Govt focuses on robust infrastructure and labour-intensive sectors to boost job creation, says FM Sitharaman
New Delhi, February 11
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stressed that the government is giving a major push to build robust infrastructure in the country with the emphasis on labour-intensive sectors to generate employment and facilitate growth. Replying to a debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha this evening, Ms Sitharaman said, in this year’s budget, provision of more than 12 lakh crore rupees have been made for the public capital expenditure which is 3.1 percent of GDP and 11.5 percent higher than the revised estimates for 2025-26. She emphasized that money will be spent to strengthen the country’s infrastructure.
Refuting the opposition’s allegations that the Budget is silent about the employment generation, the Finance Minister said, five regional medical hubs are going to promote medical tourism in the country. She said, Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector is also going to generate employment opportunities in the country in coming years. She also negated the opposition’s allegations on the reduced tax devolution to States saying that more than 25 lakh crore rupees will be transferred to the States this year. She said, the government has transferred 41 percent of the divisible pool to the states and no state’s share has been reduced.
On the credit flow, the Minister pointed out that there is no shortage of funds for the industries including MSMEs. On the collections of the cess and surcharges, the Minister reiterated that these are collected by the centre for specific purposes like health cess, education cess, and road cess. She said, the collected amount is being spent in the states. She said, inflation has come down during the NDA government which was in the double digit during the UPA regime. She said, Modi government is working for the interest of the country. She accused the Congress government of compromising with the interest of farmers during its regime and surrendered before the World Trade Organisation. Ms Sitharaman also referred to the joint statement made in Sharm El-Sheikh, accusing the previous regime of diluting India’s position on sovereignty and security in its engagement with Pakistan.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, there is nothing concrete in the Union Budget. He said, Budget is centred on Artificial Intelligence and expressed apprehension that lots of jobs will be challenged by AI in the engineering and IT sector. Mr Gandhi also raised questions over the India-US trade deal accusing the government of ignoring the concerns of the youth, and farmers. He accused that India-US trade deal is not one of equals, it is one of compulsion. He said, India had buckled on tariffs, handed over the country’s data, and given up control over digital trade rules. He alleged that the government compromised its position on energy security.
Responding to the remarks made by Mr. Gandhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, congress has weakened the nation till 2014 and it is unhappy with the country’s progress now. He said, Narendra Modi is the strongest Prime Minister India has ever seen.
Participating in the discussion, Congress MP KC Venugopal claimed that the country’s per capita income remains among the lowest in the world. He said, nearly 34 percent of Indians survive on less than 100 rupees a day. He also alleged that youth unemployment has reached around 15 percent, with urban youth employment at over 18 percent. NK Premchandran of RSP said, this year’s budget lacks vision and direction. He said, budget proposals are not sufficient to achieve the goal set for Viksit Bharat. Referring to India-US trade deal, Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM alleged that the government has compromised its position on energy security. Harsimrat Kaur Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal said that no provision has been made in this year’s budget to accelerate the growth of Punjab.
Indra Hang Subba of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha said that the Budget has taken care of all sections of the society. He stated that it is essential to strengthen all sectors to make India self-reliant. Mr Subba added that the provision made for industry-led research in the Budget is a welcome step. Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal of AAP has alleged that there is nothing concrete in the Union Budget for the people of the country. He said allocations for the National Health Mission have been reduced in the Budget. Sudheer Gupta of BJP hailed the Union Budget saying that it will fulfil the vision of making India a developed nation by 2047. He said that during the UPA rule, the size of the Union Budget was 16 lakh crore rupees in 2013-14 while in the NDA regime it crossed 53 lakh crore rupees in 2026-27. He said, the capital expenditure which was only two lakh crore rupees in the year 2014, has now touched 12 lakh crore rupees during the present dispensation.
Anurag Singh Thakur of BJP said, this Budget focuses on the welfare of the poor, gives strength to women, and provides ample opportunities to farmers and youth. Shrikant Shinde of Shiv Sena termed the Budget as a reflection of New India where the focus is on education, health and employment. Arun Bharti of LJP (R) described the Union Budget as a budget for the nation’s development. He termed it as a visionary and inclusive Budget saying it will lay the foundation of achieving the goal of a developed India by 2047. He said the Union Budget strengthens the MSME sector and promotes manufacturing. Mr Bharti said the Centre has given priority to Bihar, stating that financial assistance to the state, which stood at around three lakh crore rupees between 2004 and 2014, has been increased threefold to nine lakh crore rupees during 2014 to 2024