"Historic budget, special attention given to North East region": Union Minister Scindia

Speaking to ANI, Scindia, who also holds the portfolio as Minister for Development of North Eastern Region hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, over the growth numbers.

"This is a historic budget, where a strong foundation for India's economy has been laid over the past 12 years by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. This strong foundation has resulted in a 7.5% GDP growth rate over the last 12 years," he said.

He further stated that the country government's stringent efforts have resulted has brought inflation under control.

"India has emerged as the world's fastest-growing economy for the fourth consecutive year, and simultaneously, inflation has been brought under control. In the last 9 months, the inflation rate has been only 1.7%, which is a unique achievement in the country's history," he said.

Spekaing on the fiscal deficit, he added, "Fiscal deficit, or control over government spending, has also been maintained. The target for fiscal deficit last year was 4.5%, and we will end the year at 4.4%. Next year, we will aim for 4.3%. Along with this, there has been a massive increase in infrastructure spending; the capital expenditure (capex), which was Rs. 2 lakh crore in 2014-15, has now increased to Rs. 11 lakh 20 thousand crore. And next year, we will take it to Rs 12 lakh crore."

He stressed the growth in various sectors, including the agriculture sector, service sector, and manufacturing sector, saying that they are collectively forming a new future for the nation.

Scindia hailed the new sectors, including Artificial Intelligence, Orange Economy, Gaming Sector and more, saying that they are creating a new India, further extending gratitude for the revised funding provided through the new budget.

"A new India is being created with this new budget in the areas of the orange economy, audio-visuals, gaming, AI, semiconductors, as well as the tourism sector and urbanisation. If you look at it comprehensively, this is a budget for building a future India, and I am very happy that both our ministries (Telecom and DoNER) have been allocated increased funds," he said.

Speaking on the development in the North Eastern region, he highlighted the attention being provided by PM Modi and FM Sitharaman to urbanisation, health, and logistics.

"The DoNER Ministry, which is the Ministry for the North Eastern Region, had a revised estimate of Rs 4,500 crore, but has now been allocated a budget of Rs. 8,500 crore. I want to thank the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister for the attention they are giving to the North-Eastern region. 4,000 e-buses have been deployed, 5 Buddhist circuits have been announced, and a lot of attention has also been given to urbanisation, the health sector, and logistics."

Scindia emphasised that the new pathways being created by combining semiconductors, AI, and telecommunications will provide new opportunities for India's 140 crore people, not only contributing to the country's progress but also to global progress.

"Our large language models are showing a return on investment, and multiple semiconductor fabrication plants are being built in the country. With this infrastructure, and based on the capacity of the data chips, a lot of encouragement has also been given to data centers. And a new supply chain has been created in the AI sector through this," he said.

He said that there are plans to build international airports in Agartala and Guwahati to boost the tourism sector, highlighting that the neighboring countries holds a strong faith in Buddhism

Tourism will receive a significant boost because let's not forget that the countries bordering our North Eastern region have a strong faith in Buddhism, and we have also been working towards building international airports in Agartala and Guwahati, so we are fully committed to this.

In the budget presented today, Finance Minister announced that Government will develop an integrated East Coast Industrial Corridor with a well-connected node at Durgapur, creation of 5 tourism destinations in the 5 Purvodaya States, and the provision of 4,000 e-buses.

Sitharaman also announced that a scheme will be launched for the development of Buddhist Circuits in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

Presenting the Yuva Shakti-driven Budget which emphasizes on Government's 'Sankalp' to focus on poor, underprivileged and the disadvantaged, the Finance Minister said, India will continue to take confident steps towards Viksit Bharat, balancing ambition with inclusion. As a growing economy with expanding trade and capital needs, India must also remain deeply integrated with global markets, exporting more and attracting stable long-term investment. (ANI)