Towards Sustainable Growth

A SET OF COMPREHENSIVE reforms introduced in the interim Budget on 1 February, 2019 by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal aimed at “realising a New India by 2022’’ and had a strong focus on sustainable growth and achieving a better quality of life for all citizens of India.

- Rakesh Bharti Mittal

The well-balanced Budget, with its primary focus on the farm economy along with transformational reforms to address socio-economic challenges, will ensure that the Indian economy is firmly on track.

A notable feature of this year’s Budget was the ambitious “10-dimensional vision for 2030” – a roadmap for India to become a $5 trillion economy in the next five years and a $10 trillion economy across eight years thereafter. In this vision, India is envisaged to become a modern, technologically driven, innovative, transparent and equitable nation, backed by strong reforms. The key dimensions are broadly in accordance with the CII’s India@75 Vision document.

A major focus of the Budget was on alleviating rural distress, while ensuring farmers’ progress and increasing farmers’ incomes. In a historic move, the government introduced the Pradhan Mantri Kisaan Samman Nidhi, which would provide direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to small and marginal farmers with cultivable land of up to two hectares. With around 12 crore farmer families to benefit from this scheme, a farm package of this kind was the need of the hour and industry lauds the government for such a path-breaking measure. Additional benefits, such as up to five per cent interest subvention for farmers in the sector affected by natural calamities, would be provided under the Kisan Credit Card scheme, which would enable timely access to credit and loan relief to farmers.