Media Monitor
Budget
Budget focus on rural economy a welcome step: Northeast industry bodyedit
The Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) said it was optimistic about the Union Budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It said the Budget aimed to tide over the sluggish growth rate that the country has recorded in the recent past. Speaking to the media soon after the Budget was presented, FINER president Pabitra Buragohain said the Budget had shifted focus from urban to rural economy by allocating more than Rs 1.23 lakh crore to the rural economy.
Union Budget schemes look good on paper, not practical: Farmer leaders in Andhra Pradeshedit
Farmer organisations and leaders in the State expressed dissatisfaction over lack of sizeable allocation for the agriculture sector in the Union Budget presented on Saturday.
Pointing out at the reduction in subsidies to the sector and other allocations, they wondered how the Centre plans to implement the schemes, which appear good on paper, but might not be practical at the field level.
However, those affiliated to the BJP said the budgetary allocations and programmes announced were encouraging. “The 16-point action plan is meant to stabilise the agriculture sector and is targeted to double the farmers’ income by 2022. Fasal Bhima Yojana and solar pump sets are revolutionary programmes and it is up to the State governments ...
Government provides 30 per cent higher Budget allocation for agricultureedit
Barring fertiliser and chemicals sector, the government has provided higher budget allocation for agriculture, and its allied activities as well as to the food and food processing sector for 2020-21. For the agriculture and farmers welfare ministry, the government has provided 30 per cent increase in the fund allocation at Rs 1,42,761.58 crore for the next fiscal as against the revised estimate of Rs 1,09,750.17 crore for the ongoing financial year, according to the budget document.
Union budget 2020: Dairy and animal husbandry sectors again in focusedit
The dairy and animal husbandry sectors are again under focus in the Union budget with the Modi Government setting the ambitious target of doubling milk processing capacity to 108 million tonnes by 2025.
Dairy giant such as Amul views the target as a window of opportunity for the dairying sectors and income enhancement for the farmers.
R S Sodhi , MD of Amul, told BusinessLine that steps such as doubling milk production were also taken during Operation Flood, which had greatly helped the sector. A target-based programme will attract more organized players in the milk sector and the farmers will get a better deal. Concerted efforts at eliminating animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth and Brucellosis will ...
Budget 2020: Govt’s thrust on agriculture, rural has not slowed down, says Pawan Goenkaedit
What I like (about the Budget) is that the government’s thrust on agri and rural has not slowed down this year. A lot more clear focus on where the money will be spent. And when I look at these items, the payback for the investment in these items will be the highest in the long-term. Nothing is like a short-term handout. Everything is being done in a structural manner which will have long-lasting impact. The flip side is that you won’t see anything tomorrow. If you look at what this Budget has for me in the next two or six months, it is not enough.
The whole thrust on technology, the words, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, machine learning, ...
RSS affiliates hail budget, welcome agriculture planedit
The affiliates of ruling BJP’s ideological fountainhead, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have welcomed the Union budget, which includes a 16-point plan to revive agriculture and allied sectors, and sops for the medium, small and micro enterprises (MSME) sector.
“The focus on infrastructure like manufacturing of solar panels will benefit MSMEs and help in job creation,” said Jitendra Gupta, regional member of Laghu Udyog Bharati (LUB), an RSS-linked national confederation of MSME units.
It also welcomed raising of turnover threshold for audit from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore. The limit will apply only to businesses that carry out less than 5% of their transactions in cash.
Budget 2020: More funds allotted to fight climate crisisedit
With the implementation of the Paris Agreement commitments beginning on January 1, 2021, India has increased the budgetary outlays for climate-mitigation action across sectors.
During her budget speech in Parliament on Saturday, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the country’s commitments will be executed in various sectors “by the departments/ministries concerned through the normal budgeting process”.
She added that Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, will aid climate change adaptation through disaster resilient infrastructure.
Focus on Agriculture, Message for Taxpayers: Budget 2020 Falls Short of ‘Big Bang’ But Exceeds Expectationsedit
Falling short of a ‘Big Bang’ but far exceeding the expectations of sceptics, Budget 2020 contains a slew of innovations that send positive messages to taxpayers, farmers, MSMEs, corporates and investors.
The budget speech was all of 2 hours and 46 minutes long — and would have been longer if FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s throat hadn’t given out — but it wasn’t boring. She broke the tedium of electoral and ideological rhetoric by announcing interesting new proposals, like a Rs 8,000-crore research fund for quantum technology, internships for newbie engineers with Urban Local Bodies, solarisation of farms and FDI (and ECBs) in higher education.
Examining the FM’s plan to double farmers’ income in two yearsedit
In her Budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman spelled out sixteen measures to reboot agriculture and re-affirmed the Modi government’s resolve to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. Agriculture is categorized by her as “Aspirational India”. All these sixteen measures are broadly in the right direction, and in line with the tune of the Economic Survey that unequivocally supported the invisible hand of the markets (with trust) for wealth creation. The question for us is to evaluate whether these measures are sufficient to double farmers’ incomes by 2022.
Farmers say Budget will trigger more inflationedit
The government may be thumping its chest over the Union Budget tabled in Parliament on Saturday for the year of 2020-21, but the farmers seem to be unhappy after announcements in the farming sector were made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
While talking to India Today TV, farmers said that the Budget did not meet their expectations. The finance minister proposed a 16-points action plan to boost agriculture and farmers’ welfare.
Farmers in western Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida had tuned into the finance minister’s Budget speech but were left disappointed.
Dairy Farming
Union budget 2020: Dairy and animal husbandry sectors again in focusedit
The dairy and animal husbandry sectors are again under focus in the Union budget with the Modi Government setting the ambitious target of doubling milk processing capacity to 108 million tonnes by 2025.
Dairy giant such as Amul views the target as a window of opportunity for the dairying sectors and income enhancement for the farmers.
R S Sodhi , MD of Amul, told BusinessLine that steps such as doubling milk production were also taken during Operation Flood, which had greatly helped the sector. A target-based programme will attract more organized players in the milk sector and the farmers will get a better deal. Concerted efforts at eliminating animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth and Brucellosis will ...