Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], February 1 : Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday said the Union Budget places the poor, youth, food providers, women power and Divyangjan at the centre of India's development agenda, asserting that it reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of inclusive growth and a self-reliant nation.
Reacting to the budget, CM Patel said, "Prime Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi has always given priority to the common people. Under his leadership, this budget is taking forward the Reform Express for a developed and self-reliant India."
He congratulated Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting the budget for the ninth consecutive time.
The Chief Minister noted that the budget, prepared in Kartavya Bhavan, is centred around three core duties and aims to strengthen key pillars of society.
"In it, the pillars of knowledge, the poor, youth, food providers, women power and Divyangjan will be strengthened," he said, adding that the budget adopts an approach that ensures every section of society is covered with the mantra of "Sauna Saath, Sauna Vikasna".
Patel said special focus on infrastructure, industries, cutting-edge technology, semiconductors and data centres would give a major push to economic growth.
"The emphasis on MSMEs will greatly benefit small and micro industries," he said, noting that incentives for the manufacturing sector would further boost Gujarat's industrial ecosystem.
Highlighting logistics and connectivity, the Chief Minister said, "The dedicated freight corridor from Dankuni to Surat will provide fast logistics services for the state's trade, industry and manufacturing sector."
He added that Gujarat's textile sector would benefit from six schemes announced to promote textiles, while the announcement of three chemical parks and an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for biopharma industries would strengthen Gujarat's position in these sectors.
Patel pointed out that Gujarat has been leading in municipal bond issuances and said, "The municipalities of Gujarat will also get the benefit of the incentives announced for municipal bonds in this budget."
He welcomed the plan to develop Tier-II and Tier-III cities with populations above five lakh as City Economic Regions, saying it would accelerate integrated urban development.
On tourism and heritage, Patel said the inclusion of Lothal and Dholavira in the archaeological heritage cluster tourism programme would realise the vision of "heritage, development" in Gujarat. He added that the plan to train 10,000 tourist guides would boost local employment.
Praising tax reforms, Patel said, "The Prime Minister has always respected taxpayers and called them the driving force of the country's development," adding that treating tax errors as mistakes rather than crimes reflects trust in honest taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry said in a statement that it is the first Budget prepared in Kartavya Bhawan and is inspired by three 'Kartavyas' (duties).
As per the Ministry, first 'kartavya' is to accelerate and sustain economic growth, by enhancing productivity and competitiveness, and building resilience to volatile global dynamics, second kartavya is to fulfil aspirations of people and build their capacity, making them strong partners in India's path to prosperity while the hird kartavya, aligned with vision of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, is to ensure that every family, community, region and sector has access to resources, amenities and opportunities for meaningful participation.
The non-debt receipts and the total expenditure are estimated as Rs 36.5 lakh crore and Rs 53.5 lakh crore, respectively. The Centre's net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 28.7 lakh crore.
The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 17.2 lakh crore, and the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.7 lakh crore.
The Revised Estimates of the non-debt receipts are Rs 34 lakh crore, of which the Centre's net tax receipts are Rs 26.7 lakh crore.