Shatrughan Sinha calls Budget 2021 'smart' but disappointed with no move for film industry

Shatrughan Sinha while calling the Union Budget 2021 a 'smart' budget was disappointed with the Entertainment industry being neglected. In a conversation with an entertainment portal, Sinha said the government has not done much to safeguard the industry.

Sinha said that the government didn't "bother" about the film industry. While the centre has allowed 100% occupancy in the theatres, he feels there will still be a clash with the state because they will eventually decide the occupancy. "Film industry thap padi thi (The film industry had been shut down). But they have not bothered about them. The Centre has allowed theatres 100% occupancy but there is already a clash with the state that will decide on the occupancy, and just in case they allow only 50%, and God forbid if cases rise, then it will be like nahayenge kya aur nichodenge kya (we'll neither be here nor there)," he told Pinkvilla.

Sinha was happy about the health budget going up.

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Union Budget 2021

Kicking off the new decade with India's first paperless budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday tabled the Union Budget in the Parliament. Presenting one of the shortest budget speech (1 hour 40 mins), Budget 2021 focussed mainly on Healthcare, National Monetization Pipeline, disinvestment, infrastructure, agriculture, fiscal deficit and direct taxes. In the first post-COVID budget, FM Sitharaman allocated 2.83 lakh crores in this year's Union Budget - a 137% in Health budget, announced a 'National Monetization Pipeline' which covered key state assets to be monetised. The Centre also allowed strategic disinvestment several PSUs and increased FDI limit from 49% to 74% and allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards. With the economy hit by COVID, Fiscal deficit of FY-2021-2022 was pegged at 6.8% of GDP while FY-2020-21's fiscal deficit was pegged at 9.5% GDP and kept the state's share of the Central taxes at 41%, while J&K and Ladakh will be funded by Centre.

While the Budget witnessed the usual criticism from the Opposition, it received praises from many of the industry experts. Raymond MD S Gautam Singhania and Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education, and other experts lauded it with terms like 'forward-looking' and more

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