Union Budget 2020: Sharad Pawar says FM's budget speech lacked farsightedness & direction

Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar on Saturday termed 2020 Union Budget as a budget that lacked 'farsightedness and direction.' He spoke of how budget focusses on agricultural warehousing but lacks clarity on how it will double farmers' income. NCP supremo also called it to be a 'distant dream.'

He furr added on how Finance Minister in one of lengthiest speech today, igred Automobile sector and also did t address unemployment issue 'fairly.'

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Railways & Civil Aviation Ministries to help farmers

As a part of 16-point programme, Finance Minister said, "To build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, Indian Railways will set up Kisan Rail through PPP (public-private partnership) model so that perishable goods can be transported quickly," Added to this is Krishi Udan by Ministry of Civil Aviation on international and national routes. This will immensely help improve value realization especially rth-East India and tribal areas."

She also said refrigerated parcel vans on select mail express and freight trains for carrying perishable cargo was also on anvil. Perishable goods like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish, meat need to be carried in such temperature-controlled vans to travel long distances. proposal to use refrigerated parcel vans to ferry perishables was first anunced by n railway minister Mamata Banerjee in 2009-10 Budget, however, it has failed to take off.

READ | Budget 2020: Kisan Rail & Krishi Udan schemes to give farmers wings, charge agriculture

Union Budget 2020

This year's Budget assumes tremendous significance as Indian ecomy is facing multiple challenges such as a rise in inflation, unemployment, farmer distress and a dip in GDP growth. While beginning her Budget speech, Finance Minister had said that focus would be on increasing incomes and elevating purchasing power.

In its Ecomic Survey 2020 released on Friday, Union government predicted that ecomic growth would pick up to 6.0% to 6.5% in fiscal year beginning April 1, but warned that it may have to exceed its deficit target to revive growth.

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