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SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______

Thursday, February 9, 2017 / Magha 20, 1938 (Saka) ______

REFERENCE BY THE SPEAKER

HON'BLE SPEAKER: Hon'ble Members, this House condemns and expresses its sorrow on the loss of about 20 lives due to the terrorist attack outside the Supreme Court complex in Afghanistan on 7 February, 2017.

The House stands with the Parliament, Government and the people of

Afghanistan in this strife ridden times and supports their efforts to bring the perpetrators of such terrorist violence to justice, and urge all countries to cooperate with the Government of Afghanistan in fighting terrorism.

The House also expresses its grief on the loss of over 100 lives and property due to the recent avalanches in Afghanistan.

The Members, then, stood in silence for a short while.

SUBMISSIONS BY MEMBERS

(i) Re: Need to provide adequate pensionary benefits to seafarers in

the country THE MINISTER OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS AND

MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS(SHRI ANANTHKUMAR) responding to the issue raised by several Hon. Member, said: Hon. Member raised a very important issue regarding the pensionery benefits that our seafarers should be getting. There are many retired seafarers who require that support for their upkeep and sustenance. I will bring the entire issue to the notice of the concerned

Minister so that this can be taken care.

(ii) Re: Drought situation in Karnataka.

THE MINISTER OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS AND

MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI ANANTHKUMAR) responding to the issue raised by an Hon. Member, said: Many times, Karnataka's drought situation has been raised in this House. The hon. Prime Minister gave time to the hon. Chief Minister of Karnataka. They have submitted a memorandum also and Rs. 1,782 crore have been allocated. Till now, whatever amounts were due for Karnataka State's drought-prone farmers from SDRF has been released. The Government of India is fully with the farmers of Karnataka for their welfare and their assistance.

*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377

(i) SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY laid a statement regarding need for

three Kendriya Vidyalayas in Santhal Pargana region of Jharkhand.

(ii) SHRI OM BIRLA laid a statement regarding need to provide

compensation to farmers who lost their crops due to hailstorms in

Kota parliamentary constituency, Rajasthan.

(iii) SHRI RAM TAHAL CHAUDHARY laid a statement regarding

need to permit farmers to undertake cultivation in their agricultural

land in Doranda village under Ranchi parliamentary constituency,

Jharkhand.

(iv) SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI laid a statement regarding

need to include private hospitals in Rajasthan in the panel of hospitals

under Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

(v) SHRIMATI MAUSAM NOOR laid a statement regarding need to

resolve ownership dispute of river islands between West Bengal and

Jharkhand.

(vi) SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY laid a statement

regarding disinvestment of Bridge & Roof Company in West

Bengal.

* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker. (vii) DR. SHASHI THAROOR laid a statement regarding contractual

staff in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram,

Kerala.

(viii) DR. KULMANI SAMAL laid a statement regarding need to fill up

the post of Safety Officer in Paradip Port Trust.

(ix) SHRI JAYADEV GALLA laid a statement regarding need to set up

Rail Neer Plant in Andhra Pradesh.

UNION BUDGET - 2017-2018 - GENERAL DISCUSSION - Contd.

SHRI KALYAN BANERJEE: We are opposing the Budget speech of

2017-2018. Our Leader and the hon. Chief Minister of West Bengal has termed it a controversial, which is clueless, useless, baseless, missionless, actionless and heartless. The budget does not reflect any roadmap for the country or for the future by the present Government, which has lost all its credibility because of a number of steps including demonetization which has affected public of this country at large. The biggest failure of the Government is that the Budget is silent in respect of costs and benefits of demonetization. The hon. Finance Minister did not give any figure as to how much black money has been extinguished and how much the exercise costs the nation, and how much black money is lying in foreign banks. The Budget has neglected primary education, ICDS and nutrition projects.

Private investment is in the doldrums. In 2015-16, the Government created

1,50,000 jobs which fell far short of their promise of creating 2 crore jobs in a year. Demonetization has forced nearly 80 per cent MSMEs to close down. If excise duty and service tax had been cut, it would have boosted demand and revived many MSMEs that have shut down. Owing to demonetization, almost 12 lakhs power looms in Maharashtra have been closed down and diamond industry in Gujarat is in a bad condition. The unorganized sector of India provides 80 per cent of jobs and the demonetization has destroyed that. Budget has given credit to farmers which will never reach them because there are no banks in 92 per cent of our villages. The Government's demonetization policy has already destroyed the cooperative system. It is shocking to know that when the non-performing assets of banks have reached Himalayan heights of Rs. 6,00,000 crore, the Budget has allocated only Rs. 10,000 crore only for capitalization of banks. This Budget has not given any benefit to any class of people of this country. But today farmers are not in a position to sell the crops because of the non-availability of cash. They may speak about the cashless society. A system which has been going on for seventy years, they cannot, by stroke of a pen, overnight stop it. We support cashless society, but it is not possible in village areas.

* SHRI RAMCHARAN BOHRA

* SMT. RAMA DEVI

* SHRI PARVATAGOUDA CHANDANAGOUDA GADDIGOUDAR

* SHRI VINOD KUMAR BOINAPALLI

* SHRI LAKHAN LAL SAHU

* Please see Supplement * SHRI SRIRANG APPA BARNE

* SHRI RAMACHANDRAN MULLAPPALLY

* DR.

* SHRI JUGAL KISHORE SHARMA

* SHRI HARI MANJHI

* SHRI RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO

* SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO

* SMT. DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH

* SHRI RAKESH SINGH

* SMT.

* SHRI B.V. NAIK

* SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUMEGOWDA

* SHRI

SHRI BHARAT SINGH: I rise to support the budget. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister of India has emerged as a major power. Pradhan

Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been implemented for the farmers. If the farmers are unable to sow the seeds due to some reasons even then they will get the benefit of Fasal Bima Yojana. Provision has also been made in the budget to promote dairy industry all over the country. Network of roads is being constructed all over the country. The government under the leadership of the Prime Minister will provide round the clock electricity to all houses in all villages by 2018. Each

* Please see Supplement Anganwadi workers will get Rs. 25,000 as honorarium. The government has also taken steps for the welfare of the weavers. In this Budget, Rs. 71,000 crores have been provided for Uttar Pradesh. A AIIMS and an university should be established in Balia.

*SHRI OM BIRLA

* SMT. ANJU BALA

SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: It is a historic budget. There is some doubt regarding the government's aim to double the income of the farmers in five years. I request the government to reveal the black money figure. Due to demonetization the functioning of District Cooperative Banks has come to a complete stand still. 31 District Cooperative Banks in Maharashtra have Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes to the tune of Rs. 5800 crores. They have to pay Rs.

2.5 crore to Rs. 3 crore as interest daily. The reserve bank has refused to take the old currency. The deposits in those banks belong to the farmers and the workers.

If the District Central Cooperative is not given funds then cooperative banks and

Sewa Society too will not receive funds in turn. Post demonetization the farmers are facing huge problems. In rural areas specially Maharashtra nowdays microfinance companies provide small loans to the farmers and women ranging from Rs. 10,000, Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 30,000 in huge numbers. The rate of interest of these loans is 26 per cent. When the borrowers are unable to return the loans these companies send anti-social elements who commit violence on them and

* Please see Supplement forcibly take away their household goods. The government introduced a very good scheme - the MUDRA Yojana.

Members should not intervene in the banking sector as has been stated by the Allahabad bank. The government should seriously ponder over the issues of salary and allowances of MPs. I would like to say something about the MPLAD scheme that if the allocation under this scheme cannot be increased then, it should be discontinued all together. In fact, surpanches of villages contact us seeking financial assistance for various development works in the villages but we are not able to fulfill their demands. It should therefore be increased to Rs. 25 crore. I would like to put forth an issue relating to the railway budget which concerns my parliamentary constituency. I would request the government to attach one or two wagons in the passenger train so that the orange growers could get the remunerative price for their produce. Similarly, the farmers cooperative societies should be allotted orange booths at railway station.

*SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM

* SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH

* SHRI T.G. VENKATESH BABU

SHRI RAM TAHAL CHAUDHARY: This budget would give impetus to the pace of development and economic reforms together with weeding out corruption from the country. Demonetization would encourage and incentivize cashless system in the country. Several schemes proposed in the budget would

* Please see Supplement help in improving the transparency in the financial transactions carried out by the political parties. Hon. Finance Minister has given huge relief to the people in the income tax. Increased allocation under MNREGA would help in the creation of more jobs. There is phenomenal speed in the construction of roads in the country.

This budget is of great importance for the development of the country and also for the future and new generation of the country and interests of villages, poor and farmers have been safeguarded in this budget.

SHRI THOTA NARASIMHAM: I would like to praise the Budget 2017-

18 for being balanced, corrective and progressive. This year's Budget has given due emphasis on rural development with the highest ever allocation of Rs. 48,000 crore to MGNREGA which seeks to improve agricultural and rural infrastructure.

Further, agriculture sector is being prioritize with increase funding to several schemes. I personally felt optimistic of this Government's strategy of giving utmost importance to skill development and youth welfare. I also appreciate the

Government's determination to scale up digitization of India for more transparency and efficient governance. I also appreciate the Government's relief of capital gains to tax in the new capital city of Amaravati that gives boost for industrial development and increased investments. I thank the hon. Prime Minister and the

Railway Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhu for requisite allotment of funds for

Kakinada-Pitapuram Main line with Rs. 150 crore and Rs. 430 crore Kakinada -

Kotipalli - Narsapuram Railway Line. Projects promised in the Kakinada region include establishment of Office of Director General of Foreign Trade on the lines of Visakhapatnam, Indian Institute of Packaging and National Institute of Fashion

Technology and Hardware Project in Kakinada and work should be initiated on them. I request the Government to create a new Railway Zone in Vishakhapatnam which is a long awaited demand of the Andhra people and is also highlighted in the AP Reorganization Act, 2014. I want to request the hon. Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to enhance the limit of MPLADS.

SHRI VIRENDER KASHYAP: Our party formed the government on the basis of the campaign spearheaded by hon. Prime Minister with a firm resolution to get rid of the corruption from the country. The several steps taken to weed out corruption under various schemes have found a very systematic place in the budget. The budget has made very good provisions for all the sections of society.

This government has started various schemes whether they are meant for the farmers, youth or for the scheduled caste. The government has enhanced the allocation for SC and ST from Rs. 38,833 crore to Rs. 52,393 crore. This measure has resulted into a lot of satisfaction for the dalit community. Today, an amount of

Rs. 1 lakh 30 thousand is given under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and this is resulting in faster construction of houses and benefit to the poor people. I would like to express my gratitude to the hon. Finance Minister for the simple reason that my State get a grant of 90 per cent from the center with the reminder 10 per cent being contributed by the State for the various central sponsored scheme. I think this is leading to fast development in my State. *PROF.(DR.) MAMTAZ SANGHAMITA

* DR. KULAMANI SAMAL

* SHRI KAMALBHAN SINGH MARABI

* SMT. POONAMBEN HEMATBHAI MAADAM

SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA: I would like to commend the hon.

Finance Minister for cutting down the income tax rate for the individuals below the income of 5 lakh per annum. The government have to take steps to improve and strengthen the primary education. The allocation of Rs. 100 crore for primary education is very meagre. I would during his reply, like the hon. Finance Minister to apprise the country about the special provisions that the Union Government would like to make for making the preparation for the Olympic games to be held in 2020 and 2024. The Government should work for the welfare of the farmers.

*SMT.

SHRIMATI SANTOSH AHLAWAT: This is a historical budget. It is for the first time in the history of the country that the General Budget and Rail Budget have been merged into one and it is being presented on the first February. The objective of this budget is to take the country to the newer heights of development.

The approvals for the sanctioned projects would start from the March itself leading to earlier inception of work taking the country on to the path of progress. This is a inclusive budget and a step in the direction of strengthening the country. This

* Please see Supplement budget will create new employment opportunities and aid to economic development. It will also enhance the purchasing power of middle class.

* SHRI DEVJI MANSINGRAM PATEL

ADV. JOICE GEORGE: There is no specific programme for mitigating the near-term impact of the demonetization on our agrarian community. There is an increase of only six per cent in budgetary allocation for agriculture sector. It is not enough to meet the inflation effect. The assistance provided to the marginal, small and medium farmers also is very less. I am raising a very important matter concerning our MPs. We have been asked to adopt a village under the SAGY scheme and no money has been allotted for that. Nor has any step been taken to improve the MPLADS. Lastly, we were also expecting an AIIMS to be set-up in

Kerala but that has also not been sanctioned.

*KM. SHOBHA KARANDLAJE

SHRI : This budget will prove effective in bringing about a qualitative change in the live of villager, poor and farmers and in creation of employment opportunities for the youth. In addition to it this budget is a statement of commitment of the Government towards fiscal consolidation. I can say with full conviction that this budget shows the commitment of the hon. Prime

Minister for doubling the income of the farmers and welfare of the deprived and vulnerable section of society. Besides it also underlines the commitment towards the basic philosophy of the Prime Minister 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. The budget

* Please see Supplement has reduced the tax rate of income tax in the slab of 2.5 lakhs to 5 lakhs from 10 per cent to 5 per cent. This step will result in benefitting one crore and 95 lakh people. And allocation of Rs. 1080 crore has been made for the expansion of broad gauge network. Adequate allocation has been made for passenger safety, sanitation and catering. This will certainly increase the passenger amenities. My district Balaghat-Shivani is a naxalite affected district. I would like to request for a special package for the naxalite affected districts.

*DR. THOKCHOM MEINYA

SHRI C.N. JAYADEVAN: The present Budget has once again put down the hopes of the common man, the vulnerable population like the old, tribals, dalits and women. The alternate employment scheme, the MGNREGA, has been allotted the highest amount, that is Rs.48,000 crore till date as per the Finance

Minister. But he is silent on the fact that Rs.14,000 crore is the backlog from the previous year for the payment of wages. Basic facilities like health and education are also not given due consideration. The allocation of six per cent of GDP to education, as recommended by Kothari Commission is still a far dream. Hence, I strongly advise that apart from higher allocations, a mission mode working is required. Moreover, I would request the Minister to allocate a fair percentage of

5000 PG seats to the AYUSH system of medicine also, particularly Ayurveda which has a great potential for earning foreign exchange also.

* Please see Supplement DR. BANSHILAL MAHATO: This budget has kept into focus the welfare of all the sections of society and the allocation has increased in all the sectors.

However, the allocation of Rs. 441 crore for Ayush in respect of the entire country is very inadequate. There is a need to increase it. This budget has paid special attention for ensuring the issuance of passports from the post office. I hail from district Korba. There is a need to enhance the allocation for the development of the district.

*SHRI BHANU PRATAP SINGH VERMA

SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV: This budget has given nothing for the poor, dalits, adivasis, backwards nor for the minorities. No special package has been given to Bihar. AIIMS should be opened at Banka, Bhagalpur,

Munger and Jamui. Ports should be developed and maintained at Sultanganj,

Bhagalpur and Munger under the Namami Gange project. The Commission for

Backward Classes should be set up. As far as railways are concerned Rail Budget has been merged into the General Budget. Presently, railways are in very critical state. While the fares have been increasing the profit of railways has been decreasing. There is a need to run a Rajdhani train from Bhagalpur and start new trains from Sultanganj. There is a need to develop a goods yard and a washing pit at Munger.

SHRIMATI BIJOYA CHAKRAVARTY: In fact, common people of the country have not progressed till now. Hon. Prime Minister has a vision for relief

* Please see Supplement to and welfare of the common people and he does not hesitate in taking tough decisions if need be. Like personal life, cleanliness is important in economic life, political and social life too. Now I come to Assam. It is not that nothing has been done in the last 70 years in Assam. But for sure there has not been a good work.

Construction of roads has started in every village during the last 8 months. The most serious problem of Assam is intrusion. Earlier, the intruders could get their ration cards issued and names enrolled in electoral rolls. Aadhaar card have not been issued in Assam as yet because they are updating the electoral rolls. I urge the government to provide adequate funds to the Government of Assam for this purpose. There are a number of unmanned railway crossings. This needs to be addressed. There is bridge over the Brahmaputra. There is a need to construct railway bridge over it and locals should be recruited in the Railways.

SHRI K.C. VENUGOPAL: The people of the country had a great expectation from this Budget. After demonetization, people thought that there may come some achche din through this Budget but they are all totally disappointed.

The Government has not released the final statistics of how much money has arrived in banks after demonetization. I would also like to know from the

Government about the previous year's budget announcements and how much they have been fulfilled. The CAG report rejects the claim of the Government of saving around Rs.22000 crore on LPG subsidy after Give it UP call of the hon.

Prime Minister. Not a single person from traditional industries of coir and fishing has got any benefit from MUDRA Scheme. There was a big health sector announcement made in last year's budget for the poor and the elderly for providing health cover which is yet to be approved by the Cabinet. NO allocation has been made for Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. A town in my constituency has been selected under AMRUT scheme. But not a single work has been started in this scheme so far. These promises have not been fulfilled ever after two years. There is only a marginal increase in the funding for health sector in the country. In respect of MGNREGS, there is an increase of Rs. 500 crore only. Regarding environment and forests, nothing has been given for climate change. No major measure has been taken to control the pollution. The budget also did not increase allocation towards achieving India's commitment on renewable energy. The much talked about maternity benefit entitlement scheme has received a meager allocation of Rs. 2,700 crore and those who require this assistance the most have been excluded. Allocation for the Urban Renewable Mission has been cut from

Rs. 9,559 crore to Rs. 9,000 crore while urban population is increasing day by day.

The Centre's plan for disinvestment of public sector units' shares to the tune of

Rs.72,500 crore shows that the Government is keen to dilute the State holdings and hand them over to corporate houses. In respect of primary education, there is no increase in allocation. Last year, in the Railway Budget around Rs.4,420 crore for doubling purpose in my constituency in Kerala had been allocated but not a single paisa has been spent. Farmers in the country also expected that the

Government would provide a loan-waiving scheme for them but they are disappointed. *SHRI DODDAALAHALLI KEMPEGOWDA SURESH

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA: A 92 years old tradition has changed this year and the Railway Budget and the General Budget are merged. Rs.2,50,000 crore additional allocation is given to the States in comparison to the allocation of 2015-

16. Fiscal deficit is reduced. Allocation of Rs.58,000 crore for agriculture,

Rs.1,28,560 crore for rural development, Rs.27,000 crore for NHRM, Rs.29,000 crore for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana have been made. Allocation for schemes like MNREGA has been doubled as against the allocation of year 2015 and now

Rs.48,000 crores have provided for this scheme. A scheme for providing drinking water to 28,000 villages affected by arsenic and fluoride has been launched in this

Budget. A target of construction of one crore houses has been fixed and a provision of Rs. 23,000 crore has been made for the same. A provision of

Rs.16,248 crore has been made under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for ending open defecation and it should be appreciated. An innovative experiment of soil testing has been started in 648 districts which would help in reducing use of fertilizers and input costs. A provision of Rs. 8000 crore has been made for dairy which will help in generating additional income to the farmers. I have made animal husbandry and agriculture the basic these in my Saansad Adarsh Gram as a result of which that village has ranked number 10 in the country. The allocation made for irrigation will ensure water to every field. The targets to rid the country of kala azar, measles, filaria, tuberculosis and leprosy is a very good move.

* Please see Supplement 1,50,000 villages will get high speed broadband connectivity under Digital India

Programme. There is a proposal to integrate 65,000 primary agriculture cooperatives and to reform the district cooperative banks. The tax on small companies has been reduced to 25 per cent which will benefit 95 per cent companies in the country. One crore 95 lakh salaried and middle class people will benefit from the reduced rate of income tax. There are good provisions to bring about reforms in the field of education. Establishment of National Testing

Agency, provision of Rs. 43,000 crore for primary education, Rs.33,000 crore for higher education and creation of 5000 PG medical seats are very good steps. A provision of more than Rs.2000 crore has been made for education of the minorities and political donations will also be regulated. There are major reforms with respect to defence, rail and for the benefit of SCs and STs in this Budget.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: There were great expectations from this budget. But, I would say, it is a mixed bag and falls short of expectations.

Not much has been done to address the impact of demonetization. The Railway and the General Budgets have been merged. This is a right decision. The

Government has moved from discretionary administration to a policy and system- based administration. The Government has moved from favourism to transparency. A major attack is in progress on black money. Another bold step is relating to transparency in electoral reforms relating to political funding but it has some loopholes. Relating to personal income-tax matter, the Government has reduced the rate from ten percent to five per cent in the first slot. But it would be necessary to give more money to the consumers to have another slot in between five per cent to 15 per cent instead of 20 per cent. A point of concern today in the country is that corporate debt is rising in some stressed sectors and growth is slackening today. Rate of return of railways has drastically come down. That means, Railway is running in loss. In this Budget the finance Minister had quoted the Father of the Nation, mahatma Gandhi. That is a very good thing. Remember

Gandhiji but instead of going in for consumerism, the Government should go for

Gandhian economy. It is the happiness of the people that is important. So the

Government should work for the happiness of the people.

*SHRI K. ASHOKKUMAR

* DR. JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN

*SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR

* KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL

* DR. VARA PRASADARAO VELAGAPALLI

* SHRI RAHUL KASWAN

* SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND MINISTER OF CORPORATE

AFFAIRS (SHRI ARUN JAITLEY) replying said: This year's budget contains three major changes. First, Railway budget has been merged with the General budget. Second, the date of presentation of the budget has been advanced to 1st

February in place of 28th February and third, the classification between plan and

* Please see Supplement non-plan expenditure has been done away with. The Railway budget was separated from the General budget in the year 1924. At that time, the size of the

Railway budget used to be bigger than the General budget. But today the situation is different from that existed in 1924. The total expenditure of the Railways is a very small part of the General budget. Today, the Defence expenditure is more than that of the Railways. As for discussion on the Railways, every year as a matter of Parliamentary discipline once the Grants of various ministries are discussed, there would be and should be a separate discussion on the Railways, as it used to be on the Railway Budget because it is a matter of accountability. This year's budget has been presented in the backdrop of three situations that has cropped up in the world as they have the potential to impact the economy of any country. The first is today the economy of the entire world is in the grip of recession. So it is natural that it would impact other countries also. Trade plays a pivotal role in enhancing the GDP of a country and when the consumer does not have enough money in his pocket, it is bound to impact international trade also which in turn impacts export segment. The second situation is that the entire world particularly, the developed countries have again started resorting to policy of protectionism and they are formulating their policies in a way that create instability in economies world over. Thirdly, we are primary purchaser of crude oil. So that also impacts our economy. Our Government has been striving for the last 2-3 years to minimize the impact of all these things. During the UPA

Government, the current account deficit went up to 4.5 per cent which is wholly unacceptable. And the inflation rate reached double figures. At present, the rate of inflation is 3.6 per cent and the current account deficit is 0.3 per cent. This is the kind of consolidation that our Government has done. Our revenues in the last two years have gone up jointly by 17 per cent in each of the two years. When the revenue buoyancy is there, the states' share in the devolution of taxes is also higher. So, our effort is to have as much public expenditure as possible. While maintaining fiscal consolidation, our effort also has been that resources must come from where they are available. Therefore, a record amount of FDI is also coming into the country which keeps the economic activity going to generate demand. We have taken a series of steps to ease the doing of business in India. We have also taken steps to make sure that there are no discretions.

Politically there is a general consensus on the GST. Its impact will be that once we implement it, the entire country would be turned into one market. Today, we have 30 different markets in India. Every state levies its own tax. Once we have a free flow of goods and services across the country, we have a system that there is no tax on tax. It is also a better and efficient tax system where every limb of the transaction would be caught in the IT network. Today from all over the country it is clear that lakhs and crores of rupees have come into the banking system. This money from various banks, through the currency chests, will reach the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank obviously is going to undertake an exercise of exactly counting the currency. But as I said, it is an exercise which is time consuming. After deleting what could be the fake currency, etc. the Reserve Bank, as an important institution, will have to come out with an accurate figure. Now that the entire money has come into the system, they will find what are the effects which will take place with this money having come into the banking system. Firstly, the capacity of the banks to lend has increased. Secondly, banks in one go said that they are in a position today to absorb this money because this is a low cost money, give some lending and bring the interest rates down. Thirdly, when further transactions in this money are going to take place, obviously the size of the formal economy is going to increase. We can see that there has been an increase of 6-7 per cent in Corporate

Taxes. Personal Income Tax has also recorded a sudden increase of 38 per cent. Tax collection of all the big states have increased baring two big states. It is a fact that Tax collections have increased. With regard to informal economy, there is a challenge before us because cash component in the GDP of advanced countries falls between 2 to 3 per cent whereas in India it is 12.2 per cent. Again, with regard to universal basic income, I would like to say that this should be an optional arrangement of subsidy comprised of State and Central Funding instead of making it an additional arrangement.

For the first time, approx. Rs.3,96,000 crore have been earmarked for infrastructure in this Budget. Secondly, Government has also given a thought to create Rail Safety Fund to the tune of Rs.1 lakh crore for which initial fund will be provided from the budget and remaining would be mobilized from other sources of Railways. For the last two years, we have been making efforts to increase the Defence outlay by 10 per cent every year.

Now in the current budget, Rs.58,663 crore have been earmarked for agriculture sector,

Rs.1,28,560 crore for rural sector and approximately Rs.1,86,000 have been provided for irrigation, rural housing, Swach Bharat Abhiyan and other poverty alleviation schemes in rural sectors. Last year, the Government has provided Rs.38,000 crore for MNREGA and the total expenditure under this head was Rs.47,000 crore. This year, we have increased it to Rs.48,000 crore. For the first time in the history of our country, tax rates have not been increased in the budget. The Government has increased the tax liability of only those persons having income of more than Rs.50 lakh. So, the objective of the

Government is to include small tax payers into the tax net. Government has also provided a major relief to the MSME plus sector by providing discount of 5 per cent in the taxation. This year also the Government has made provisions to promote the affordable housing in the housing sector. Today, even after so many years since

Independence, a bulk of India's politics have been funded through unaccounted money.

Government has made major serious efforts to legitimize it. More over small donations can be made through digital mode. In this regard, if they have an improvement to suggest, Government is open for discussion on improvement. With regard to increase in

NPAs, it is mainly due to two factors. One is indiscriminate loans which were given earlier, interest has added on and second, some of this NPAs were hidden. Secondly, the problems of NPAs is partly the slowdown also. With this I commend the budget to this

Hon. House for its sanction.

The discussion was concluded.

** ** ** **

ANOOP MISHRA Secretary General

**Supplement covering rest of the proceedings is being issued separately. © 2017 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that should be considered authoritative.

English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in.