Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi (Photo Credit: File)
New Delhi:
Day after Nirmala Sitharaman presented her second budget which received mixed reactions from taxpayers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a jibe at PM Modi over the sagging economy. Rahul took to Twitter and posted a video where Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be seen doing his morning exercise. Rahul wrote, "Dear PM, Please try your magical exercise routine a few more times. You never know, it might just start the economy."
Dear PM,
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 2, 2020
Please try your magical exercise routine a few more times. You never know, it might just start the economy. #Modinomics pic.twitter.com/T9zK58ddC0
On Saturday, soon after the finance minister concluded the longest budget presentation ever, Rahul Gandhi criticised it saying it contained no strategic idea or anything concrete and it showed the "hollow" approach of the government that was "all talk and nothing happening". Â
The government on Saturday pegged the country’s nominal GDP growth rate at 10 per cent in the next fiscal and said the capital expenditure is scaled up by 21 per cent to prop up the economy. Presenting the Budget for 2020-21, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said that receipts for 2020-21 are pegged at Rs 22.46 lakh crore while expenditure at Rs 30.42 lakh crore.
The revised estimated expenditure for FY20 has been pegged at Rs 26.99 lakh crore and receipts at Rs 19.32 lakh crore, she said. The net market borrowings would be at Rs 4.99 lakh crore in FY2019-20 and are estimated at Rs 5.36 lakh crore in the next fiscal.
“We have estimated nominal growth of GDP for year 2020-21, on the basis of trends available, at 10 per cent,â€Â she said. India’s nominal GDP growth rate for 2019-20 is estimated at 7.5 per cent after growing by 11.2 per cent in FY 2018-19, as per the Budget documents.
Sitharaman further said a good part of the borrowings for the financial year 2020-21 would go towards capital expenditure of the government that has been scaled up by more than 21 per cent. “That should spur growth impulses in the economy,â€Â the minister said.
She, however, said the government expected tax buoyancy to take time and the recent cut in corporate tax to cause loss of substantial revenue in short run, but the economy will reap huge returns in due course. Sitharaman said income tax rates will be significantly reduced for those who forego reliefs, exemptions.
To address liquidity constraints of NBFCs and housing finance corporations, partial credit guarantee scheme will be launched by the government, Sitharaman added.
