Finance Minister - Latest News Update, Information, Photos & Videos on Finance Minister at Lokmat Times

There was nothing in the budget that could pave the way for economic reforms or raise public consumption an imperative for reviving the economy, he said.The budget was nothing but mere rhetoric, he said. It had failed to address problems, be it farmers, youth, industry/business, the middle class and the poor.Far from reviving business sentiment, the non-visionary budget that reflected the government's apathy to the people's needs and aspirations would plunge the economy further into abysmal depths, Singh said.Pointing to the Finance Minister's failure to even mention the economic slowdown of 2019-20, he said it showed the Centre had no intention of addressing the problems.Stating that the budget has dashed the hopes of one and all, he said farmers were awaiting solution to debt stress and stubble burning, the industry was feeling ignored, and the youth trying to discern the light at the end of the tunnel into which the government had pushed them.The 16-point action plan for agriculture made no mention of any initiative to encourage crop diversification, said the Chief Minister. Grain buffer stock was straining states, including Punjab, and farmers, he said and added, the failure to diversify would aggravate the problems for the country on the farm front.Singh also castigated the Centre's failure to provide the much-needed push to infrastructure. "What is there in the budget to strengthen and upgrade the irrigation and power sectors? How can India progress without infrastructure development," he asked.Even the defence sector, which one would have assumed to be a key priority for any government in these dangerous times, had not got its due, Singh said terming the Rs 10,340 crore hike for the defence forces' modernisation and purchase of new weapon systems as a pathetic joke. "It's worse than the increment even a clerk expects at the end of the year," he quipped.The Chief Minister also flayed the Centre's failure to address the concern of states, including Punjab, on the delays in release of the goods and services tax (GST) compensation. "From where will we get money for development of our state?" he remarked.Another area which was a matter of serious concern for Punjab and other states was the Centre's decision to limit the GST compensation fund to collections under the GST cess, he said.It would add to problems of states, which are suffering from the prolonged delays in getting their share of the GST revenue, the Punjab Chief Minister said.( With inputs from IANS )

Finance MinisterFOLLOW

Finance minister, Latest News

The Budget proposal to provide an outlay of Rs 8,000 crore for quantum computing may help make India the world's third biggest nation in the sector after the US and China, according to experts. ...

The government is patting itself on the back for the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, but people believe that the Budget is unlikely to boost employment. ...

The Union Budget 2020-21, which Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, aims at energising the economy of India through a combination of short-term, medium-term, and long term measures. ...

The defence budget has been hiked by 6 per cent from Rs 3.18 lakh crore to Rs 3.37 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2020 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. ...

The BJP terms the Union Budget "pro-farmer" in which fertiliser subsidy has gone down quite a bit. Against last year's Rs 79,998 crore, this year's estimated fertilizer subsidy is Rs 71,309 cr. ...

After slashing income tax rates for individuals on condition that they give up exemptions and deductions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government intends to remove all IT exemptions in the long run. ...

With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a new scheme to encourage manufacturing of mobile phones, semiconductor packaging and electronic equipment, mobile industry bodies and vendors on Saturday welcomed the move, saying the measures will ...

Trashing the Union Budget as high on pomposity and low on tangible, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said here on Saturday the economy was not a priority for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and it was too busy pursuing its nega ...