NEW DELHI (TIP): Describing the general Budget as a ‘sanjeevani’ (new life) to the “moribund economy”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 10 said it converts hopes and aspirations of the people into trust and is in line with his government’s endeavour to bring India out of crisis. “This Budget is a new ray of hope for the poor and downtrodden sections of society,” he said commenting on the maiden budget of his government presented in Parliament on July 10.

The Prime Minister stated that despite the “testing times”, his government is committed to extend every possible help to the poor, the neo-middle class and the middle class, inspired by the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. Assuring the people that the government is leaving no stone unturned in developing India and rid the nation from the challenges it faces, he said for the “moribund economy”, this budget has come as “a sanjeevani and an arunoday (sunrise) for the last man in the line”. He said his government is committed to and confident of bringing India out of crisis, which is due to the capabilities and strength of 125 crore Indians. “This strength would be channelled towards taking the country to new heights.”

He said the Budget is in line with making India skilled and digital, guided by the usage of the latest technology. Congratulating Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, he said, “The Budget will give an impetus to Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) and Jan Shakti (people’s power).” Modi said development should be all-encompassing (“samaveshak, sarvadeshak, sarvasparshi”) and should also reach those parts of the country which have so far remained underdeveloped.

The Prime Minister said the Budget will give a ray of hope to the housewife who is being burdened by rising prices and place utmost importance to women empowerment and girl’s education. Recalling that the entire world had immense expectations from India, he said, however, that the way the entire economic system crubled in the last decade, not only India but the entire world lost hope and there was an atmosphere of pessimism. “Since we formed the government, there were discussions about whether this government can free the nation from crisis but the Railway Budget and Thursday’s General Budget show that we are moving in the right direction,” Modi said.

He referred to the innovative provisions in the Budget for the development of tribal communities and schemes for giving an impetus to skill development for youth. “The Budget is in line with the government’s vision to create a skilled and digital India,” he said. He talked about the measures proposed for the farmers such as ‘Krishi Sinchai Yojana’ that would benefit farmers and achieve the guiding principle of ‘per drop, more crop’ He also mentioned the provisions in the Budget for the cleaning of the Ganga. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to make India self-reliant in the defence sector.