PM says 'Uttam' Budget devoted to 'strengthening the hands of the poor'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today lavished praise on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying he had presented an 'uttam' Budget devoted to 'strengthening the hands of the poor'. Speaking after the presentation of the Union Budget for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha, Mr Modi said the Budget 'is yet again devoted to the well-being of the villages, farmers and the poor'. The main stress of the Union Budget was on farmers, villages, the poor, Dalits, down-trodden and oppressed, he claimed.

On the pro-rural stance of the budgetary proposals, he said the aim of the Government was to double the income of farmers. 'In many ways this budget will facilitate the changes that our country is going through,' Mr Modi said, adding that in many ways the commitment to eliminate corruption and black money was reflected in the budget. For the business sector, he said the budget would help small businesses to become competitive in the global market.

The housing sector also stood to gain immensely from the budgetary proposals. The Railway budget too had focused on railway safety fund, the PM stated. On the merger of the railway budget with the general budget, Mr Modi maintained that the merger 'will give an impetus to the transport sector's growth'. He lauded the attempts to bring a budget that attempted to fulfill the dreams of one and all. (UNI)