Budget for AtmaNirbharta: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The Union Minister for Finance &
Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2021-22 in parliament
today, which is the first budget of this new decade and also a digital one in
the backdrop of unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Laying a vision for AatmaNirbhar
Bharat, she said this is an expression of 130 crore Indians who have full
confidence in their capabilities and skills. She said that budget proposals
will further strengthen the sankalp of nation first, doubling farmer’s income,
strong infrastructure, healthy India, good governance, opportunities for youth,
education for all, women empowerment, and inclusive development among others. Additionally,
also on the path to fast-implementation are the 13 promises of Budget
2015-16-which were to materialise during the AmrutMahotsav of 2022, on the 75th
year of our Independence. They too resonate with this vision of AatmaNirbharta,
she added.

The
Budget proposals for 2021-22 rest on 6 pillars:

·      
Health and Wellbeing

·      
Physical & Financial Capital, and Infrastructure

·      
Inclusive Development for Aspirational India

·      
Reinvigorating Human Capital

·      
Innovation and R&D

·      
Minimum Government and Maximum Governance

 

FM Sitharaman announced expenditure
of about Rs 2 lakh crore on healthcare with Rs 35,000 crore for COVID-19
vaccine. The amount of Rs 1.01 lakh crore was allocated to railways. FM also
imposed Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on a small
number of items. Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) and Countervailing Duty (CVD) on steel
products was revoked in the union budget 2021.

 

PLI Scheme

 

FM allocated Rs 1.97 lakh
crore for Production Linked Incentive Schemes (PLI) in 13 sectors including
textiles for the next 5 years. This will help manufacturing companies become an
integral part of global supply chains and possess core competence and cutting
edge technology said Sitharaman in her budget speech. PLI schemes will bring
scale and size in key sectors and provide employment to the youth she added.
The textile ministry’s PLI scheme is will help promote new facilities and is expected
to attract investment in MMF sector under Greenfield and Brownfield investments.

 

Textile Parks

 

To help the textile
industry be globally competitive, to attract large investments, boost
employment and exports, FM announced allocation of 7 Mega Investment Textiles
Parks (MITRA) scheme, in addition to PLI, over 3 years.  Setting up mega textile parks is a part of
the government’s plan to double the size of the industry to $300 billion by
2025-26. The parks will be spread over 1,000 acres of land with
state-of-the-art infrastructure, common utilities and R&D lab facilities.
Under the SITP scheme, the government has earlier sanctioned 59 parks, of which
22 are completed.

 

Duties & exemptions

 

FM
further in her address announced a uniform reduction in Basic Customs Duty
(BCD) on caprolactam, nylon chips and nylon fibre and yarn from 7.5 per cent to
5 per cent in order to bring nylon at par with polyester and other manmade
fibres. The duty on steel screws and plastic builder wares increased from 10 to
15 per cent to benefit MSMEs. FM announced rationalisation on the import of
duty-free items for the benefit of exporters of garments, leather and
handicraft items. FM also withdrew exemption on the import of certain kinds of
leathers to encourage domestic manufacturers in the budget 2021. The government
raised the custom duty on cotton from zero to 10 per cent and on raw silk and
silk yarns from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

SIMA chairman appeals PM Modi to withdraw import duty on cotton announced in the Union Budget 2021.

 To read the full story click here