LOK SABHA ___

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

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 / Magha 19, 1938 (Saka) ______

*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377

(i) SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL laid a statement regarding

need to upgrade railway stations at Ekma and Maharajganj in Bihar as

model railway stations.

(ii) SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY laid a statement regarding

hiring of services of private security guards in Central Coalfields

Limited, Jharkhand.

(iii) SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI laid a statement regarding need to

disseminate information about organic and polyhouse farming to

farmers in Kheri parliamentary constituency, Uttar Pradesh.

(iv) SHRI JUGAL KISHORE laid a statement regarding need to

construct railway over bridge on level crossings at Samba and

Vijaypur in Jammu parliamentary constituency in Jammu and

Kashmir.

* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker. (v) SHRI GANESH SINGH laid a statement regarding need to clean and

conserve rivers in Satna parliamentary constituency, Madhya Pradesh.

(vi) DR. UDIT RAJ laid a statement regarding need to provide

reservation in faculty positions of Indian Institutes of management.

(vii) SHRI RODMAL NAGAR laid a statement regarding need to take

measures to effectively extend the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Fasal

Bima Yojana to farmers.

(viii) SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIA laid a statement regarding need

to establish Regional Cotton Research Centres in Gujarat.

(ix) SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNAPURIA laid a statement regarding

need to enhance compensation package for those families rehabilitated

from Tiger Reserve Areas at Sariska, Ranthambore and Kukundara

Hills in Rajasthan.

(x) SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM laid a statement regarding need to

take steps to check soil erosion caused by recurrent rains and floods in

Jharkhand particularly in Palamu and Garhwa districts of the State.

(xi) SHRI GOKARAJU GANGA RAJU laid a statement regarding need

to construct tide-breakers along the Coastal districts of Andhra

Pradesh. (xii) SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL laid a statement regarding

need to augment rail connectivity to Palanpur and Mehsana in

Gujarat.

(xiii) SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR laid a statement regarding need to

inter-link Narmada-Mahi rivers in Madhya Pradesh.

(xiv) SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK laid a statement regarding need to take

adequate measures to protect the life and property of elderly citizens

living alone in metro cities.

(xv) SHRI B.N. CHANDRAPPA laid a statement regarding need to

improve the telecom services of BSNL and MTNL.

(xvi) SHRI K.C. VENUGOPAL laid a statement regarding need to

address the problems of ex-servicemen of para-military forces.

(xvii) DR. P. VENUGOPAL laid a statement regarding check dam across

Palar river in Andhra Pradesh.

(xviii) DR. RATNA DE (NAG) laid a statement regarding need to set up a

CGHS Wellness Centre at Barrackpore/Ishapore in West Bengal.

(xix) SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA laid a statement regarding need

for creation of infrastructure for digital implementation of welfare

schemes. (xx) SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU laid a statement

regarding spread of chronic kidney disease in Uddanam in Andhra

Pradesh.

(xxi) SHRI RADHESHYAM BISWAS laid a statement regarding

introduction of new trains in North-Eastern states.

(xxii) ADV. JOICE GEORGE laid a statement regarding the problems

faced by ASHA workers in the country.

(xxiii) SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY laid a statement regarding

need to develop the Bhaluni Bhawani Temple in Rohtas district of

Bihar as a pilgrim place and provide adequate facilities for pilgrims

visiting the site.

UNION BUDGET - 2017-2018 - GENERAL DISCUSSION

SHRI M. VEERAPPA MOILY initiating said: This Budget has turned out to be a timid one without any will power, any thrust and also the vision to take the country forward. In fact, there is no vision for the growth in the light of the falling growth backdrop, bank NPAs reaching the highest level and the Trump factor from

US. Above all, it is our own self-made hara-kiri which is committed in the economy of this country for the first time, that is, demonetization. That is why, we expected this Budget to address some of the serious concerns. But when you look into the Budget, this does not address any concerns of the country. That is why, we find here that manufacturing sector is not growing up. Unemployment is just knocking our doors afflicting the economy, society and the country. The public sector investment is coming down and not taking up. Private investment is just coming down in the last three years. The need of the hour is to accelerate the economy and to promote the consumption but this Budget does not have anything substantial on this. In fact, hardly anything significant has been done even in sectors like health and education. Similarly, the merger of Plan and Non-Plan should have been brought in systematically and scientifically. Similarly, we are not fundamentally against merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget.

But the point is, these mergers have been confused. With regard to demonetization, I was just looking at some of the comparative pictures of many other countries and found that so far 22 countries have gone in for demonetization.

All other countries have given the reasons of inflation, disruption of economy and many other things. But Pakistan and India have cited terrorism, black money and counterfeit as three reasons for demonetization. Then, with regard to the estimates and other things, the total expenditure is projected to fall from 13.4 per cent of

GDP in 2016 to 12.7 per cent of GDP in 2017-18. The Government does not want to answer to the people. The Government say that we are not entitled to an answer.

So, I would like to say unless people have confidence that money deposited in the banks can be freely convertible into cash and vice versa, they will be reluctant to deposit or to invest. Cash withdrawal curbs will further lead to hoarding.

Moreover, Economic Survey itself suggested you to come out with a policy report.

Again, there was an indication that Rs. 4-5 lakh crore have stayed out from the banking system. Now, after demonetization not even Rs. 1 lakh crore has stayed out as everything has come back. In fact, there is a fall in GDP. Even after two months time the banks have not revived. The unplanned, unprepared move has affected transactions to the extent of 70 per cent of the economy. As far as black money is concerned, during the UPA-II Government, a White Paper brought by us stated that Rs. 62,000 crore black money has been stashed outside. Now the Prime

Minister saw this Report, picked it up, and said that this black money would distributed without knowing what the consequences are. In all, I must say that our economy has been ruined by this present Government in the name of legacy. The remaining two years, we do not expect that they will improve the situation in the country. This Government is not at all interested in building this country.

SHRI HUKMDEO NARAYAN YADAV: Previous governments did not take care of poor mothers in the country. I would like to thank the hon. Prime

Minister that he felt the agony of the mothers and provided Rs.6000 to the pregnant woman for food. This move of the government is going to be pivotal in providing necessary nutrients to the pregnant woman. At present we are discussing the Union Budget. As far as the direction and volition of the current regime is concerned, the measures taken by the hon. Prime Minister for the women empowerment and particularly for making pregnant women economically and mentally strong. The measures taken in this regard by the Prime Minister amply displays the intention and commitment of the Government. The budget document which contains the factors like farmer, rural population, the youth, the poor and the deprived sections of the society, infrastructure, financial sector, digital system, public service, prudent fiscal management and tax administration presents the wider contour of the approach of our government. Once again, I would like to thank hon. Prime Minister to translate the vision of Sardar Patelji and the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi by according first and second priority respectively to agriculture and rural development in the budget. In 1951, there were 71.9 per cent farmers which went down by 26.8 per cent to 45.1 per cent in the year 2001.

Likewise there were 28.1 per cent agrarian labour in the year 1991 which went up by 26.08 per cent to 54.9 per cent in the year 2011. But when we see the other side of the coin we find that the number of agrarian labour has increased by 26.8 per cent which stands to mean that the persons who were earlier farmers were forced to become agrarian labour. On one hand the previous regime emphasized scientific farming with mechanization. On the other hand land was fragmented. That was not land reforms but loot of the farm lands. The hon. Prime Minister has framed a law for seizure of Benami property. The hon. Prime Minister has initiated several schemes to usher in an equitable society in India. When the hon. Minister of

Finance was replying on demonetization no one could counter him. Why this disparity in the country between the rich and the poor? Why the disparity between the villages and the city, agriculture and industries? This was because of the policies of the previous regime. The Prime Minister is working for the welfare of the villages and the poor. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana will bring water to all farms. People in Uttar Pradesh know how many irrigation schemes were launched by the Congress Government. There is one western Koshi canal scheme in Mithlanchal, which started in 1960. Even today there is no water in the canal.

Land as well as production was lost. There was a nexus among the engineer, politician and the contractor to continue with their loot without completing this scheme. Why were irrigation schemes in Uttar Pradesh not completed? Who is responsible? There is 12 crore hectares of cultivable land in India. Soil testing is not an easy task. Scheme for rural Gowdowns was started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. The Congress government stopped this scheme. There are no godowns in

Bihar. Why were godowns not constructed in Uttar Pradesh? This was done to benefit the businessman. The Prime Minister established the MUDRA bank, which gives a loan of upto Rs. 10 lakh with self guarantee. This will bring prosperity to the deprived and the weaker sections of the society. The Prime Minister started the Skill Development Scheme in each village. Shri Atal Bihari

Vajpayee ji started the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Congress stopped this. The Prime Minister has provided Rs. 27,000 crore for this scheme. This will change the face of the villages. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh no farmer keeps more than Rs. 2000 in cash at home. The Prime Minister gave the slogan of 'Sabka

Saath Sabka Vikash'. The Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, the poor, the rich, the backwards and the dalit are all included in this. I support this budget.

PROF. SAUGATA ROY: The Finance Minister is said to have presented a

1 non-controversial Budget. An amount of Rs. 15 /2 lakh crore were demonetized.

The government expected that only Rs. 10 lakh crore would be deposited, so Rs.

Five lakh crore will be with the Reserve Bank of India. That is why the

Government floated this idea of Universal Basic Income. The government has not been able to do any such thing because there is no money in the kitty. The total expenditure is pegged at Rs. 21.46 lakh crore, which is only increased by 6.6 per cent. Normally, a Budget should increase by 10 per cent. Out of that, Rs. 16 lakh crore is the Government's revenue/income, which leaves a gap of Rs. 5.5 lakh crore. This will be the borrowing. The government will not be able to meet its target of disinvestment. The Budget for Railways is Rs. 1,31,000 crore. For this, the hon. Railway Minister could not even protest. Railway safety, for which the

Finance Minister has promised Rs. 1 lakh crore, is in a very bad shape. Defence expenditure is pegged at Rs. 2,74,000 crore, which is only 26 per cent of China's military budget. The main problem in this Budget as to why the Government could not spend more money, is that there is no money in the kitty. With the drop in tax revenue, the compensation figures for GST - the Centre will have to compensate the States - will swell to Rs. 90,000 crore. This will lead to severe joblessness.

There should have been relief in Corporate Tax. There should have been some method to encourage big companies so as to encourage creation of jobs. There is a serious shortfall in skilled Indians and the Government has not really attended to this problem. The Government has not given a boost to aggregate demand, cut indirect taxes especially, Excise Duty and Service Tax which affects everybody.

There is absolutely nothing in the budget in terms of either new strategy, or policy measures to revive private investment. The Budget even does not mention minimum support price to farmers which is absolutely essential. There is meager increase in the budgetary allocation for MGNREGA. There is no increase or less increase in allocation for PMGSY and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and

Smart Cities Programme. Hon. Finance Minister was planning to increase taxes but faced with the anger of the middle classes, he has not increased the taxes. As far as electoral reforms are concerned, nothing will work except state funding of elections. This Budget is a conservative Budget as there has been no new taxation, there has not been any major rebate in taxes. I have mentioned that demonetization has failed to provide the financial bonanza to the Government. Demonetization has harmed the economy. This Budget does not give us a bright picture of the economy.

DR. PRABHAS KUMAR SINGH: There are three major changes in the

Budget - early presentation, no plan and non-plan differences and merger of the

Railway Budget with the General Budget. Hon'ble Chief Minister of Andhra

Pradesh described it as a mixed bag and that falls short on many expectations.

Demonetization has hit our State hard as tax collection fell by 11 per cent I our state. Allocation for schemes relating to rural roads, rural drinking water, education, mid-day meal programme and urban development are stagnant.

Initiatives related to job creation for the youth is an area of serious concern where adequate focus is not given. In fact, barring the co-operative banks from participating in the demonetization scheme has worsened the farmers. There was no growth at all in the allocation of special Central assistance to states for the

Scheduled Caste Welfare Scheme as well as social security scheme like pension under the National Social Assistance Programme. There has a long demand for the creation of a new Railway Division at Jharsuguda. It has the entire infrastructure.

So, there is every possibility and scope for the creation of a new Railway Division at Jharsuguda. There is need to increase the MSP of different agricultural crops like wheat, paddy etc. for there is no mention in the budget. Very important for my State is what the Government is planning for our old share of Central Sales Tax

(CST). I hope that a solid commitment will be made on which dates, what amount of our pending dues will be given back to us. We have seen the highest unemployment during the last five years. We are one of the fastest growing economies in the world but we need to fix our economic flaws to keep it that way.

SHRI JAYADEV GALLA: It is historic budget because the hon. Finance

Minister made a historic announcement in paragraph 150 of the Budge exempting farmers and other persons who have given more than 32,000 acres of land voluntarily from capital gain tax on a call given by the Chief Minister of Andhra

Pradesh. All credit goes to the hon. Prime Minister, Finance Minister and the

Chief Minister, and the people of Guntur will remain grateful. I hope, while replying to the debate, the Finance Minister will throw some light on giving legal backing to the Special Development Package announced in last September. There are some issues which are to be implemented as per the mandate given under

Andhra Pradesh Re-organization Act. The Act mandates that the Government of

India should make up the revenue deficit but the Government of India has given just Rs. 3,795 crores and we would like to know when the remaining Rs.12,205 crores are to be released to the state. The second point is about the apportionment of tax arrears and refunds as Andhra Pradesh is losing Rs.3,820 crores because of it. The third point is regarding the Special Development Package for the backward regions of Rail Seema and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. We are not asking anything extra, we are only asking a development package on the lines of KBK in

Orissa and Bundelkhand. The fourth one is regarding Polavaram. I request the hon. Minister to clarify whether the Government of India will bear the entire burden of expenditure on Polavaram. I also request the hon. Finance Minster to include following demand in the Special Development Package for Andhra

Pradesh which include the extension of period of package from 5 years to 10 years, implementation of section 46(2) of the A.P. Reorganization Act; giving incentives to industries; allocation of funds for building the State Capital Amravati, and raising of FRBM limit for the state. Andhra Pradesh has real potential to grown much higher than the pace at which it is currently growing. Its GDP is already one of the highest in the country. So, all I would urge is to make AP as equal part and equal partner in the growth trajectory of the country. I appreciate the efforts of the

Government to fight corruption. But, I only suggest that do not be selective and do not use it as a political tool. Secondly, the focus should be on ensuring that fraud does not creep into the financial system. There is still an overwhelming support for demonetisation but I would like to use this opportunity to caution the

Government that we have to make sure that all the steps are taken to ensure we do not go back to where we were before demonetisation. Corruption has to come down. The impact on GDP by demonetisation which is about 0.5 per cent of GDP does not reflect the pain that the people have gone through appropriately. We have to measure that with other matrices in terms of demonetisation's impact and address those quickly. Steps should be taken to remove Rs. 2000 note from circulation. In addition, we should increase Rs. 500 notes, increase Rs. 100 notes and introduce Rs. 200 note instead of Rs. 2000 note. I think this will help us contain the rise of black money and hoarding of black money. It is the need of the hour to have a separate Budget for agriculture and I am sure that the Finance

Minister and Prime Minister will give a serious thought to this suggestion. Since

65 per cent of our people are dependent on agricultural income, a separate Budget addressing the 65 per cent of our population is of utmost requirement. I wish that the hon. Finance Minister announce some measures to encourage big I.T. companies in the country to country some of the adverse effect of H1B1 Visa related executive order by U.S.

SHRI A.P. JITHENDER REDDY: It has been two and half years since the creation of our new State. We have been pretty optimistic for maximum budgetary allocation for the State. There is a provision for setting up AIIMS like institute for

Telangana as per the State Reorganization Act. There is a need to fulfill this commitment. As our state is a new one there is a need to make proper allotment for the IAS and IPS officer. We had demanded for two battalions in order to control the Maoists. In place of our demand for one thousand personnel we have only been given three hundred. The government has not been able to deliver on its promise of setting up the high court even after the passage of two and a half years.

I would like to know the reason behind it. A project was to be sanctioned for

Hyderabad under the ITIR but it has not been done even after two and half year.

There is a need to sanction it.

DR. P. VENUGOPAL: I commend the Union Finance Minister on the difficult balancing act that he has undertaken in this Budget, which represents a significant move forward from the previous Budgets. I welcome the three important reforms in this Budget, namely, advancing the date of presentation of

Budget to 1st of February; second, merging the Railway Budget with the General

Budget; and abolishing the distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure.

The emphasis on agriculture and enhancing farmers' income are welcome features.

I request the hon. Finance Minister to consider allocating the funds amounts the

Rs. 40,000 crore as requested by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. I urge the

Finance Minister to ensure that lending of Commercial Banks to agriculture related sector. I welcome the announcement of Mission Antyodaya which is directed at lifting one crore families out of poverty. In the area of education, we welcome initiatives like the "Innovation Fund for Secondary Education". I urge upon the

Government of India to ensure that NEET is not forced in States like Tamil Nadu which already have a transparent system of admission. In the Health sector, we welcome the proposal to create an additional 5000 PG seats and the proposal to strengthen Health sub-Centres. We welcome the enhanced allocation for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities. The present step of the

Finance Minister to abolish FIPB, will definitely boost our State, which we welcome. The taxation measures indicated in the Budget, in particular the reduction in the rate of Corporate Income Tax for MSMEs to 25 per cent is a very welcome measure. Tamil Nadu has the largest number of MSMEs in the country and reduction of tax rate would boost this sector. I welcome the announcement of the Railway Safety Fund with a substantial allocation of Rs. 1 lakh crore. The funds allotted by the Railways in the Southern Railways is very meagre. I request allotment of sufficient funds for this purpose. Adequate funds should be allotted for the early completion of Avadi-Sriperumbudur line and Athipattu-Puthur rail line. There is an essential need to have third and fourth lines between Athipattu and

Gumudipoondi to ease the traffic congestion. The Railways must restore the earlier frequency for maintenance of coaches to ensure passenger safety. Goods trains are permitted to run with a carrying capacity of plus eight to ten tonnes of excess weight. Over-stressing of rail is the reason for thousands of rail fractures which endangers railway safety. An RoB should be constructed at the Avadi

Railway Station in lieu of level crossing. The policy of recruitment to Group C &

D posts in Defence and Railways needs immediate review. The Government should recruit local candidates for Group C & D posts in the Railways and exams should be conducted in the regional languages. There should be a foolproof mechanism to prevent impersonation in recruitment examinations.

SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN: I rise to participate in the discussion on the

General Budget presented by our hon. Finance Minister. The major objective of the Budget should be to make social changes, reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. The Budget was presented before the House when the common people of

India were reeling under the impact of demonetisation. The increase in allocation to various ministries is nominal. The size of the Budget has come down from 13.5 per cent of the GDP in the last year to 12.2 per cent of the GDP. There is reduction in the public expenditure. The total revenue received has come down. The tax forgone has gone up. On these grounds, the Government is trying to reduce the fiscal deficit from 6.32 per cent to 3.2 per cent. We should have had better allocation for the agriculture sector. Rate of interest on farm loans should be brought down to four per cent as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.

Allocation to MNREGS has come down. There is no increase with regard to the

PMGSY allocations. The Government has laid emphasis on the health sector and infrastructure sector. Allocation to the NRHM is only Rs.5,000 crore. The allocations to the States are not sufficient to meet their demands. The Sarva

Shiksha Abhiyan which needs more attention has been allocated only Rs.1305 crore. The Finance Minister has announced an affordable housing scheme but concession is given only to the builders and not to the common people. The reduction of income tax from 10 per cent to 5 per cent would give some relief to the middle class and the salaried people but in order to compensate the loss of revenue surcharge has been imposed. There is no increase in allocation to the schemes meant for the welfare of SCs and STs. The Prime Minister has announced the demonetization on 8th November, 2016. It has been criticized by all eminent economists. It is after 92 years that the Railway Budget is merged with the

General Budget. We have given a number of suggestions which need due consideration. More funds have to be earmarked for doubling, electrification, new lines, infrastructure facilities etc. in Kerala. There should be a discussion in the

House on the performance of PSUs. In every Budget, we see that PSUs are being disinvested. After passage of the Food Security Bill, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are getting reduced quantity of foodgrains. The Government of India is getting high foreign exchange from the NRIs, and 90 per cent of the NRIs are from Kerala. But there is no provision or package for the NRIs. There is no increase in allocation in many of the sectors including plantation. Traditional industries like coir, cashew, bidi, khadi, etc. have not got any incentive in this Budget. Thousands of workers and agents are getting employment in Government lotteries. But when the Service

Tax is imposed on it, it becomes difficult for them to run the lotteries. At least, exempt the Government-run lotteries from Service Tax. When the Rajay Saha has already passed the Women's Reservation Bill, why is the Government not ready to bring the Bill here in this House? They should also be there in the decision- making bodies like Parliament, Legislative Assemblies etc. We will fully support it.

SHRI P.V. MIDHUN REDDY: The Budget Speech of the hon. Finance

Minister is full of optimism but the figures give a completely different picture for our State of Andhra Pradesh. There is no mention of our getting Special Category

Status, which we have been demanding for a long time. Nor there is any mention about the Railway zone, Polavaram Project and steel plant which were promised for Andhra Pradesh in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act. There is a meagre increase of only 6.6 per cent in the Budget which is the lowest in recent times.

Revenue receipts projected for 2017-18 are projected to grow only by just 5.5 per cent over the Revised Estimates of 2016-17. Then how can we expect the economy to grow at seven per cent. The capital expenditure of the Union

Government has come down. If the Capex comes down year on year, how is the

GDP going to grow at seven per cent? The Budget expresses an aspiration to double the farmers' incomes. To achieve this goal, there should be an annual growth of 20 per cent in MSP. The farmers are in great distress throughout the country. We demand the Government to give the MSP at 10 per cent plus the inflation. I have seen in the media that the Government has announced loan waiver for Uttar Pradesh farmers. I request the Government to consider this loan waiver for all the distressed farmers throughout the country. The amount of Rs.10 lakh crore for agriculture credit for 2017-18 is not sufficient. The Government fixed a target of Rs.2.4 lakh crore for Mudra Bank funding to unorganized sector. This is a welcome move. There has been a sharp fall in manufacturing sector despite so much emphasis on Make in India. Another worrying factor is the declining trend in Gross Fixed Capital formation and job creation. The Government should act and help the farmers. When the farmers are happy, the Government is happy.

SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK: This Budget is not providing any relief to farmers. Farmers are committing suicide as they are debt-ridden. The facility of crop insurance is given to only those farmers who have taken loans from banks.

That means in the event of any natural calamity, the banks will get benefited from the crop insurance. Farmers should be given 100 per cent subsidy for micro irrigation. The subsidy meant for farmers should directly be given to the farmers not to the companies. Similarly, the benefit of crop insurance should directly go to the farmers. Farm loans of all the farmers should be waived off. New avenues of employment are not being created due to lack of expansion of small scale industries in rural areas. There is no provision in the Budget for the purpose. The

Government should enhance the budgetary support for sports. In Maharashtra, the State Government does not provide any fund to the Members of Parliament for construction of roads in rural areas. Therefore, they should be allocated funds for the purpose.

SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI: This budget is a historic budget. This budget is also a mirror to the development of our country. Healthcare, education and housing are basic necessities. If any Government has paid any attention to the healthcare of the people, it was the Government of Atalji or for that matter it is our present government. Eleven new AIIMS hospitals were set up during the regime of the Atalji and our present Government has announced for setting up two new

AIIMS in Jharkhand and Gujarat. In Uttar Pradesh where the AIIMS is set up is adjacent to Bihar and Nepal border. Actually, this AIIMS is set up in Gorakhpur city of Uttar Pradesh. It is benefitting not only the people of Uttar Pradesh but also the people of Bihar and Nepal as well. The fertilizer factory which had been lying closed in Gorakhpur for the last 20 years has now been revived by the present

Government. This would benefit about 4 lakh people in Eastern Uttar Pradesh alone from the view point of employment. Earlier, the youths were imparted only education under the Skill Development Programme but now they are not only being imparted education but training also. Today, our Government has been implementing 53 schemes. Under the Ujjawala scheme, our Government has provided LPG connection and gas stoves to about 53,11,938 poor families. SHRI MOHD. ASRARUL HAQUE: There are no measures taken in this

Budget to ameliorate the condition of the poor, farmers and unemployed. The hon.

Finance Minister has not made even a single announcement in the budget which makes one feel that this Government is really concerned about the underprivileged, dalit, minority and poor classes of the people. A number of announcements has been made in this budget for the empowerment of women but no provision has been made in the budget for their security. The security of the properties of the

Wakf board is an important issue. The Government should take note of it that the second largest population of the country is of Muslim minority. Our country cannot be prosperous by neglecting them. The Aligarh Muslim University Center located in my constituency Kishanganj is on the verge of closure due to acute shortage of funds. I, therefore, request the hon. Finance Minister to provide funds in this budget to meet the educational and other needs of this center as also to release the funds which was earlier provided by the UPA Government. I also appeal to him that an AIIMS should be set up in Kishanganj as the State Government has agreed to provide 200 acres of lands for the purpose.

SHRI PREM SINGH CHANDUMAJRA: Corruption is the biggest problem in the country today. The Government has implemented demonetization to check it. It has been claimed that black money would come out through demonetization. But I think disclosure of black money is not going to contain corruption. Due to rampant corruption the Government servants do not render their services on time. Moreover, the tax rates today are unaffordable. Both these factors cause corruption. This tax system should be streamlined. In order to secure its targets, the Government has accorded agriculture top priority. But in my opinion the policy of the Government during last 60 years is instrumental to suicide of farmers. At the time of independence of the country, agriculture contributed 52 per cent in the GDP. Now its contribution has been reduced to 12-

13 per cent only. Today farmers should be facilitated to build their capacity of repaying their loans. They should be enabled to raise the productivity of their produce. In order to do so, the cost of production in agricultural sector should be lowered and instead of depending on profiteering foreign machinery and insecticide companies, we should be self-reliant in this regard. There is a urea manufacturing factory in my constituency Nangal. Its capacity can be made double. Buildings, gas-pipeline and infrastructure all is ready there. The only requirement is guarantee. By giving guarantee it can increase the production of urea by 7 lakh tones. In order to bring down the cost of the produce of farmers, they should be given direct subsidy. They should be provided seeds, fertilizers and machinery at affordable rates. The Hon. Finance Minister claims that 50 lakh ponds were built up last year and this much number of ponds is likely to be built next year. But I did not find any pond, if at all has been built. Where have these ponds been built? In border states like Punjab, agriculture has suffered a lot, so special package should be provided there. No industrialist ventures to set up any factory there. The problem of unemployment is on rise there. Anand Pur Sahib should be developed as a tourist spot. Today stray and wild animals destroy the crops of farmers. I request the Government that to combat this menace at least 10 thousand crore rupees should be earmarked for it. Health and education system also should be commercialized. Of course, the Government should wield control over it.

SHRI H. D. DEVEGOWDA: Prime Minister had declared demonetization of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes. I request the Government to take further steps to improve the situation to eradicate black money. The Government said that provision for more funds had been made in the 2017-18 Budget. About Smart

Cities, I do not find any place in this Budget. The Members of Parliament have been asked to take up one village each. You want to improve the villages by taking amount from MPLADS. We are unable to make any progress. The people of the

Panchayat make comment on us. I do not know how much employment you have provided in last two and a half years. The job created is not commensurate with the actual employment that is there today. Skilled labourers, semi-skilled labourers or the graduates in IT who are coming out from colleges come at the doorsteps of

Members of Parliament and request them to get some jobs. Some of those graduates are even today working for Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 as contract labourers.

If the Government wants to take any tough action on benami transactions, money laundering or in curbing corruption and black money, I am the person who is going to lend my support. The Prime Minister has given 60 days to the farmers to pay crop loans. Farmers are committing suicide. For three years Karnataka had faced such a severe drought. Drinking water is a major problem in Karnataka. In

Karnataka only kharif crops like coconut, pepper, banana, ragi, maize and green gram and covered under the Fasal Bima Yojna. Rabi crops like Bengal gram, ragi maize are also covered. In other states, you have fixed 26 or 28 crops. This is how we have been discriminated against. The claim settlement for kharif crop is yet to be announced. The Government is still to decide the subsidy component per hectare. My only request is for the tobacco growing farmers. I have written to the hon. Prime Minister about the tobacco growing farmers and coconut growing farmers. So far as the recovery of loans from the farmers is concerned, I would like to say that more than Rs. 6 lakh crore of NPA is due to major corporate houses.

Contrary to that, a farmer who has taken certain loan from a scheduled bank, his entire property is going to be auctioned. Some of the farmers may also commit suicide. Almost all the banks have invested in the shares of the so-called restructuring cooperation which has been established in Mumbai. They are going to charge 24 per cent after the so-called assets are going to be handed over to this Bank by scheduled banks. This high interest rate of 24 per cent is horrible. This is an institution which has been created by the Government. About 2-3 days back, the hon. Supreme Court commented about double standard of the CBI. If the CBI or the Enforcement Directorate is going to be used on the political consideration, then, I am sorry to say that we cannot support this type of attitude. On the issue of creating jobs with all the promises that you have made in all the three Budgets, to what extent have you created jobs? I would like to know whether you have failed due to demonetization.

SHRI SURESH C. ANGADI: This year's budget is a great leap forward towards the welfare of all and it is a step forward in achieving 'Sabka Saath Sabka

Vikas'. Demonetization has brought great relief to the poorest of the poor people.

Subsidy benefits are being credited directly in the accounts of beneficiaries.

Aadhar enabled benefits transfer has resulted in saving of thousands of crores for the exchequer and it has also been helpful in rooting out corruption. Shri Narendra

Modi has been recognized as one of the best leaders in the world. He has accelerated the pace of development in the country. Substantial allocations have been made for Ramayan Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, the Heritage Circuit and other tourist projects resulting in the development of Uttar Pradesh as a major tourism centre. Crop insurance scheme has benefitted the farmers a lot. This budget has provisions for the poor, youths, farmers, women and middle class. SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIA: Interests of all the sections of the country has been taken into account in this budget. Housing for the poor, provision of loan and interest waiver for farmers, financial assistance for the pregnant women, according priority to the persons belonging to the Dalit section, tribes, backward castes and women in providing loans under Mudra Yojana are laudable measures. Provisions for education, skill development centres and more and more employment for the youths have been made. National Railway Safety Fund is proposed to be created for passenger safety. Provision for laying 3500 km railway line and allocation of Rs. 1 lakh crore for railway safety during the year 2017-18 are praiseworthy steps. More allocation has been made for the construction of highways during the current year. This budget is a budget designed to take the country forward on the path of development.

SHRIMATI P. K. SHREEMATHI TEACHER: Serious situation has arisen due to the demonetization of currency leading to much hardship to the poor and common people. There is alarming decline of nearly minimum 30% in capital goods production. The entire energy sector is in crisis indicating very significant industrial slow down. The prices of most farm produce have fallen by 30% is affecting the farmer. Hence Government must take urgent step to waive debt immediately. Government should take immediate steps to pass Women

Reservation Bill and provide sufficient funds for specific programme to encourage women in the field of sports. Effective measures should be taken to strengthen public distribution system. Hence effective steps to be taken towards unemployment and generating more job opportunities. Kerala is facing severe drought. All the tanks, lakes and reservoirs are dried up. Hence I request the

Government to immediately release the amount of additional assistance.

SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE: I would like to attention of the House to the agriculture budget. The prices of many agricultural commodities have seen a fall in the recent months of October and November. Such price fluctuations negatively impact the profit of the farmers. The Government must also consider procuring vegetable at MSP. There is only a nominal increase in the budget of MGNREGA compared to during the UPA-I. Finance Minister also proposed to construct five lakh farm ponds and ten lakh compost pits in 2017-18, as development works under MGNREGA. The Government must clarify the state and condition on the farm ponds constructed in 2016-17, which are reported to be under dilapidated condition. The Budget specifies setting up of new branches of AIIMS in Gujarat and Jharkhand. It is important to ensure that adequate infrastructure at existing

AIIMS hospitals in Bhopal, Jodhpur and Patna. The Government must allocate budget for sufficient doctors, medical equipment and laboratory facilities for students. SHRIMATI KOTHAPALLI GEETHA: The present budget, for the first time, is pro-poor and pro-farmers. In a situation, where in the world economy is facing uncertainty, the Union Government has taken many bold and decisive measures to control inflation and deliver transparent and corruption free governance to the citizens of the country. I congratulate the Government for increase in the FDI to 36%. The Government agenda for 2017-18 "Transform,

Energise and Clean India" is the need of the hour. The Aim of the Union

Government to bring one crore households out of poverty and 50000 Gram

Panchayats poverty free is quite an ambitious step. Many Sarpanches are being deprived of utilisation of funds due to political reasons which is to be viewed seriously. The gram panchayats should be enabled to optimally utilise the funds under MGNREGA. I represent Araku- the only tribal dominated constituency of

Andhra Pradesh. In my constituency, connectivity is a major issue where in around

4600 habitations have no road connectivity. The Government initiative in providing connectivity to population over 1000 people bill certainly provide for more connectivity to villages. There are also approximately 1000 habitations in my constituency which are yet to be electrified. India is presently in the early part of its demographic dividend. If adequate measures are not taken, India will not be able to reap the advantages of this demographic dividend, may in fact, lead jeopardize its future. This issue of unemployment needs to be addressed and self sustainable livelihood patterns needs to be encouraged. I appreciate the steps taken by the Government in empowering women as well as providing for maternity benefit scheme and Mahila Shakti Kendras. I thank the Government for allocation of substantial budgetary provision for the development of Scheduled Castes and

Schedule Tribes. I request the railway minister to include Araku in the tourism circuit so that the schedule area will reap the benefits of tourism. There is a considerable delay in launching of the glass train to Araku though the required budget has been released in the 2016-17. I also urge that Railway Zone may be announced at the earliest with Visakapatnam as the Zonal headquarters. The government's mission to push digital economy is welcome, but connectivity issues have to be addressed. The measures initiated to cleanse the political funding are welcome. The proposal of 'One Country-One Election' needs to be discussed and debated. I thank the Union Government for the steps taken to provide for the special package for the state but urge the Government to provide for legal sanctity for the package. I also request the Union Government to provide for adequate funds to expedite the Polavaram Project. I wish the Government will successfully overcome the challenges.

SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL: Hon'ble Prime Minister took a bold step to curb Black Money in the country by demonetizing Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes on November 8th 2016. The allocation under MGNREGA is made to Rs. 48,000 crore. It certainly helps to curb the migration of rural labours into the urban areas. The Budget's focus on investments in infrastructure creation while easing private sector's access to credit will generate jobs and increase productivity.

Allocation to PMAY has been increased from Rs. 15,000 crore to Rs. 23,000 crore in the rural areas and affordable housing will not finally be given infrastructure status. As far as income tax relaxation is concerned the budget has introduced many welcome measures. The budget has given more thrust on digital economy. I would like to impress upon the Union Government to take steps to provide quality internet service both in urban and rural areas of the country to see the successful implementation of the digital economy measures. I welcome the initiatives to expand the tax base and eliminate tax evasion. Announcement of tax cut for

MSMEs will provide a good impetus to boost export from this sector. The extension of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras to 600 districts will help the industry to employ skill workers. Merging of Railway Budget helped the government to focus development of Multi Modal Transport facility and reduce dwell time for movement of cargo which can be revolutionized by participation of all public and private players. The budget has made a provision of Rs. 55000 crores for the development of Railways. Emphasis is given to Track Renewals and safety of the passengers. The Government has announced many railway proposals for Karnataka. I welcome the announcements. PROF. RICHARD HAY: The new monetary system would invariably broaden tax base-and the forthcoming GST regime - would end the parallel economy and save the country from monetary destruction and economic paralysis.

The Government is laying special emphasis for the economic propriety of Dalits, farmers, STs, SCs, and the marginalized section of the community and in a phased manner will eradicate poverty. The message perpetuated by the Government of

India is - let us be a tax-complaint people and help the country grow. The budget reveals the direction of the digitized system of financial transactions. The DBT platform is now made universal which improve the efficiency of governance by which each beneficiary receives the monetary benefit directly. I would suggest to make use of the wide network of post offices in the country to serve the poor rural people by not only providing facilities like Saving bank and Insurance etc. but also for Jan Dhan Account, BHIM APP, Rupay Card, etc. The Farmers interest is protected by providing 10 lakh crores for farmers credit. This government stands for a great principle - Antodya - to provide relief to the last person who needs succour.

SHRI CHIRAG PASWAN: The General Budget is a political and economic philosophy reflection of existing government. The actual strength of this budget is its balance. There is special provision for farmers and agriculture. A hike of 35% has been made in allocation for Schedule Castes. Reservation is a constitutional provision, not a charity. We can do anything for it. The commitment of the Government to double the income of farmers in next five years, better crop insurance and provision of Rs. 10 crore for debt ridden farmers reflects the concern towards farmers by a conscious government. Five per cent deduction in corporate tax will boost the business in the coming years. I congratulate the government for taking some bold steps. Today, MGNREGA is very important part of rural economy. Participation of women upto 55% is the target of the Government.

There is a scheme of opening skill centres in 600 district of the country in this budget. I welcome it. Being a youth, I know the problems of youth related to employment and education. Our youths take interest in sports but they don't get any opportunity. Many time they don't get opportunity in the field of art also. I feel the time has come that National Youth Commission should be constituted for youths at national level on the lines of commissions for SC/ST, minority and women in the country.

SHRI CHINTAMAN NAVASHA WANGA: The budget contains several measures of development. A number of measures for farmers have been taken including provision of loan, interest waiver, issuance of soil cards, increased allocation for irrigation. I thank the Government especially the Hon'ble Prime

Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for declaration of various schemes for youth and poor, healthcare, infrastructure and also for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes.

SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI: I support the Budget proposals for the year

2017-18 as presented by our Hon'ble Finance Minister. We all know there are challenges in Budgt presentations. There were two ways. First way was to adopt the policy of elections. To present a budget which attracts the people but our

Government has presented Interim Budget as well as fourth Budget and has lived on its own concepts. I am not criticizing any political party but it is true and previous government had no clear policy due to which there was development but no planned development. The concept of development is based on people based development. It has been clear that the Rashtriya Akatam Manavwada of Pandit

Deen Dayal Upadhayaya is the basis of development. Based on this policy we are making development in right direction. There has been a wide gap between the poor and rich. By Jan Dhan Yojana we have opened 27 crore bank account. This has been a effort for the people which were left belong in development. Hon'ble

Finance Minister has expressed his commitment and priorities. They have put farmers at number one. Efforts have been made for farmers to get full remunerative pries for their produce in National Agriculture Market. There has been management for irrigation work. Government has expressed its priorities for employment and basic infrastructure for rural population. I would like to submit that here are still tribal population living in forest which are backward. They ware unable to reap the fruits of development because due to certain political reasons they have not been included in SC/ST category. Many projects are announced by the Government but they are lying pending due to NOC not being given by Forest

Department. I would like to submit that some people have not been given the status of SC/ST due to political reasons. They should be given opportunity and status of

SC/ST. Due to not obtaining the NOC, laying of optical fibre work should not be stopped.

SHRI B. N. CHANDRAPPA: I would like to say that this time the

Railways Budget has lost its separate entity and it has been merged with the

General Budget. I have my own doubt whether the Railways would be enjoying the same status as was there at the time of a separate Budget. Even though, the

Government has said that nothing would be changed, but according to me, the

Railways would lose its autonomy in regard to giving priority to the Railways projects. The Union Government has reduced the number of Schemes for

Scheduled Castes from 294 to 256. I would like to say that the Government should have taken some more measures for the development of SCs and STs in the backward districts in the country including my parliamentary constituency

Chitradura, where about half of the population belonged to SCs and STs. As far as the allocation for children in this year's budget sadly remained unchanged. It is a dismal 3.32% of the total Budget being allocated to children. I would like to point out that there is a need for a transformational change in the education system of the country. However, the allocations for children have seen a meagre incremental increase Rs. 71,305.35 crore this year from Rs. 65,758.45 crore in 2016-17 Budget.

The allocation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, (SSA) in this year's budget is up from

Rs. 22,500 crore to Rs. 23,500 crore. For the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha

Abhiyan (RMSA) Rs. 3830 crores allocated, which is only Rs. 130 crore increased over last year. The RMSA has set out a target of ensuring universal access of secondary education by 2017 and universal retention by 2020. The Budget missed out on giving any additional income tax incentives to first-time home buyers or providing higher tax savings on housing loans and house insurance premiums.

There were also multiple requests for the revision of tax slabs pertaining to senior citizens and super senior citizens. However hon'ble Finance Minister disappointed them by increase the limit of tax exemption in a negligible figures. A new Credit

Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for the middle-income group with a provision on

INR 1,000 crore in 2017-18 was announced. The National Plan of Action for

Children (NPAC) has made some suggestions for introducing special schemes for children's education in the country. For a country like ours with the potential demographic dividend, it is imperative that the policy response and Budget outlay in the domain of public education be accorded higher priority. With regard to Chitradurga-Bengaluru railway line, there is need to expedite the work on this railway line. Some of the new works too got a boost, including Rayadurg-

Tumakuru, 81 crore, Bagalkot-Kudachi, 50 crore; Tumakuru-Chitradurga-

Davangere, 30 crores, Hassan-Bengaluru 79 crore and Gadag-Wadi, 40 crore of the total allocation of 3,146 crore to SWR, 331.8 crore are earmarked for new lines;

309.6 crore for doubling and 59 crore and traffic facilities. I would like to say the government should have allocated more money to complete the said projects at the earliest. I would like to draw the attention of the government that Rs. 80 crores is needed for construction work in the Gulbarga Division, but only Rs. 1 lakh has been sanctioned. There is a push for rail electrification in the State.

SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE: The budget will move the country along the path of a new and strong economic direction. It will bring about a new economic revolution and also ensure long term benefits. The rate of economic growth will be as per the expectations. Due consideration has been given to all the categories in the society, particularly the labourers from organised and unorganised sectors, farmers, unemployed youth, traders etc. Commendable efforts have been made to make the country digital and cashless which will help in curbing black money in the economy. The government has taken a bold step regarding the benami property act. The target of doubling the income of farmers is commendable. The Vidarbha region in Maharashtra is infamous for the deplorable condition of its farmers and high incidence of farmer suicide. The main reason for the said conditions is lack of irrigation facilities. A package should be provided for the farmers in Vidarbha fixing the minimum support price of soyabean, cotton and arhar dal at 1000 rupees atleast. The opening of 600 skill centres is a new initiative. The resolution to electrify each village is a commendable step. Allocation of 500 crore rupees is required to speed-up the work of gauge conversion on the Akola-Khandwa rail section. I support the announcement of five percent reduction in company tax for medium and small industries and provision of one thousand crore rupees for reorganisation of the banking sector.

SHRI R. DHRUVANARAYANA: If we look at the track record of 2.5 years of this ruling union government, it is clearly visible that the government still not yet understood the real problems of common man of this country. In the current Union Budget action plan is missing. It shows that union government is completely vision less. For past two years’ country has noticed uneven distribution of rainfall during monsoon season. But Hon'ble Finance Minister neither discussed nor noticed this serious problem of the majority part of the country. This shows that union government is not making any serious efforts in understanding the real- time problems and ground reality of drought situation. The impact of demonetization is much more serious than it understood. The situation in rural

India after demonetization is critical. The backbone of rural economy is agriculture, whereas successive failure of monsoon rainfall and demonetization decision is completely halting the rural economy. Despite the low R&D spending,

India has had some spectacular successes in space research. However, we can’t afford to ignore sectors such as life sciences, nanotechnology, clean energy etc.

DR. RATNA DE (NAG): India is facing an uphill task of bringing back economy on growth path after demonetization. There is a need to ensure that the growth and development reaches the poor and the downtrodden. At present the rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer. Is it not a fact that farmers suicides have gone up by a 45 per cent during the 2 years rule of NDA II? Government has failed miserably in providing jobs. This budget would further shrink economic activity and would not boost demand. This Budget is full of jugglery of numbers and hollow words. As regards the Railway Budget, this Government is directionless. There is nothing concrete on black money in the Budget. Much emphasis needs to be paid to health and education.

SHRI RAM KUMAR SHARMA: I, on behalf of myself and farmers, am grateful to the Government for the provision made by him in the budget for the progress of farmers and for doubling their income. In the current budget the

Government has set an agenda for development and identified ten priority sectors to carry this agenda forward. Farmers and agriculture hold first place in this priority list. The fund of Rs. 56,992 crore, allocated for development of agriculture and its associate industry is many times higher than the fund allocated by the previous Government. Thus, I express my gratitude to the Prime Minister again and again. This fund should be utilized to increase the yield rate of the foodgrains.

In this budget, the Government has focused on health and education for the poor families. Sitamarhi is the birth place of Maa Janki. The Government has included

Sitamarhi in Ramayan circuit. Funds have been provided in the budget for the same. I am grateful to the Government for this also.

SHRI GANESH SINGH: Budget 2017-18 is a boon for the country. The government had fixed its priorities right at the beginning. It had announced that it would work for the welfare of the poor, the farmers, the youth and for women empowerment. The budget for 2017-18 is also a step in that direction. The budget allocation for 2017-18 is 25.4 percent more than that made in 2016-17. The states have been given 94,744 crore rupees more than the previous year which is a revolutionary decision. Under the Mudra Bank scheme more than two and a half crore persons have been given money for setting-up business so far and new avenues of employment have been created. This time the provision under the said scheme has been raised by 2.44 lakh crore rupees. The scope of Fasal Bima Yojana is being widened by 40 percent. Earlier, assistance for disaster relief used to be granted when the extent of damage was 50 percent, now that ceiling has been lowered to 35 percent. Our forex reserves have swelled. For the first time the government has given priority to agriculture. The agricultural growth rate in our country has risen from 2.2 percent to 4.2 percent. The government has talked about starting pilgrimage trains. I request that some trains be started from Maihar in my

Satna parliamentary constituency and also from Chitrakoot. A number of rare species of wild life and vegetables are found in the Narohi mountain in my constituency. If this mountain is developed as a bio-diversity area it would be a big achievement for that region. Bargi dam has the potential to irrigate more than one and a half hectares of agricultural land but it has not been included as a national project. I would like it to be included under the Pradhan Mantri Sinchayee Yojana and brought under the conservation programme. Mandakini, Paisuni, Tawa and

Simrawal rivers flow in my region. We want conservation of these rivers. I would like to thank the government for its vision and its resolution.

SHRIMATI RANJANBEN BHATT: The Minister of Finance has presented the Budget as per the expectation of common people. Special attention has been paid to provide education and employment opportunities for the youth.

Announcement has been made to set up new educational institutions. A provision has been made to provide skill development training to 350 crore youth. Special attention has been paid towards agriculture sector and farmers. Roadmap has been prepared for development of both rural and urban areas in the Budget. An announcement has been made to provide electricity to each household. Announcement to construct pucca houses for one crore people is a commendable step. Besides, announcement to set up ‘Mahila Shakti Kendra’ for 14 lakh

Aanganwadi Kendra is a praiseworthy step. Announcement to provide six thousand rupees to pregnant women is a welcome step. Important provisions have been made in the Budget for health sector particularly health insurance for the poor. A number of welfare measures have been taken in the Budget for Dalit and backward sections as well as small traders. Senior citizens and ‘Divyangs’ have been provided relief in the Budget. Various provisions have been made for railway in the Budget. No section of society has been neglected in the Budget.

SHRIMATI VEENA DEVI: I thank honourable Minister of Finance for presenting the general budget 2017-18 which is a historical budget. My parliamentary constituency, Munger is the most backward region in Bihar, so this constituency needs special attention in the general budget. ‘Tal’ area of Patna,

Lakhisarai, Munger, Shekhpura, Jamui, Nalanda, Navada, Gaya and Bhagalpur these nine districts of Bihar are favourable for maximum yield of pulses. This region is affected by naxal problem and flood and there is an urgent need of central hospitals in Munger and Lakhisarai for the treatment of security forces and local citizens who got injured during the naxalite attack. There is no building for

Kendriya Vidyalaya in Lakhisarai. So, budget should be allocated separately for the Kendriya Vidyalaya and to protect public money and cattle in the flood affected areas.

SHRI ALOK SANJAR: The hon'ble Minister of Finance has in his speech shown a glimpse of future economic scenario of the country that a series of economic reforms are likely to start. Such a Budget has been presented which depicts a large picture of basic things. It does not contain populist sops but priority has been given to reforms. There is a clear emphasis of Modi Govt. on employment generation. Budget allocation for agriculture and rural economy has been increased by 25 per cent. The implementation of welfare schemes for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minorities has been emphasized. It is a balanced Budget which will strengthen the roots of the economy.

SHRI RODMAL NAGAR: The Union budget presented for the year 2017-

18 clearly indicates that Indian economy is progressing at a time when global economy is facing serious challenges. Now political parties will not be able to take donation of more than Rs. 2 thousand from unknown sources. In my view this is a revolutionary budget which will pave way for big changes. Our forex reserve is

361 billion dollar as per the data on 26th January, 2017 which is enough to meet the expenses of the imports for 12 months. Our country has become the sixth biggest manufacturing country in the world. The credit proposed to be provided for agriculture sector for the year 2017-18 has been fixed at a record level of Rs. 10 lakh crore. The scope for Crop Insurance Scheme has been increased up to 40 per cent for the year 2017-18 and it will be increased up to 50 per cent for the year

2018-19. The provision of Rs. 9000 crore has been made for this purpose in the budget. The allocation for MNREGA is Rs. 48,000 crore which is highest till date.

A scheme namely ‘Pradhanmantri Apada Bima Yojna’ will be started at affordable premium of Rs. 100/- for providing insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh to the poor and the deprived. Cash transaction of more than Rs. 3 lakh will not be allowed in order to encourage digital economy.

SHRI SIRAJUDDIN AJMAL: I term this Budget utterly disappointing and contradictory. North-East has been totally neglected. It has been said that millions of houses have been proposed for the homeless but all over Assam, eviction is taking place. We do not mind uniform eviction for everyone. But only the minorities and the Bengali-speaking Hindu people, are being evicted. Flood and erosion are the worst problems of Assam. The AIUDF has demanded Rs.

20,000 crore for flood and erosion rehabilitation. Fund for the construction of

Dhubri-Phulbari bridge is required as it will connect the States of Assam and

Meghalaya with the rest of the nation. I request to make mandatory budgetary provision or special allocation for the North-East, particularly for Assam terming as Economically Backward Zone. I request to activate separate North East

Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy and to allocate funds for re-opening of Rupsi airport in Dhubri and also other airports of Assam and to create sufficient employment for the educated unemployed youth of the North East. I request to provide budgetary allocation on the basis of Sachar Committee Recommendations regarding development of minorities and to extend railways from Bongaigaon to

Amingaon via Abhayapuri, Barpeta and Haju in Assam. I request to allocate sufficient funds to activate all sick industries in the State including Nagaon Paper

Mill, Cachar Paper Mill and Jogighopa Paper Mill and to set up one Aligarh

Muslim University (AMU) campus in Assam.

SHRI NIHAL CHAND: I would like to thank the Hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Finance Minister for changing the time of Budget which will help the

Union Government and the State Governments to implement the schemes properly.

The Budget of 2017-18 is in real sense for the upliftment of the farmer, the labourer, the poor and the dalits. The Government has done a lot for the 70 per cent farmers working in the farms. The Government has made a provision to make available loan of Rs. 10 lakh crores. The major thing that the Government has done is that this loan will be interest free for 60 days. The agricultural growth rate which was around 2 per cent is expected to be more than 5 per cent. The

Government has set the target to double the income of farmers in the coming five years. The Government has made a provision of premium of 1.5 per cent for Rabi crops and 02 per cent for Kharif crops. The Hon. Prime Minister has launched the scheme of Soil Health Card. Around 12.82 crore soil health cards have been issued. The laboratories have been set up for soil testing. I think that making a mockery of surgical strikes will demoralize our soldiers. I would like to urge the

Government through you that Suratgarh to Gurgaon via Raisingh Nagar, Karanpur,

Shri Ganga Nagar, Hanumangarh, Nohar, Bhadra, Sardulpur, Loharu,

Mahenderagarh and Rewari intercity train was announced, which has not yet been started. A railway line between Gajsinghpur to Sardulpur via Padampur, Rasvatsar and Sardarshahar was also announced and its survey was also to be conducted but it is also lying pending as on date besides a weekly super fast train from Bikaner to

Dadar was also announced but is also lying pending. I urge the Government that the Government should pay attention towards these trains. Indira Gandhi Canal was constructed in the year 1970. But it has not yet been desilted . I think that it is a must. The issue of water sharing between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is an important one. Every year one member from the three States was appointed in the

BBMB but till date no Member has been appointed from the State of Rajasthan in it. I urge the Government that every year a member from Rajasthan should be appointed in the BBMB as is being done in the case of Haryana and Punjab.

SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA: This Budget is not only a step towards social equality but is also a long term effort towards making the country a leader of the modern world. This Budget is not only being applauded by the industrial sector but by the farmers, the labourer, the youth and every section of the society. This Budget is implementing 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas'. The tax- payers have been given a big relief in this Budget. Besides, the economic policies of the

Government are also very important in many aspects. Some opponents were saying that there was no benefit of demonetisation while the data proves that more tax has been deposited. It is the priority of the Government to bring out black money from the economy. Even after 70 years of independence, there is no transparency in donation to political parties. Now, such an arrangement has been made that a political party can take donation of Rs. 2000 only in cash from any person. Every political party will have to file its return within a certain period of time. This reform will bring transparency in a political funding and have a check on black money in future. The initiative of inclusion of railway budget in this year's Budget is a major one in the interest of the country. It has been announced in the Railway Budget that a railway safety fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore is to be created which will prove useful to make rail journey safe. The Government has announced special schemes in the Budget for women and youth.

SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY: This new Budget after including the Railway Budget in it will be the milestone in the development of the nation after the historical step of demonetisation and GST. The provision for agricultural loan of Rs. 10 lakh crores for the farmers and 9 thousand crore rupees for crop insurance shows the commitment of the Government towards the farmers. This

Government is very much concerned about the poor , villages, the farmers, women and children. The Government has taken care of the youth and women in this year's Budget. The amount of investment in Railway roads, waterways and civil aviation has been increased. Right from the year 2014,this Government has set up

IIM, IIT and the branches of AIIMS in the backward areas. I am thankful to hon.

Prime Minister and the hon. Finance Minister for announcing an AIIMS in my

State Jharkhand. I agree with the hon. Finance Minister that the positive steps will increase the number of tax- payers. This Budget will prove a milestone in fulfiling the dream of the NDA Government of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas'.

SHRI PRAKASH HUKKERI: The Government should announce compensation for the families of the people deceased due to demonetization.

Regarding MNREGA, the Government need to craft a cohesive plan to create proper infrastructure in rural areas benefitting both the community and the workers. The Union Government should take steps to waive the farm loan availed by our poor farmers from the nationalized banks. There should be a scientific and comprehensive mechanism to fix minimum price. The Government should implement the M.S. Swaminathan Commission recommendations on fixation of farm produce providing for 50% profit over and above the cost of production. As far as farmers suicides is concerned, I would like to ask the Government that the families of the deceased farmers should be given adequate compensation. The

Budget should give additional income tax incentives to first-time home buyers.

Income Tax exemption limit and revision of tax slabs pertaining to senior citizens and super senior citizens should be taken care of. The Government should give full exemption in taxing to incentivize users to adopt non-cash transactions for small businesses. The allocation for children in this year's Budget has remained unchanged. Farmers expected some big announcements for the agriculture sector.

However, no such steps are taken by the Government in the Budget. The Union

Budget has nothing specific to revive the struggling MSME sector. Despite fervent demands to operationalise the new divisional office announced at Kalaburgi, only

Rs. 1 lakh has been earmarked for creation of facilities under Solapur division of

Central Railway. South Western Railway (SWR) has got meagre allocation compared to neighbouring zones.

SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR: The Economic Survey, presented in this

House, has pegged the GDP growth target at 6.75% in the year 2017-18 which is lower even than 6.9% achieved in the year 2013-14 which was the worst performance recorded under the UPA Government. The Economic Survey also reveals that the demonetization exercise was conducted for re-capitalisation and to provide a cover to the NPA problem which is a failure of the Government. I, through this House, would like to ask the Government as to what is its opinion regarding UBI. The Government has not issued any official statement in this regard. The ruling party in its manifesto had promised to fix minimum support price one and half time more than the cost price. But it has failed to do so. In the

Budget Speech, the Finance Minister has not given any data regarding revenue expenditure. The Finance Minister has also stated that all the political parties will have to file tax return within a stipulated time period but it has not been revealed as to how the Government will investigate the issue of political donations and what are the provisions regarding fine.

SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA: At the outset, I would like to congratulate the Finance Minister for increasing expenditure, reining in the Fiscal

Deficit and Revenue Deficit, providing boost to the MSME sector and for slashing the income tax rates. As regards demonetization, there are three broad areas of immediate concern which needs to be discussed. One, the inconvenience caused to the common man, especially the poor and the middle class. Two, how come such a big step was taken without preparing and increasing the capacity of the financial system to cope with such a huge pressure? The third is the impact of this move on the economy. Therefore, I request the Government and RBI to come out with an immediate plan to revive this situation. Regarding, health expenditure, I urge the

Government to prioritize the health sector and increase the Public Expenditure on

Health (% of GDP) to at least 2.5% within the next few years. The manufacturing sector is not showing any considerable improvement. The unemployment rate has hit a 5 year high and stands at 5%. India is moving towards a "jobless growth path". Disguised unemployment is a huge issue in Indian agriculture. Therefore, in order to increase farmers income we must generate huge jobs in other sectors, which is not happening. Moreover, the grants allotted for upkeep of Animal shelter houses for managing animals have been coming down. Similarly, the

NPA's of banks is an issue which has not been adequately addressed in the Budget.

SHRIMATI BUTTA RENUKA: Budget offers lot of optimism and is ray of hope for the middle class and unemployed. Its focus on infrastructure is laudable. It has also initiated steps to reform tax structure and as a first step cut the rates of income tax for the middle class segment. The Finance Minister should also have looked at reducing the excise duty service tax. The budget has also raised expectations of the farmers by promising that their incomes will double in five years period. However, there is no clarity how it can be achieved without increasing MSP. The Government should have come up with concrete measures to improve the status of agricultural labour and farmers. There has been a sharp fall in manufacturing sector. Textiles, leather, metals, automobiles, gems and jewellery, transport, and the handloom sectors have not got any incentives in this budget.

There is no mention of Special Category Status for AP nor is there any mention about Railway Zone at Visakhapatnam. Similarly, no major allocations seem to have been made for either Capital City for AP or for Vizag-Chennai industrial corridor. We request the Government to kindly honour its promise by granting

Special Category Status for AP as early as possible. There is nothing mentioned for the backward region Rayalaseema in this Budget. I have been persistently requesting for setting up of AIIMS in Kurnool and request the Finance Minister to concede this demand.

DR. KIRIT P. SOLANKI: The budget focuses on the poor and the farmers. Demonetization will help in curbing black money, corruption, checking terrorism and naxalism. Through this budget, huge allocations have been made for the farmers and the villages. Due to this, through Mission Antyodaya, the

Government would bring one crore households out of poverty and make 50,000

Gram Panchayats poverty free by 2019. Around 48,000 crore rupees have been allocated under MGNREGA which is the largest allocation made till date. The

Government has increased the coverage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima

Yojana from 30% to 40%. As compared to previous budget, budgetary allocation has been increased by 35% for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which is the highest allocation made so far. As far as the MUDRA scheme is concerned, around 2.5 crore people have been benefited from this scheme. The allocation for MUDRA scheme has been doubled. In this budget, around 27,131 crore rupees have been allocated for Health Sector. Kala-azar and Filariasis will be completely eliminated from the country by 2017 and measles by 2020.

Around 5000 seats of PG doctors have been increased in this budget.

Recognition will be given to big hospitals so as to increase the number of post graduate doctors in those hospitals. Further, provisions have been made for beautification and development of Mahatma Gandhi Ashram. The Government digitalized 76,089 gram panchayats and laid down 1,72,000 km of optical fiber network.

SHRI RAMSINH RATHWA: This budget will give a new direction to our country, will materialise the dreams of development and will be a vehicle to propel

India as a developed country. The Government aims to double the income of the farmers in the next five years and for this purpose, it has allocated 9000 crore rupees for Crop Insurance Head and propose to create Rs 5000 crore micro irrigation fund. This will result in agricultural development and will improve the living standard of the farmers. This budget is remarkable from the point of view of schemes like Apna Ghar, Start up, Make in India and relief to women and aged people etc. We can name it as development budget of India. Income tax relief has been provided to lower middle class. This budget has given the message to implement effectively economic prudence and financial discipline. For the first time in this budget a provision has been made with regard to the donation to the political parties which will lead to a check on corruption. The political parties can be given a donation of Rs 2000/- only in cash. Demonetization and now this provision will certainly bring transparency in political funding and corruption can be checked. It can be called a stern step to curb black money. Allocation for social funding schemes like MGNREGA and Aanganwadi has been increased for the next financial year. Intention has been shown for big investments in infrastructure projects. Small and medium companies and middle class people have been given relief in taxes. Big targets have been set with regard to agriculture loans, irrigation, crop insurance and rural road construction. Despite all these, the hon. Finance

Minister has maintained fiscal discipline. The Investors will have faith in the economy of the country and the economy will strengthened further. The country needs strong financial discipline and the budget is committed to it. It is an effective step in the development of the country.

SHRI RAMESHWAR TELI: I support the Union Budget, 2017-18. The budget proposals will certainly go a long way in eradicating poverty and taking the country in the path of development. Demonetisation of high denomination bank notes is a bold and decisive measure. The merger of the Railway Budget with the

General budget is a historic step. It would bring the Railways to the centre stage of

Government's fiscal policy and would facilitate multi model transport planning between railways, highways, and inland waterways. Among the various measures announced in the Budget are the welfare measures for the farmers like issuance of Soil Health Cards, a dedicated Micro Irrigation Fund, expansion of coverage of

National Agricultural Market (e-NAM), provision of a Dairy Processing and

Infrastructure Development Fund and the measure for the upliftment of the rural poor like Mission Antyodaya to bring one crore households out of poverty and to make 50,000 gram panchayats poverty free by 2019 etc. The increase in the allocation for the schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and

Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana will give the people living in the rural areas much needed succor. The increased allocation of Rs. 4,814 crores under the Deendayal

Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is another laudable step. I would like to thank the

Hon'ble Finance Minister for making provision to provide safe drinking water to over 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations in the next four years. The

Government has proposed setting up of Mahila Shakti Kendra at village level with an allocation of Rs. 500 crores in 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres. Our Finance minister has presented a very pragmatic and people friendly Budget that will benefit every section of society.

SHRI RAMEN DEKA: I do welcome demonetisation of high value notes.

This will eliminate corruption. A scientific approach for allocation of funds has been adopted in the budget. The present budget emphasised to bring Prudent Fiscal

Management in financial sectors. Honouring the honest is a revolutionary step in this budget. I am glad to note central government assured special financial assistance to all round development of north eastern states.

DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD: The decision in favour of farmer, dalits and backward classes has been taken in the budget. The allocation for dalits has been increased in the budget. Crores of families have been provided gas connection under 'Ujjawala Yojana". The budgetary provision has been made for

Housing for All Mission under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The hon'ble Minister had started project of laying of new railway line in Maharashtra in the last budget.

I demand that it should be completed. I demand to introduce new trains from my

Lok Sabha constituency to Tirupati and Latur and Latur to Ajmer. Tax rebates have been provided. It seems, the number of tax payers will increase due to this decision.

SHRI NEIPHIU RIO: I am happy to learn about more than 48 per cent growth in allocations of Central Ministries and the Department of North Eastern

Region in the Budget of 2017-18 over the BE of last year. The Look East and Act

East policy should be made a reality to bridge economic development with the

ASEAN countries benefiting the North Eastern Region and the country as a whole.

The Eastern Nagaland People's Organization (ENPO) and the Tribal Hoho of three districts in Nagaland, and the Myanmar society have protested against fencing of the international border between Nagaland and Myanmar. I am grateful that the Prime Minister and the Home Minster have given an assurance that they will listen to the voice of the people. In development aspects, the original proposal about the

Trans Asian Highway which was from Guwahati-Dimapur-Senapati-Imphal-

Moreah to Myanmar has been diverted. But this should not be abandoned. The express way to the last Eastern Region Difficult Area should be taken on priority.

The new Railway project from Dimapur to Tizit, 257 kilometers railway line has been in the Pint Book since 2013-14 awaiting for the NITI Aayog approval. I hope, it would be done and will be given a specific care. Chiethu Airport proposal for the

Capital Kohima has been lying in cold storage for the last one and a half decades. I want this to be given priority. Please give priority to infrastructure, connectivity, human resources and see that the State has medical college, engineering college, technical institutions and centre of excellence so that our children can learn and come at par with the national level.

SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARSWATI: Our Government has presented balanced budget. Today people are getting benefit of Jan Dhan accounts and

Aadhaar cards. Our Government has reintroduced Board exams in Class X. All efforts have been put to reform educational system, be it school education, college or university education. Our Government had allocated Rs 800 crore for improving of cow breeds and promoting indigenous cow breeds during the last budget. This time also, it has enhanced the allocation. The hon'ble Prime Minister has made a special mention of Neem coated urea. 5 Lakh pits for organic fertilizers will be dug under NREGA. A Medical college is likely to become operational in my parliamentary constituency Sikar in the next budget. I would like to submit to the hon'ble Minister of Finance that budget is required in this regard. A daily train from Sikar to Delhi should be introduced. Earlier Janshatabdi from Ajmer to Delhi via Ringas used to ply. Now it has been discontinued. It should reintroduced. I would like to submit that 7 out of 8 Tahseels in Sikar district have been declared as drought zone. Water crisis has emerged there. If adequate resources are made available, the people may get water.

SHRI MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN: In this Budget, we have expected that the Union Government will consider the problems of unemployment, NPA and black money stashed abroad. Our Prime Minister has promised for 2 crores employment every year but in last year only1.5 lakh youths are employed. Banks are facing much difficulties due to huge amount of NPA. Actually big corporates are responsible for this NPA. Regarding black money, this Budget has again failed to give any direction, how the black money stashed abroad will come back? There is no mention about Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana in this Budget. MNREGA,

ICDS and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan - these are the priority sector for the poor. But the allocation of funds has increased nominally in these sector. It is appreciable in this Budget that a sum of Rs.6,000 will be given to the pregnant woman. Again in agriculture, Government is declaring MSP for some crops every year. But it is also a matter of great regret that the farmers are not getting this benefit. However, the middlemen are capturing this benefit with the nexus of purchasing centres. So, I urge upon the Government to set up a mechanism in such a way that the farmers can sell their crops instantly by cash or cheque.

SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: Only 12 per cent of India's budget is spent on development works and the remaining 88 per cent goes for payment of salary and subsidy. There is a shortage of about one and half lakh schools and 12 lakh teachers in the field of education. There should be Navodaya and Central Schools in each district of the country as also there is a need for improvement in the quality of our education. As far as the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is concerned an amount of Rs. three lakh crore should have been spent as per their population whereas a meager sum of Rs.50,000 crore has been allocated on this account. India ranks 130 in regard to human development index in the list of 187 countries. Today, the farmers of the country are deprived and exploited. We are spending merely 1.4 per cent of GDP on the health care. We are behind like countries Sri Lanka, Thailand, China and Brazil in this respect. As per an estimate there is a shortage of about 40,000 doctors and nurses in the same number in our country. The people should be given the facility of free health checkup. Similarly, the children of the poor and farmers should be provided free coaching. DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR: I rise to support this unprecedented and historic budget by this Government. This Budget will not only bring about transformative change in the condition of the rural Inida but also bring a drastic improvement in the living standard and financial condition of the people. This

Budget is also important from this point of view that the Modi Government has kept the welfare of the villagers, poor and farmers in its focus. The merger of

Union Budget with the Rail Budget will help in the development of Railways.

This Budget is the one which realize the dreams of millions of countrymen. The financial provisions made in the Budget will result in construction of highway in the country and wide ranging changes from modernization of railway upto the field of education and health. This Budget also presents itself as a unique example of financial management. The Government has taken three other historical steps in the Budget which include the ban on the cash transactions in excess of Rs.3 lakh, putting a ceiling of Rs.2,000 on the cash donation for the trusts and also for the political parties. All these unprecedented steps. These will go a long way in controlling the political corruption. The Government through this Budget has also sent this signal that the series of political reforms in the country is about to begin.

The Government has estimated the fiscal deficit to be about 3.2 per cent and has also assured that the target of achieving 3 per cent fiscal deficit for the next year would be achieved. The allotment for rural India, agriculture and other related sectors has been increased by 25 per cent. Similarly, the increase in the investment for the infrastructure has also been increased by approximately 25 per cent which is essential for the increased pace of growth. In this Budget presented by the Government focus has also been kept on promotion of sports. I demand that allocation should be increased for the ongoing NTPC project in my constituency, chhatarpur and this project be completed at the earliest. There is a need to set up agro-based industries in district Tikamgarh falling in my constituency.

SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA: I would like to congratulate hon.

Finance Minister for bringing on track the economy of the country by presenting this Budget and that too in such a global backdrop. A provision of Rs.52 thousand crore for the poor and Rs.32 thousand crore for the ST community has been made in the Budget. A total provision of Rs.5 lakh crores has been made for women empowerment, air connectivity, rail connectivity, road connectivity and sea connectivity. It will turn India into a global power. The Yamuna Nagar-

Chandigarh rail line in my constituency Ambala has been pending for the last 20 years. I request that attention be paid for the completion of the said rail line.

SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN: First of all, I would like to raise my serious objection to merging of the Railway Budget in the General Budget without following the due procedure which is being accepted by this august House. The

Government is violating the convention of this House which is being followed since 1949. Instead of merging the Railway Budget in the General Budget, the

Government should have come up with a motion to abolish the existing Railway

Convention Committee and then only merge the Railway Budget in the General

Budget. We all know that the Economic Survey is the indicator of the macro and micro economy in our country. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the financial year, 2017-18 will be slightly down to 6.75 per cent which was 7.6 per cent in the year 2015-16. In 2016-17, it has come down to 7.1 per cent. As regards industry, in 2015-16, the growth was 7.4 per cent and in 2016-17, it has come down to 5.6 per cent. It is only because of awkward economic impact of demonetization. The only positive indicator in the Economic Survey is agricultural growth, which is 4.1 per cent. It is only because of the good monsoon. If the Government wants to double the farmers' income by the year 2022, the agricultural growth has to be around 7 per cent. The agricultural income of each and every family of a farmer will be doubled by 2022 is only a rhetoric than a reality. As regards the centrally- sponsored schemes, MNREGA, PMGSY, umbrella scheme for SC/ST, there is a marginal increase in the scheme for SC/ST and minority and I accept it. As a result of the 14th Finance Commission 42 per cent central revenue has been allocated for States. Given the fact that surcharges and cesses, which altogether come to 9 per cent at present, do not come under divisible pool, the states are getting 35 per cent of the central revenue instead of 42 per cent. I would like to make suggestions regarding the cashew industry of my constituency. In the cashew industry, five per cent import duty was imposed on raw cashew nuts in last year's Budget. Regarding the KMML, the import duty has to be enhanced.

SHRIMATI APARUPA PODDAR: The Government had been busy in dismantling structure of federal system since long. Most alarmingly, the Budget has nearly marginalized the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as women of the country. Budget falls woefully short in its response to the jobs creation for our youth. My State has been dumped by not providing enough funds for the earlier sanctioned project. We have a long legitimate demand of setting up of a Central Agriculture University in West Bengal. We hope the Union

Government to set up more institutions and sub centres of CRIPA, IISER, Rice

Research Institutions in West Bengal for boosting up agricultural production. State funded elections are a necessity for weeding out corruption in this vibrant democracy. But the Budget could not show the way. Growth has slowed as a result of demonetization. We find no road map for the nation. So, I oppose the

Budget.

SHRI BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA: I would like to congratulate our

Finance Minister for presenting a historical budget to turn around the economy of the country. This budget lays special emphasis on the rural development. The budgetary provision for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has been increased almost by 45 per cent from Rs.20936 crore to Rs. 29043 crore which will lead up to the fulfillment of the dream of all the persons to have their own home. One crore affordable houses have been targeted to be constructed with an outlay of Rs.23,000 crore which will be beneficial for common men. The GST has been underscored to be implemented from 1st July. To provide electricity to all the houses has been accorded priority by allocating over 35 per cent allocation to the energy sector.

The cap of Rs.2000 for political donation will usher in political cleansing. The allocation for the welfare schemes for Scheduled Castes have been increased by 35 per cent from Rs. 38833 crore to Rs. 52393 crore. I hail from Bundelkhand region hence I would like to make a request to make budgetary provisions for the construction of shelters for animals in order to root out the Anna tradition in which the animals are let loose. Moreover, the proposal of doubling railway lines from

Jhansi to Mirzapur and Banda to Kanpur should be approved and work thereon be started. A Bundelkhand Development Board or Council should be setup in order to help Bundelkhand come out of its distribute. Industries may also be setup in this region to arrest the trend of migration from Bundelkhand.

SHRI P. K. BIJU: When the common people of India are reeling under the disastrous impacts of demonetisation, the Finance Minister has come out with a contradictory budget which is likely to greatly exacerbate suffering of the working people. The budget of 2017 is simply misleading and directionless. The Finance Minister repeatedly talked about doubling incomes of farmers. This does not reflect in any increase in outlays for agriculture. The government is showing a blind eye towards the average of 52 a day farmer suicides in India. The budget pose an existential threat to the Special Component Plan (SCP) for Scheduled

Castes (SCs) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) for Scheduled Tribes (STs). The budget is chanting farmer frequently and helping the corporates by taking name of the poor.

There is no substantial increase in allocation for MNREGA. School education has been totally neglected in the budget. The government does not prioritise primary and secondary education. A normal increase of Rs. 300 crores in mid-day meals is also totally insufficient. The ICDS spending has declined. Thousands of vacancies still remain in the Railways. Kerala has been a historically neglected region for railway. A new service should be started between Guruvayur and

Mookambika. The demand for Railway Over Bridges, at Kollengode - Oottara,

Muthalamada under Palakkadu division, Enkekkadu, Pottore, akamala,

Mulloorkkara under Thiruvananthapuram division, Subway at Peruvambu are also neglected.

SHRI PREM DAS RAI: I rise to support the Budget. It is a good budget. I am happy to note the increase in the health Budget under the NHM by over 21 per cent. I would request the Government to set up a Commission to oversee the work of family planning in our country. I would like to make a request to the Ministry to make good the loss of over Rs. 1,500 crore annually to Sikkim for the last two fiscals. Many of our stalled projects need to be restarted. I do want to state that we tied over the demonetisation issues rather well. We now await the Bill in

Parliament which will ensure reservation of seats to our Scheduled Tribe

Communities, namely the Limboo and Tamangs whilst at the same time expanding the Assembly strength to 40 with all allocation of five seats to the communities.

The Bhutia Lepcha communities will continue to enjoy 12 seats reservation.

SHRI C.K. SANGMA: Keeping in mind the situation prevailing in the country and in the world it is a very balanced Budget. I support the entire idea of bringing forward the Budget. I think the Budget focuses on long-term aspects, like the investment in infrastructure and agriculture. Allocation for the North-East in the Budget has increased from Rs.31,422 crore to Rs.42,499 crore. But I am very saddened to see that the amount given in the 2016-17 budget for the Autonomous

District Councils of North East, which had a budget of Rs.1,000 crore, was reduced to Rs.1 crore in the Revised Estimate of 2016-17. At the same time, the

Government had reduced the Budget Estimates for this year for the District

Councils from Rs.1,000 to Rs.500 crore. The Budget for this year for the

Autonomous District Councils should be increased further. As you are aware, the

District councils of Manipur, especially in the Kuki and Naga areas, don't receive any money or grant from the Government of India. These are elected bodies without any funds today. This is one of the main reasons why we are seeing difficulties and problems in the entire North East. The Government of India's policy of Look East, the Act East, and giving more importance to North East is welcome. There was a very sad incident where a North East student in Bangalore were beaten up by certain people. Even today if our boys and girls and students from North East have to face difficulties like this it is very sad. Till today no action has been taken regarding that. There was a Bez Baruha Committee which made recommendations to increase the safety of North East people in all the metropolitan cities. My request to you would be if the Government pays more focus, especially the Ministry of Home Affairs have more manpower in these areas, these kinds of cases can be taken up.

DR. A. SAMPATH: The Government of India has decided to end the 92 year old practice of a separate Railway Budget. A good precedent is gone without any discussion in the House of the people. The budgetary support to the Railways is to be increased because it bears a social cost of more than Rs. 25,000 crores per annum. The General Budget of the GOI for 2017-18 envisages for a disinvestment to the tune of Rs. 72,000 crores. You are not going to fetch pearls, but peanuts by this selling spree. As for demonetization the Finance Minister does not tell how much of new currency notes were printed and put to circulation since November

8th. He neither says about the amount of black money confiscated since demonetization. Justice has not been shown in gender Budget. The allocation for the health and family welfare including children is inadequate. The Budget did not address the issues of traditional sectors like handloom, coir, cashew, bamboo-mat weaving, potteries, fisheries etc. We need a separate ministry of Fisheries. I would like to express my strong reservations on the tendency of the Government of

India to by-pass the Supremacy of the Parliament. The end result is that every succeeding year, the Parliament discussions on General Budget as well as discussions on the Demands for Grants for various Ministries become a futile exercise. It is not clear as to why is the government reluctant to raise the tax GDP ratios, our country has one of the lowest compared to different OECD countries.

For what purpose and for whose benefit, the SBT is going to be merged with the

SBI. SBT has never come with the begging bowl before the Union Government.

It is the money and the wealth of the people of Kerala. The digital slogan is not bearing fruits. In a country of only 53% of broadband connectivity in the urban areas and a meagre 9% in rural areas, the digital divide may deepen economic disparities. The unorganized workers, informal retail traders and street vendors were forgotten in this Budget also. This is a Budget to appease the rich accentuating the problems of unemployment and rising inequality.

PROF. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA: It is evident from this Budget that our country is marching ahead under the capable and able leadership. In this Budget tax liability of middle income group has been lowered and it has been reduced by

Rs.12500. Apart from that, inflation which was at the level of 10 per cent previously now it has been recorded 3 per cent only and our foreign exchange has also increased upto $359 billion. Keeping in view the strategic importance of India our government has increased the Defence budget by 10 per cent. Again, Budget provision of Rs.2,41,000 crore have been for infrastructure sector. This Budget is dedicated to the poor and the farmers of this country. I would also like to say that never before in the history of our country such a large scale steps have been taken by any Government for the welfare of Scheduled Castes community. Earlier, for the development of Scheduled Castes community budget provision was only

Rs.38,333 crore. Now, it has been increased to Rs.52,393 crore. It has been increased by 35 per cent. Now, I would also like to say about the 'Stand Up' scheme. Previously, there were only job seekers in our country so our Government has taken a great step through this MUDRA Yojana to make them job providers.

SHRIMATI RANJEET RANJAN: The Government does not realize that farmers have been badly hit by the demonetization process. It is a fact that famers do not pay direct taxes but they have indirect tax liability. Moreover, government has also not provided any exception to the farmers. The Government is going to lend Rs.10 lakh crore to the farmers but nothing has been mentioned in the Budget so as to how the famers will repay those loans. Nothing has been mentioned in the Budget by the Government about waiving off the loans given to farmers.

Government has made an announcement that it will increase MSP by 50 per cent.

Now, on 30th December, 2015, the Government approached the Supreme Court and there they admitted that they cannot increase the MSP. With regard to Mudra

Kosh Government has claimed that approx Rs. 71.312 crore have been disbursed as loan under the Mudra Kosh scheme but this is not true. Only Rs.2,000 crore has been distributed from the Mudra Kosh and remaining lending have been made by the banks and MFI Micro Finance Institutions. Last year also, 111 units were eligible for startup funding but Government has provided tax relief only to 8 units for three years. Nothing was mentioned in this regard in this Budget. In this regard, Government funding has reduced by 42.7 per cent compared to last year.

There is no mention of food security in this Budget. By 2021 India's population is likely to increase by 138 crore and it is expected that pulses demand will be 40 million whereas we have capacity of 20 million only. Nothing has been mentioned in the Budget from where you are going to purchase 40 million for food security?

This Budget also present bleak picture for the sports sector. The Government has not made any provision for sports infrastructure and no provision have been made for football, basket ball and another sports also.

SHRI CHANDULAL SAHU: This is a balanced, development oriented and a budget for all budget. The Scheme formulated to alleviate the poverty of one crore family household in 50,000 villages is a very important scheme. This Budget aims to fulfill the principle of Mahatma Gandhi. The scheme to construct ten lakh ponds in the country will also go a long way in improving the lives of village people. I demand to lay a rail line from Mahasamund to Basna and Saraipali in Odisha. Besides, the metre gauge line in the sections from Raipur-Dhamtari-Rajim should be converted into broad gauge and should also be extended from Gariaband to Mainpur via

Devhoke on Odisha.

SHRI BHAGWANT MANN: There is no scope for doubling the income of farmers as no road map has been given in the budget. There is a proposal to disburse loans to the amount of 10 lakh crore to the farmers in lieu of 9 lakh crore. But the loan can never augment the income of farmers rather it pushes the farmers to suicide.

There is a no proposal in the Budget to create employment opportunities. I also fail to understand as to how demonetization would rid corruption from the country.

SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL: Merger of Rail Budget with General

Budget is a historical decision. This time presentation of Budget has been preponed which will ensure that the Government's schemes are implemented in the starting of the financial year itself. Gap between plan and non-plan expenditure has been removed. There is no tax terror in this budget. This is a balanced and development oriented budget. Due care of farmers, the villages, the poor, the youth and the deprived has been taken in it. Earlier, only 73 kms of roads were constructed under

PMGSY whereas this is 133 kms now. A provision of Rs.19,000 crore has been made for this purpose. An allocation of Rs.500 crore has been made for establishing

Mahila Shakti Kendras in 14 lakh Anganwadi Kendras at village level. A provision has been made in the Union Budget to celebrate Golden Jubilee of the Sabarmati

Ashram setup by Gandhiji. Dairy industry is an important industry in Gujarat. A provision of Rs. 8000 crore has been made for the purpose. An AIIMS is also proposed to be setup in Gujarat. Hon. Finance Minister has mentioned about connecting the pilgrimage places by railway. The Bahucharaji temple is a famous shrine in my constituency. Earlier, a train i.e. Puna Special train used to connect this place. This train service should be restored.

SHRI CHHOTELAL: I support this historical Budget which is in fact a budget for the dalits, the exploited, the downtrodden and the farmers.

The discussion was not concluded.

ANOOP MISHRA Secretary General

© 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.