Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill, on Wednesday marking the end of the interim budget exercise in the House with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking to allay apprehensions of opposition parties on tax devolution to some states and assuring that the government will abide by recommendations of the Finance Commission.
Replying to the debate on the discussion, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that no change in the existing income tax rates has been proposed.
Earlier, initiating the discussion, Manish Tewari of Congress said that in the last ten years the country’s economy grew by one and half times but the debt increased by 3 times which needs to be considered seriously. He also raised the issue of unemployment. Subhash Chandra Baheria of the BJP raised the issue of delay in the registration of offices of E-marketing and urged the government to make improvements in the GST system.
During the debate, Sitharaman said 14 sectors are benefiting from the PLI schemes brought by the BJP-led government, and over 7 lakh job opportunities, both direct and indirect, have already been created.
“Fourteen sectors benefit from the PLI Schemes brought by our government. Manufacturing locations are coming up in 24 states and more than 150 districts. The Government has committed nearly Rs 1.97 lakh crores over five years starting 2021-22. Rs 1.07 lakh crore worth of investment has been committed under the PLI Schemes. Exports worth Rs 3.40 lakh crores are happening, Rs 8.7 lakh crore worth production and sales are happening and 176 MSMEs are selected as direct beneficiaries of the PLI Scheme,” she said.
Referring to the IMF report on debt mentioned by opposition members, she said it talks only of a worst-case scenario and is not a fait accompli.
“The kind of measures we are taking to bring down the debt is reassuring. If you look at India’s Debt to GDP ratio, it’s in the range of 80 to 84 percent whereas many advanced countries have over 100 and 200 percent. Many of the developed countries and emerging market economies have over 100 percent. The members of the House can be rest assured that the Debt to GDP ratio is being attended to,” she said.
The House also passed the financial agenda relating to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, including the appropriation bills The House also passed the relevant appropriation bills.
Malook Nagar of BSP welcomed the government’s initiative of waiving off outstanding direct tax demand of up to Rs. 25000 for disputes for the period 2009-10 and waiving off Rs. 10000 for disputes linked to the financial year 2010-11 to 2014-15. He said this initiative is in the interest of the people of the country.