This budget, as per the vision of the Prime Minister, is dedicated to provide Ease of Living to all citizens. This in turn is grouped under three broad themes – Aspirational India, Economic Development and Caring India, said the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 in Parliament today. According to her, the Ease of Living is supported by two factors, one being corruption-free, policy driven Good Governance and a clean & sound financial sector.
The Finance Minister said that an important aspect of both the Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business is fairness and efficiency of tax administration. She reassured the taxpayers that the Government is committed to taking measures to protect the citizens form harassment of any kind.
Reforms in Recruitment
Talking about other major Governance reforms in recruitments to Non–Gazetted posts in governments and public sector banks, the Finance Minister proposed to setup a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) as an independent, professional, specialist organization for conduct of a computer based online common eligibility test for recruitment. A test centre is every district, particularly Aspirational districts, would be setup. She further proposed to evolve a robust mechanism for appointment including direct recruitment to various tribunals and specialized bodies constituted for speedy disposal of commercial and other disputes.
Mentioning about laying down a roadmap towards modernized data collection, integrated information portal and timely dissemination of information, the Finance Minister said that there is a growing need for the Indian Statistical System to meet challenges of real time monitoring of our increasingly complex economy. She stressed that Data must have strong credibility and highlighted that the proposed new National Policy on Official Statistics would use latest technology including Artificial Intelligence.
Focus North East
North Eastern region being very high on government’s development agenda, smooth access to financial assistance from multilateral and bilateral funding agencies to help introduce innovative and global best practices is being ensured. The Central government has effectively used an online portal to improve the flow of funds to the North East, the Finance Minister said.
All-round Development of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
Smt Sitharaman stated that the government is fully committed to supporting all-round development of the newly formed UTs of J&K and Ladakh. Accordingly, an amount of Rs 30,757 crore has been provided for the FY 2020-21. An amount of Rs 5,958 crore has been provided for the UT of Ladakh.
G-20 Presidency in 2022
Underscoring India’s G-20 presidency in 2022, the Finance Minister noted that India would be able to drive the global economic and development agenda considerably through this opportunity. For this historic occasion, the government proposes to allocate a sum of Rs 100 crore to begin the preparations, she stated.
