New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Today India is being called the bright spot of the global economy.” He also highlighted that India is presiding over G-20 and also attracted the highest FDI in the country in the year 2021-22.
The Prime Minister, while addressing the Post Budget Webinar on the subject of ‘Enhancing Efficiency of the Financial Services for Creating Growth Opportunities’noted that a major part of this investment has taken place in the manufacturing sector.
He emphasized that applications are continuously pouring in to avail of the PLI scheme which makes India an important part of the global supply chain. The Prime Minister urged everyone to take full advantage of this opportunity.
The Prime Minister emphasized that as today’s India is moving with new capabilities, the responsibility of those in the financial world of India has increased. He told them that they have a robust financial system of the world and a banking system that is in profit after being on the verge of collapse 8-10 years ago. Also, there is a government that is taking policy decisions with courage, clarity and confidence. “Today, the need of the hour is that the benefits of the strength in India’s banking system should reach the maximum number of people,” the Prime Minister exhorted the participants. Giving an example of the Government’s support to the MSME sector, the Prime Minister asked the banking system to reach out to the maximum number of sectors. “1 crore 20 lakh MSMEs have received huge help from the government during the pandemic. In this year’s budget, the MSME sector has also got additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of 2 lakh crores. Now it is very important that our banks reach out to them and provide them adequate finance”, he added.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the Government’s policies related to Financial Inclusion have made crores of people part of the formal financial system. The government has helped fulfill the dreams of crores of youth by giving Mudra loans of more than 20 lakh crore rupees without a bank guarantee. For the first time, more than 40 lakh street vendors and small shopkeepers received help from banks through PM Swanidhi Yojana. He called upon the stakeholders to re-engineer all the processes to reduce the cost and increase the speed of credit so that it reaches the small entrepreneurs quickly.
Touching upon the issue of ‘Vocal for Local’ the Prime Minister said that this is not a matter of choice but “Vocal for local and vision of self-reliance is a national responsibility.” Shri Modi noted the tremendous enthusiasm for Vocal for Local and aatmnirbharta in the country and talked about increased domestic production and record growth in exports. “Our exports have been at an all-time high, whether in goods or services. This indicates growing possibilities for India”, the Prime Minister said and asked the stakeholders like organizations and Chambers of Industry and commerce to take up the responsibility to promote local artisans and entrepreneurs up to the district level.
The Prime Minister once again clarified that Vocal for Local is bigger than just buying products from the Indian cottage industry. “We have to see which are the areas where we can save the country’s money by building capacity in India itself”, he said and gave examples of higher education and edible oil where a lot of money goes out.
Touching upon the massive increase in the Capital expenditure outlay in the Budget to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore and dynamism induced by PM Gatishakti Masterpaln, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to support the private sector that is working for the progress of the different geographical areas and economic sectors. “Today, I would also call upon the private sector of the country to increase their investment just like the government so that the country gets maximum benefit from it”, he added.
Dwelling on the tax-related post Budget narrative, the Prime Minister said as opposed to the past, the tax burden has come down significantly in India due to GST, reduction in Income Tax and Corporate tax. This, the Prime Minister said, has resulted in better tax collection. In 2013-14 gross tax revenue was about 11 lakh crore rupees which can rise to 33 lakh crore in 2023-24, an increase of 200 percent. The number of individual tax returns filed increased from 3.5 crores to 6.5 crores from 2013-14 to 2020-21. “Paying tax is such a duty, which is directly related to nation building. The increase in the tax base is proof that people have faith in the government, and they believe that the tax paid is being spent for public good”, the Prime Minister said.