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Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed and returned the Finance Bill,2024 and the relevant appropriation bills marking the end of the interim budget exercise in Parliament with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stating that public investment in infrastructure gives greater returns and government has made sure that the debt management is done in such a way that glide path for fiscal deficit given in 2021 is honoured.
Replying to the debate on the bills, the minister answered the questions raised by opposition members and said capital expenditure is spent on creating assets, which can be used by all citizens equally. The House passed and returned the Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2024, the Appropriation Bill, 2024, the Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2024, the Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2024 and Finance Bill, 2024. The bills were passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Echoing her remarks in Lok Sabha during the reply to the debate on the interim budget, Sitharaman allayed apprehensions of opposition parties on tax devolution to some states and assured that the government will fulfil whatever has been recommended by the Finance Commission. "Capital expenditure is not expenditure on Capitalists! Capital expenditure is spent on creating assets, which can be used by all citizens equally & their common infrastructure which improves the 'ease of living' for everybody," she said, responding to remarks of a Trinamool Congress member. "We have committed to spend about 17 per cent higher than RE of 2023-24. If for a rupee spent on revenue expenditure, you hardly get 98 paisa return, whereas on every rupee spent on capital expenditure, you get Rs 1.46 as return. So public investment in infrastructure gives us greater returns," she said "With the capital expenditure being in the focus, in the last three-four years, we have made sure that our debt management is done in such a way that we honour the glide path for fiscal deficit that we had given in 2021," she added. (ANI)
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