Budget Document

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: Pranab Mukherjee Minister of Finance July 6, 2009,

Madam Speaker,

I rise to present the Budget for 2009-10.

2. Just 140 days back, I had the privilege to present the Interim Budget for 2009-10. It is a rare honour that I have been called upon to present the regular budget after the new Government assumed office.

3. The Congress-led UPA Government has come back to power with a renewed mandate. As Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, said recently “It is a mandate for continuity, stability and prosperity. It is a mandate for inclusive growth and equitable development.” It is a mandate that we accept with humility and a firm resolve to do all that we can for the welfare of this nation.

4. I am deeply conscious of the faith reposed by the people in our government and the responsibilities that come with it. I am sensitive to the great challenge of rising expectations of a young India . It reflects a population that is restless, yet engaged and is ready to seize the opportunities that it is presented with. There are new and powerful reasons for us to create, facilitate and sustain those opportunities.

5. In the Interim Budget for 2009-10, I had stated that the new Government would need to anchor its policies for 2009-10, in a medium term perspective that would have to:

(a) sustain a growth rate of at least 9 per cent per annum over an extended period of time;

(b) strengthen the mechanisms for inclusive growth for creating about 12 million new work opportunities per year;

(c) reduce the proportion of people living below poverty line to less than half from current levels by 2014;

(d) ensure that Indian agriculture continues to grow at an annual rate of 4 per cent;

(e) increase the investment in infrastructure to more than 9 per cent of GDP by 2014;

(f) support Indian industry to meet the challenge of global competition and sustain the growth momentum in exports;

(g) strengthen and improve the economic regulatory framework in the country;

(h) expand the range and reach of social safety nets by providing direct assistance to vulnerable sections;

(i) strengthen the delivery mechanism for primary health care facilities with a view to improve the preventive and curative health care in the country;

(j) create a competitive, progressive and well regulated education system of global standards that meets the aspiration of all segments of the society; and