The Union Budget announced today is a very important landmark in the history of public finance of India. It is the first Budget after the new government has been formed. The Budget has very clearly mentioned that the focus is on 4 different sections: Youth, Farmer, Women and poor people. And budget is focused on employment, skilling, MSMEs and middle class. The budget clearly indicates 9 priorities: agriculture; employment and skilling; social justice; manufacturing and services; urban development; energy security; infrastructure; innovation, research and development; and next-gen reforms.

The focus of budget is on employment generation, which is very important for economic growth. Further, emphasis is on skilling, self employment, middle class and MSMEs.

The Government has also discussed about infrastructure, which has multiplier effect as it leads to growth for numerous years. Thus, it is obvious that the government is not only thinking of short and medium term but also of inter-generational growth. We probably are the only country in the world who are thinking 25 years ahead.

The Central Government continues to follow Fiscal consolidation with Gross Fiscal Deficit strictly on the glide path. The quality of expenditure is also improving with higher allocation to infrastructure development. The Government has also announced a vision document for financial sector that will probably provide a way forward.

To conclude, this is a long-term visionary budget that will lead to sustainable growth.