Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Highlights Increased Budget for Social Sectors in Parliament
New Delhi [India], July 30: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the parliament, emphasizing the increased budget allocation for various social sectors compared to previous years.
Overall Government Expenditure
The total government expenditure has grown to Rs 48.21 lakh crore, projected to grow by 7.3% over 2023-24 and 8.5% over pre-actuals of 2023-24.
Agriculture and Allied Sector
The allocation for agriculture and allied sectors has increased from Rs 30,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1.52 lakh crore, which is Rs 8,000 crore more than last year.
Education, Employment, and Skilling
In the education, employment, and skilling sector, the allocation has grown from Rs 85,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1.48 lakh crore, which is 23% more than last year.
Women and Girls
The budget for women and girls has increased from Rs 96,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 3.27 lakh crore, with Rs 96,000 crore more allocated compared to last year.
Rural Development
For rural development, including infrastructure, the budget has surged from Rs 87,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 2.66 lakh crore this year, an 11.7% increase from last year.
Urban Development
The urban development allocation has grown from Rs 12,000 crore in 2013-14 to over Rs 1 lakh crore, which is Rs 7,000 crore more than last year.
Health Sector
The expenditure on the health sector has increased from Rs 72,000 crore to Rs 1.46 lakh crore.
Capital Expenditure
Out of the Rs 48.21 lakh crore budget this year, Rs 11.11 lakh crore has been allocated for capital expenditure.
Finance Minister Sitharaman emphasized that the budget focuses on social and geographical inclusivity, ensuring no sector receives less allocation than the previous year.
Doubts Revealed
Finance Minister -: The Finance Minister is a person in the government who is responsible for managing the country’s money and budget. In India, this person is Nirmala Sitharaman.
Nirmala Sitharaman -: Nirmala Sitharaman is an important leader in India who helps make decisions about how the country’s money is spent. She is the Finance Minister.
Parliament -: Parliament is a place where important people in the government meet to make laws and discuss how to run the country. It’s like a big meeting room for leaders.
Budget allocation -: Budget allocation means deciding how to divide and spend the country’s money on different things like schools, hospitals, and roads.
Social sectors -: Social sectors are parts of society that help people live better lives, like education, health, and welfare.
Government expenditure -: Government expenditure is the total amount of money the government spends on different things to run the country.
Rs 48.21 lakh crore -: Rs 48.21 lakh crore is a very large amount of money. In Indian currency, ‘lakh’ means 100,000 and ‘crore’ means 10 million. So, this is a huge sum of money the government plans to spend.
Agriculture -: Agriculture is the practice of farming, which includes growing crops and raising animals for food.
Women’s welfare -: Women’s welfare means programs and services that help improve the lives of women, like health care, education, and job opportunities.
Rural and urban development -: Rural development means improving the countryside areas, while urban development means making cities better places to live.
Health -: Health refers to services and programs that help people stay healthy, like hospitals and medical care.
Social and geographical inclusivity -: Social and geographical inclusivity means making sure everyone, no matter where they live or who they are, gets the same opportunities and benefits.
Capital expenditure -: Capital expenditure is money spent by the government on big projects like building roads, schools, and hospitals.
Rs 11.11 lakh crore -: Rs 11.11 lakh crore is another large amount of money. It is part of the total budget that will be used for big projects to improve the country.