On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman achieved a historic milestone by presenting her sixth consecutive budget, equalling the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, just ahead of the Parliamentary elections.
During the presentation of the interim Budget 2024-25, Sitharaman emphasized the profound positive transformation witnessed by the Indian economy over the last decade. She outlined the government’s commitment to making India a developed country by 2047, with a focus on addressing the needs of the poor, women, youth, and farmers.
Highlighting India’s status as the fastest-growing major economy globally, Sitharaman projected that in the coming years, it will ascend to become the world’s third-largest economy, boasting a $5 trillion GDP.
The Budget 2024 Vote On Account, presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman, is anticipated to pave the way toward achieving this ambitious economic goal.
Sitharaman on Thursday said 25 crore people got freedom from multi-dimensional poverty in the last 10 years. Earlier approach of tackling poverty through entitlement resulted in very modest outcomes, she said while presenting the interim Budget in the Lok Sabha. There is transparency and assurance that benefits are transferred to all eligible citizens, she said.
The government is working to make India a developed country by 2047, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Presenting the interim Budget 2024-25, Sitharaman also said minimum support prices for ‘annadata’ (farmers) have been increased periodically and appropriately. She asserted that for the government, social justice is an effective and necessary model. “We focus on outcomes and not outlays,” Sitharaman said.
The government on Thursday announced the extension of healthcare coverage under Ayushman Bharat to all ASHA and Anganwadi workers. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is the largest publicly funded health insurance scheme in the world that provides coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
