NEW DELHI: Presenting her third budget in Parliament on Monday, under the BJP-led NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of measures to facilitate the recovery of the economy battered by the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping the focus on six pillars from healthcare to infrastructure.
The Union Budget for 2021-22 also kept an eye on the poll-bound states, especially West Bengal, where assembly polls are hardly two months away. Nirmala Sitharaman announced infrastructure projects for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam. Wearing a popular “Laal Paad” saree of Bengal, Nirmala Sitharaman also quoted Nobel laureate and widely respected poet Rabindranath Tagore and proposed the total allocation of Rs. 25,000 crore for highway construction in West Bengal.
Poll-bound states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam also got their share of highway projects, but the attention on West Bengal was overwhelming. She announced a 3,500 km corridor in Tamil Nadu, 1,100 km in Kerala at an investment of Rs 65,000 crore, 675 km in West Bengal for Rs 95,000 crore, and 1,300 km in Assam in the next three years.
The Modi government’s big announcement was on the proposal to provide Rs 35,000 crore for Covid19 vaccination in 2021-22 and its pledge to providing more funds. The Finance Minister also introduced the Aatmanirbhar health program with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore. This plan will be in addition to the national health mission. The total spend on health care was proposed at Rs. 2 lakh crore.
Farm cess on petrol, diesel announced
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new farm cess on petrol and diesel for creating revenue for the agricultural sector. As per the announcement, the new cess, to be called agri infra cess, will be charged Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and Rs 4 on diesel. Both fuels’ prices have skyrocketed for the past few months despite a comparatively cheaper crude oil in the international market.