Focus on making agri self-reliant: PM

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New Delhi, July 23

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Union Budget, with its all-inclusive approach benefiting every section of society, was for a Viksit Bharat.

“The government has announced the employment-linked incentive scheme. This will create crores of new jobs,” the PM said, adding that the Budget focused big on education and skill development. “We will create entrepreneurs in every city, every village and every home,” he said.

The PM said in the past 10 years, the government had ensured that the poor and the middle class continued to get tax relief. “Now, the Budget opens up new avenues for startups and the innovation ecosystem,” he said, adding that it focused on farmers in a big way.

“Today’s Budget has brought new opportunities, new energy, new employment and self-employment opportunities. It has brought better growth and a bright future. This Budget will act as a catalyst in making India the third largest economic power in the world and will lay a solid foundation for a developed India,” the PM said, hailing FM Nirmala Sitharaman. “The Union Budget 2024-25 will empower every section of society,” he said, adding, “It will take poor farmers from villages on the path to prosperity.”

Terming farmers a big focus of this year’s Budget, the PM said: “After the world’s biggest grain storage scheme, now vegetable production clusters are being introduced, which will help both farmers and the middle class. It is the need of the hour for India to become self-reliant in the agricultural sector. Therefore, measures have been announced to help farmers increase the production of pulses and oilseeds.”

Noting the emergence of a neo-middle class after 25 crore people were lifted out of poverty, the Prime Minister said the Budget added continuity to their empowerment and provided countless employment opportunities.

On taxes, the PM said in the past 10 years, the government had ensured tax relief for the poor and the middle class, while decisions were made in this year’s Budget to reduce income tax, hike standard deduction and simplify TDS rules.