Only apprenticeship institute for Haryana

The Budget has come as a big disappointment for the first BJP government in the state. Except for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s announcement of setting up of an Apprenticeship Training Institute for Women in Haryana, there is nothing to cheer about for the state in general and the National Capital Region (NCR) in particular.

While the apprenticeship institute has been announced for Haryana, there is a follow-up on two ongoing projects in the Budget proposals. Jaitley announced the constitution of a high-level committee for finalising details to establish a horticultural university, for which the state government has already prepared a DPR. The university was announced in the last Budget. 

The sole consolation for the NCR is scaling up of operations of Biotech Cluster in Faridabad to international standards. This effort will include global partnerships in accessing model-organism resources for disease biology, stem cell biology and for high-end electron microscopy. For the Biotech Science Cluster at Faridabad, financial approvals are in the final stages. Meanwhile, Haryana, which recently appointed yoga guru Swami Ramdev as its brand ambassador, can hope to reap benefits of bringing yoga in the ambit of charitable purposes under the Income Tax Act. — Pradeep Sharma

Takes care of all sections of society

It is a growth-oriented Budget that takes care of all sections of society. It aims at making the country a prosperous and meaningful global power by the 75th year of Independence and reducing the fiscal deficit to 3 per cent in three years. The Rs8.5 lakh-crore credit to be given to farmers in 2015-16 would give a decisive boost to agriculture. While taking care of the unemployed, the government will ensure that no poor is without a job. The allocation of funds has been increased to Rs5,000 crore for MGNREGA. — Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister, Haryana