Professor Surya Sethi, UNESCO Chair and Professor for Climate Science & Policy, TERI School of Advanced Studies, has said the message of the Interim Budget 2019-20 is that “Ache Din” are still on the horizon.
Reacting to the Interim Budget on Friday, Prof Sethi said, ‘And even though there is no evidence to show that on-account budgets affect election outcomes, the tone of the budget does raise the odds on continuation of Modi and his policies.’
“Projecting such stability in the policy landscape is a positive development for the markets,” he added.
A support scheme for farmers to supplement their income and a major tax bonanza for the middle class and unveiling of the Developmental agenda for the years to come, formed the highlights of the Interim Budget 2019-20, presented in Parliament on Friday by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal.
Besides the farmers’ income support scheme aimed at benefitting 12 crore small and marginal farmers
with direct income support, a path breaking pension initiative for 10 crore unorganised sector workers and exempting income up to Rs 5 lakh from Income Tax, are some of the major highlights of the Budget.
Among the other features of the Budget are reforms in stamp duty, highest ever budgetary allocation of Rs 3 lakh crore for Defence, record allocation of funds at Rs 58,166 crore for North Eastern Areas, a new AIIMS for Haryana and single window clearance for Indian film makers at par with foreigners and higher budgetary allocations for Education, Health, Infrastructure and for the welfare of weaker sections, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.(UNI)