New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that Budget blends fiscal prudence with the requirements and needs of the economy today.
Speaking to media in New Delhi on Thursday evening, Mr. Jaitley said, agriculture and rural economy have been given high priority in this budget. He said, the Budget proposes an institutional mechanism to fix the emoluments of the elected members, thereby addressing the criticism that they fix their own salaries.
Replying to a media query, the Finance Minister expressed confidence of limiting the fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 within 3.3 per cent saying that full 12 months of GST revenue will be accessible to meet the target.
He said, contribution of the salaried class has been recognized for the first time. He said, step by step, in every budget, he has been putting surplus money in the hands of the middle-class taxpayer.
Replying to another query, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian said, the fact that Government has gone back to a path of fiscal consolidation in a special year like this should reassure bond markets that the commitment for consolidation is strong and robust.
During the briefing officials of the Finance Ministry said, NITI Aayog will devise a mechanism to increase the Minimum Support Price for crops to 1.5 times of production cost as promised in Budget and it will be done in consultation with the states.
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