Government will continue taking measures to ensure inflation
Government will continue taking measures to ensure inflation doesn't hurt citizens: Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will continue to take measures to check inflation and ensure that citizens are not burdened during discussion on the Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks in the
Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Thursday,
Feb. 13, 2025. (Sansad TV via PTI Photo)
NEW DELHI — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government
will continue to take measures to check inflation and ensure that citizens are
not burdened.
Replying to the discussion on the Union Budget in the
Rajya Sabha, the minister said the retail inflation based on Consumer Price
Index (CPI) reduced to 4.31 per cent in January from 5.22 per cent in December
and is moving towards the 4 per cent target given to the Reserve Bank of India.
The House witnessed several instances of altercations
between the Opposition and the treasury benches over issues like Budget
allocations to Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Several
Opposition parties staged walkout from the House during the minister's reply,
even though Sitharaman stressed that the Modi government has never
discriminated against any state.
On Budget proposals, she said they seek to
"accelerate growth, secure inclusive development, and invigorate private
sector investments", and there has been no decrease in capital expenditure
for the next fiscal year.
Sitharaman told the House that the Budget was prepared
during a challenging time, with serious external challenges beyond estimates or
forecasts and there has been reduction in sectoral allocations.
Despite this, the government has tried to keep the
assessment as accurate as possible, keeping India's interests paramount, she
said.
"There are no models that you can build and
understand how the trends will be because they are very dynamic... Despite
that, we have tried keeping the assessments as close as possible, keeping
India's interests as topmost... This immense uncertainty is still playing out
and many Indian imports which are very critical for our economy to grow are
also going to be left with uncertainty," she said.
On inflation, she said data showed steep correction in
prices of tomato, onion and potato prices, and even pulses.
"So food inflation, which gets triggered when you
have an adverse weather condition, and supply chain disruptions are being
managed by a group of ministers who are ensuring that timely import happens if
there is a shortfall in supply," the minister said.
The Reserve Bank of India is keeping a watch on
volatility in the Indian rupee, she said.
She listed out the steps proposed in the Budget to boost
agricultural production in the country.
"So it is clear that government's attempt to remove
the stress of price rise is actually being received in the ground. The efforts
will continue. We shall make sure that price should not be a burden on the
ordinary citizens," Sitharaman said.
The minister, who presented her record eighth Budget in a
row, also said the Modi government's Budget numbers are always realistic and neither
conservative nor overestimated.
Sitharaman told the House that the first advance
estimates from National Statistics Office (NSO) has projected India's economy
will grow 6.4 per cent in real terms and 9.7 per cent in nominal terms.
So for the Budget, "we have kept our goals"
such that we are able to accelerate growth, secure inclusive development,
invigorate private sector investments, she said.
The minister also highlighted that the government steered
the economy very well during the Covid crisis, and the country emerged as the
5th largest major economy in the world.
She also recalled that after the global financial crisis
of 2008, India was termed as among the "fragile five" economies.
The minister also rebutted opposition parties' assertions
that income tax incentives would only benefit rich people.
She said income tax liability of the middle will
significantly come down.
The House was adjourned for a recess and will meet again
on March 10 to continue the Budget session.
