Pawan Kalyan Likes Union Budget

While chief ministers of various states criticized the Union Budget and termed it as something which lacked substance, Jana Sena president and actor Pawan Kalyan hailed it and said it would be a boost to the country’s economy. The Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would do good to the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, he said.

At the same time, he expressed dismay over the Centre failing to make any allocations to the Polavaram project and other unfulfilled provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act.

However, he appreciated the BJP-led NDA government’s efforts in channelizing the technological findings and innovations to harness the economy of the country. Kalyan expressed hope that the PM Gathi Shakti scheme, plan to introduce digital currency and digital banking would spur growth of the economy. The Digital University would produce efficient techies with international standards who can fulfill the technological requirements of the country, he said.

He also appreciated the government’s move to introduce 200 TV channels that would impart education in regional languages, increasing the budget allocation by 12% for the defence sector to improve self-reliance in the manufacturing of equipment needed for safety of the country.

The JS chief praised the Centre for trying to be of great support to the agriculture sector which had been a major source of revenue during the Covid crisis. The Centre is evincing readiness to adopt modern technology and make use of modern equipment to strengthen the agriculture sector by setting up agri produce cleansing units and providing needed tools, he said, adding that providing incentives to the farm startups was also appreciable. However, he said that it would have been better if the government provided figures of the farmers’ income so as to assess how close have they come in fulfilling its assurance of doubling their income by 2022.

Agriculture sector

Stressing the importance of organic fertilisers is another welcome move. The Parvat Mala scheme would help in increasing the forest cover and also strengthening the tourism department. As many as 8 ropeways have been planned in the mountain regions and this would mean providing employment opportunities to the tribal youth, he pointed out. He hoped that the government’s vision to provide employment to 60 lakh people in the next five years would become a reality.

The Union Budget had no special benefits incorporated for individuals and it focused only on strengthening the economy of the country which in the long run, could also help in development of individuals, he pointed out.

He also welcomed the Rs 1 lakh crore corpus fund proposed for the states and interest-free loans to tune of Rs 1 lakh crore to the states for a period of 50 years. This facility would be of great help to states in financial distress like Andhra Pradesh, he said.

It was disappointing for the salaried class who expected relaxation of the income tax payment and also the SCs and STs for whom no funds were allocated in the Budget, Pawan said. However, he hailed Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and PM Modi for presenting a budget which did not burden the people with any additional taxes.

Meanwhile, the opposition leaders slammed Pawan Kalyan for hailing the budget even while it focused little on development. The appreciation could be due to the alliance Jana Sena has with the BJP, they felt.