Union Budget 2020: Devendra Fadnavis hails the budget, terms it "extremely progressive"

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke on the Union Budget 2020, which was released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier in the day, calling it an extremely "progressive budget." Fadnavis stated the budget was designed keeping in mind the challenges of the new decade and hence would act as a "road map" for the country.

Read: Budget 2020: 'Doubling farmer income' imperative gets a 16-point plan, Rs 2.83 Tn allocation

He also gave special mention to the 16 point program that was released to double the income of the farmers. Sitharaman had presented a '16-point action plan' for agriculture and allied sector which would act as a point-by-point method to uplift the farmers and the agriculture sector.

Read: Budget 2020's focus 'boosting incomes & elevating purchasing power': FM eyes demand growth

'Creation of employment kept in mind' 

"The most important is that infrastructure is given special emphasis in this budget. For 103 lakh crore to be invested in the completion of 605 projects is an iconic decision by the government. Every single detail was mentioned in the budget, jobs, GDP growth, throughout various sectors like the road, airports, railways, education, etc everything was keeping in mind the employment opportunities for the youth," said Fadnavis. 

'Big help to eradicate Tax terrorism' 

Fadnavis spoke about how this budget was made keeping in mind that the middle class needed to be safeguarded from tax terrorism" and income tax officers who would often misuse their power. "Changes in income tax will help the middle class. A futuristic vision is there. Steps like Tax simplification, and for the taxpayers charter to be codified, will help avoid tax terrorism. This is a big step by the Government." 

Read: Budget 2020: In mega divestment move, Govt to sell part of its holding in LIC through IPO

Fadnavis also spoke about the disinvestment of LIC holdings which received much criticism in the parliament during the Finance Minister's speech. He stated that what was important was that a retail investor could buy a share and not only private parties. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to sell a part of the government's holding in the firm by an initial public offering (IPO), saying that it will ensure a mechanism to address NBFC's liquidity shortages and house finance corporations. 

Read: Budget 2020 | Clean, reliable & robust financial sector key to achieve $ 5 tn economy: FM