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From outlays to outcomes, FM promises it all... Replying to a discussion on Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will write to all ministries asking them to formulate statements concerning physical targets. The details of the statement would be laid in Parliament with a view to generating informed discussion on targets achieved.
Parliament, the minister stressed, “must exercise its authority on outcomes of outlays sanctioned.”
The Budget for 2005-06, he said, had increased the outlay for implementing the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) proposals to Rs 75,000 crore from Rs 50,000 crore in the current financial year.
The minister said that the economy in the 2005-06 was expected to grow by 7%. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, according to the advance estimates of Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), was expected to be 6.9% in the current financial year.
He further said that Bharat Nirman was a business plan and resources would be made available to implement different components of the programme. The National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), which was initiated by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, he said, would be carried forward at an accelerated pace by the UPA government.
The minister also urged states to improve governance and take advantage of the funding provided by the Centre to pursue social sector programmes. The states, he added, should also honour the promise for implementing the value added tax (Vat) system from April 1. Vat, he added, was modern system of taxation and was in vogue in 130 countries of the world.
Explaining the philosophy behind the Budget, the minister said it was aimed at investment, growth, stability and equity and justice. “The very fact that you say that I have pleased everyone is a measure of success of the budget rather than failure of the budget.”
Rejecting the opposition charge of soaring prices, the minister quoted statistics to say that the UPA government had succeeded in bringing down inflation to less than 5%, a full one per cent less than what it was at this time last year.
The Lok Sabha later passed the vote-on-account for Rs 1,69,269 crore for defraying government expenditure
for the first two months of 2005-06. The House also passed the relevant appropriation bills.
The vote-on-account was passed by a voice vote amidst walkout by the BSP and SP members who protested against low allocation for Uttar Pradesh in the Budget. | ||
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