Budget to build Better India

Arjun Ram Meghwal 
The new decade’s 1st budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is a vision document for the Nation to embark upon the post Covid world. The six pillars envisaged under the budget are a clear signal for further excelling over the growth journey through the mantra of ‘reform, perform & transform.’ The Government has very finely managed to prioritise the life & livelihood throughout the roller coaster ride last year. The presented pragmatic budget has expressed the ambitious reform in reviving the pandemic marred economy quickly & thriving in the league of the biggest economy of the world.
As the world is on the cusp of entering into the post-Covid era, India is emerging as a significant transitional journey player. India ardent believer of ‘sharing is caring’ philosophy is taking the head-on fight from the pandemic; kudos to the scientific & medical fraternity for their indomitable persistence towards bringing out the vaccine.
Commissioning of the world’s largest inoculation drive, ensuring vaccination delivery to needy countries India is countering the ‘Me-first’ approach & helping the world come out from the self-defeating and catastrophic moral failure. The unsurprised focus on boosting health & nutrition is visible as expenditures are proposed to the tune of 2.2 lakh crores. The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Mission is further expanding the gravity of our actions in the global arena. The proposed measures in the budget are rightly towards India’s role as ‘factory of the world’ and in addition to the ‘pharmacy of the world.’
The measures taken by the Government to revive the economy are showing optimistic indicators with a strong rebound with the estimated double-digit growth of as much as 11.5 % in FY22 as enumerated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Economic survey has similarly projected upside growth potential having manifestation from continued normalisation of economic activities after the Covid shock and further implementation of the proactive reform measures.
The highest ever allocation to boost infrastructure in roads & highway construction, metros, provision for establishing gas distribution network, dedicated freight corridors, creation of future-ready railways system by 2030, the enhanced allocation for water supply and sanitation works, public transport, among others are measures that are bound to improve infra outlook of the Nation.  The resulting massive construction activity will create significant employment opportunities.
 The formation of the Higher Education Commission, realigning the National apprenticeship scheme, will have a direct impact on the skill development arena. The production linked incentive scheme in 13 sectors with nearly 1.97 lakh crore outlay will give fresh momentum to create manufacturing global champions. The creation of Mega Investment Textile Park will protect local manufacturers. Setting up of New Development Finance Institution, creating an asset reconstruction and management company & implementation of projects under the National Infrastructure Pipeline are paving new ways to raise the capital. The budget witnessed a sharp increase in capital expenditure Rs 5.54 lakh crore, i.e. 35% more than last fiscal.
This is in addition to  Rs 2 lakh crore proposed to be given to States and autonomous bodies for their capital expenditure. All these measures will aid in more employment, expanding production, additional investment & job opportunities.
The revised custom duty structure will protect the domestic industry, boost the localisation of production, strengthen the local producers & ultimately enhance the manufacturing prospects of the Nation. It will expand India's footprint over the global supply chain and better export towards building a self-reliant economy.
Facilitation of ease of doing business, simplification of procedures, usage of technology for easing the life of citizenry is the hallmark of the Modi Government.  The amalgamation of 44 labour laws into just four labour codes is a significant milestone in ushering in the new labor reform era.
(To be contd)