By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 1 Feb: The Uttarakhand BJP has hailed the Union Budget as historic and claimed that it will bring smile on the face of the common man. Reacting to the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajya Sabha MP and State president Mahendra Bhatt asserted that the tax exemption given to 80 per cent of the people, including the working middle class, and the priority given to the tourism and agriculture sectors, will significantly contribute to the development of Uttarakhand.
Bhatt also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting an all-encompassing and inclusive budget in the Lok Sabha. Bhatt claimed that this budget, based on the core principles of development and heritage, will accelerate the pace of building a developed India. He noted that Uttarakhand, with its large number of working professionals and middle-class individuals, will benefit from the Modi government’s Income Tax exemption on average incomes of up to Rs 1 lakh per month, saving them up to Rs 80,000 per year.
Bhatt claimed that the budget’s focus on agriculture, the main engine of development, will also benefit the state’s farmers. The Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana will strengthen agricultural systems and planning structures in 100 districts, benefiting 1.7 crore farmers. Increasing the loan limit on the Kisan Credit Card to Rs 5 lakh will help farmers improve their agricultural infrastructure. Additionally, raising the guaranteed loan limit for MSMEs from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore will benefit newly industrialised states like Uttarakhand. The introduction of a UPI-linked credit card with a Rs 30,000 limit under PM Swanidhi will enhance employment opportunities in smaller states.
Bhatt expressed hope that the state’s cities will be developed with the Rs 1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund allocated as a development centre. He added that the revised Udaan scheme, which will increase regional connectivity to 120 new destinations, will also include places in Uttarakhand. The Gyan Bharat Mission for the survey and conservation of manuscripts will be significant for Uttarakhand. The BJP MP reminded that 36 life-saving medicines for the treatment of cancer, rare diseases, and other serious chronic illnesses have been exempted from basic customs duty. Uttarakhand, projected as a blue state, will benefit from the reduction of customs duty on frozen fish paste from 30 percent to 5 percent. A new scheme has been launched for five lakh first-time entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, he reminded.
Bhatt added that to boost the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign, the government has focused on tourism, with plans to build 50 tourist hotels that will receive all the benefits of the scheme, including infrastructure support. Home stays will also be linked to Mudra loans. As a tourism-based state, Uttarakhand’s efforts will yield better results with this budget. He claimed that the development measures proposed in this budget have been designed with the poor, youth, farmers, and women in mind.
