Soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 1 congratulated the FM for presenting a “Uttam” budget.
Here’s what he had to say:
- The FM has presented an ‘Uttam’ Budget, devoted to strengthening the hands of the poor
- The merger of the Railway Budget with the general budget will give an impetus to the transport sector’s growth
- The aim of the Government is to double the income of farmers
- This Budget is yet again devoted to the well-being of the villages, farmers and the poor
- Special emphasis has been given on women empowerment in the Budget
- The Housing sector stands to gain immensely from the Budget
- The commitment to eliminate corruption and black money is reflected in the Budget
- This Budget will help small businesses to become competitive in the global market
- In many ways this budget will facilitate the changes that our country is going through
The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 1 presented the Union Budget 2017 and announced that the maximum donation that a party can accept as a cash donation is Rs 2000. He added that political parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or in the digital mode from their donors.
The Finance Minister announced this decision after observing that political parties continue to receive most funds through anonymous donations. Arun Jaitley also announced that the cash transactions above 3 lakh rupees will not be allowed. The Government announced this measures to curb corruption and black money in the economy.
If you missed the Finance Minister’s speech, you can listen to it here:
It is for the first time in the history of India, both the Union Budget and the Rail budget have been merged with the General Budget. There will be no separate Rail budget, this time! This decision to present the budget together was taken with the aim to complete the whole process before the end of this financial year.
