New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, an eminent economist, Saturday criticised the union budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying it has good intentions but no adequate roadmap.
Speaking to NDTV news channel, Manmohan Singh, who was prime minister of the Congress-led UPA government for 10 years, said the NDA government has not been able to capitalise on the advantages, like low crude prices and of other commodities.
He also slammed the figure of Rs.15,000 crore net tax revenue as too low.
Manmohan Singh, who was architect of the 1991 economic liberalisation of India, told the news channel: "Mr. Jaitley is a very lucky finance minister. He has inherited an economy which is in reasonably good shape... inflation is under control, not because of anything we have done, but because the international prices of petroleum and other commodities have gone down.
"I had hoped that he would use this lucky phase to give a real big boost to stabilise the economy, strengthen the macroeconomic framework... with all the nitpicking, the net tax revenue will increase by only Rs.15,000 crore. What is Rs.15,000 crores in a budget which runs into Rs.15-16 lakh crores?"
The former prime minister said Jaitley could have done much more for fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic stabilisation.
He also felt the agriculture sector has not received the attention it needed.
"Agriculture has done extremely well under the UPA but in the last one year, there have been signs of stress and strain in the agriculture economy. The budget has nothing to deal with this situation. Seventy percent live in rural areas, their well-being has not received adequate attention," he said.
He said though various funds were being established, "it is one thing to pronounce intentions but another thing to convert them into a solid action programme on the ground.
"My worry about the budget is it has good intentions but does not have adequate roadmap to ensure that those intentions are converted to concrete tactical realities."
Rahul Gandhi: 'Truth can be erased in Modi's world, but not in reality', Rahul Gandhi on the deleted parts of his speech
During the Lok Sabha session, some part of the speech of Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was removed by the Lok Sabha Speaker. Angered by this, Rahul took a dig at PM Modi and
'India's situation much better than China', former AIIMS chief Randeep Guleria responds amid outcry in China
Coronavirus Update 21 Dec because of the speed of corona in many countries of the world including China, the government has also become alert. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections: The fate of these five high-profile candidates will also be decided in the seventh phase.
Voting is being held on Monday in the seventh and final phase of 54 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Many high-profile seats are also included in these 54 assembly seats in nine districts.
PV Sindhu Wins Gold: PV Sindhu won the gold medal in the women's singles of badminton, defeating the Canadian shuttler in the final
PV Sindhu Gold Medal Women's Singles Badminton CWG 2022: On the last day of the Commonwealth Games 2022, India's star shuttler PV Sindhu won the gold medal by performing brilliantly. She won the gold
PM Modi will visit Odisha-Uttarakhand today and will inaugurate the Odisha Conclave and the 38th National Games
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Odisha and Uttarakhand on January 28, i.e. today. According to an official release issued by the Prime Minister's Office, at around 11 am, Prime Minister Modi
PM Modi: Prime Minister Modi leaves for Kuwait on a two-day visit, the first visit of an Indian PM in 43 years
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for a two-day visit to Kuwait. The Prime Minister has gone to Kuwait at the invitation of Kuwait's Sheikh Meshaal Al Ahmad Al Jabar Al Sabah. This is the
How did Anil Vij get corona even after getting vaccinated? Bharat Biotech gave this explanation
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij has been found infected with the COVID-19 virus. He has been admitted to the Civil Hospital at Ambala Cantt. They were given a vaccine for indigenous covaxin (COVAXIN)
US F-35 Crashes: Wreckage of fighter jet F-35 should not be caught by China, America is scrambling to search
The United States Navy is working hard to retrieve the wreckage of its most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, as soon as possible. The jet had crashed in the depths of the South China Sea. This fast
Scuffle between MPs: Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were discharged from the hospital; and were injured on Parliament House premises.
BJP MPs Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput, who were injured in the scuffle between MPs in the Parliament House complex, have been discharged from the hospital. Actually, on December 19, both Congress
Stones pelted on Vande Bharat in Bengal for the third time in a week: window panes were broken, and no passenger was hurt
In West Bengal, a case of stone pelting has once again come to the fore on the Vande Bharat train. This is the third incident of stone pelting on the train in a week. According to media reports,
