

Taking part in the discussion, Praful Patel of the NCP expressed confidence that the country would become the third-largest economy in the world in the coming years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said India has witnessed significant progress in building robust infrastructure and other sectors. Arun Singh of the BJP observed that this budget is going to meet the aspirations of the 140 crore people of the country.

He said it is pro-poor and will help increase the income of farmers and generate employment opportunities for the youth. He said that earlier the country’s economy was in bad shape, but it has been strengthened by the current regime. Mr. Singh highlighted that the government has increased the budget for the health sector, and for Railways, over 2 lakh 64 crore rupees have been allocated six times higher than during the UPA regime. The BJP MP also said around one lakh 37 crore rupees have been allocated for the agriculture sector.

On the other hand, Independent MP Kapil Sibal said the government could have revealed its future plans in the education sector, especially as more and more technologies are emerging. He alleged that the government did not pay sufficient attention to two important sectors, Education and Health. Congress MP Chandrakanth Handore said the welfare schemes planned for 70 percent of the people in the country are not being fully implemented at the ground level. Another party MP, Ashok Singh, alleged that the current government’s economic policy is only for the rich and not for the poor. He also alleged that Make in India is just a publicity stunt. Dola Sen of the Trinamool Congress welcomed the decision to provide a tax rebate up to an income of 12 lakh rupees.

However, she said nothing has been done for the 90 percent of people in the country who earn between 10 thousand and 20 thousand rupees a month. She demanded a reduction in indirect taxes on petrol and other products. She accused the government of allowing the prices of petroleum and cooking gas to increase, but the budget remains silent on the matter. She alleged that budgetary allocations for several schemes have been slashed and that household savings have declined. Jaya Bachchan of the Samajwadi Party also criticized the Budget. She urged the government to look into the taxes imposed on the audiovisual industry. MP Sudha Murthy also spoke on the Budget. The discussion is underway.