By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 23 Jul: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a press conference on the General Budget 2024-25 at the Secretariat, here, today. On this occasion the CM described the budget as historic and expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Union Budget. He claimed that this budget will realise the aspirations of Indians and will provide new direction and momentum to the country. The Chief Minister said that the budget placed on the table of the House by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is historic, visionary, inclusive and all-inclusive.
The Chief Minister also expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister on behalf of all the people of the state for announcing a special assistance package to deal with natural calamities in Uttarakhand in the Union Budget 2024-25. He said that through this special package, the damages and losses caused by disasters in the state will not be able to hinder the pace of development of the state.
Dhami pointed out that the Central Government has included 9 priorities for developed India in the budget, which will prove highly effective in strengthening the overall development of India. He said that this budget will work to bring prosperity in the life of the common man.
The CM also expressed gratitude to the Central Government for the launch of the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) of the Union Government. He said that Phase four of PMGSY will be started to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural areas and improve the connectivity to the rural areas. The Chief Minister said that this decision will further strengthen road connectivity in the rural areas of Uttarakhand.
The CM also praised the decision to increase standard deduction from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 in the new tax regime and noted that this will provide significant relief to the salaried persons including the government employees and pensioners. He said that in the general budget, the construction of 12 new industrial parks has been announced across the country. He said that in the Global Investors Summit held in Uttarakhand last year, investment MoUs worth more than Rs 3.5 lakh crores have been signed. In such a situation, Uttarakhand is also expected to benefit from the construction of industrial parks.
The CM also noted that that the Union Budget is focused on welfare of the poor, women, youth and farmers. He said that employment, upskilling, MSME, middle class have been specially included in the budget theme. He said that a provision has been made in the budget to provide additional assistance by the Central Government to deal with the losses caused by landslides and excessive rainfall in Uttarakhand. He said that solar energy has been encouraged in the budget under the PM Suryaghar Yojana. With this, the remote areas of the state will definitely benefit.
Dhami also claimed that necessary importance has been given to the youth under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. He said that a provision has been made to give a loan of up to Rs 10 lakhs to students for higher education in domestic institutions. Under skill loan, a loan of up to Rs 7.5 lakh has now been provided for in the budget. In addition, the central government has also announced the minimum support price on several major crops.
The Chief Minister said that under the education loan, those who are not getting any benefit under government schemes will be able to avail a loan for admission in institutions across the country. The government will give up to 3 percent of the loan money. For this, e-vouchers will be introduced, which will be given to one lakh students every year. Dhami said that the Central Government has included 9 priorities for developed India in the budget, which will prove effective in strengthening the overall development of India. He said that this budget will work to bring prosperity in the life of the common person.
