India's Budget: A Push for Global Economic Power - Scindia

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The Union Budget, which bolsters overall consumption, investment and growth marks an important milestone in India's rise as a global economic power, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Saturday.

The comment comes in the backdrop of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing significant income tax cuts for the middle class and unveiling a blueprint for next-generation reforms for Viksit Bharat as government treaded a fine line between fiscal prudence and providing a thrust to growth.

"I think today is a very important day in the journey of India as she moves from becoming a regional power to a world economic power... towards becoming the third largest economy, GDP growth to almost about USD 5 trillion by 2026 and almost USD 6.5 trillion by 2030... which is the view of many international institutions... and this Budget has certainly put India on that path," Scindia, who is the Minister for Communications, told PTI.

Describing the Budget as one that drives sustainable growth, the minister said the measures announced in the Budget have provided a big impetus to key segments such as poor, women, youth and farmers.

He drew attention to impetus on credit growth for farmers, the pulses and cotton mission, safe drinking water, and the big push to fuel infrastructure investments and consumption growth.

The Budget brings income tax relief for the middle class on the one hand, and at the same time doubles down on efforts around AI and deeptech, the minister said.

"And whilst doing all of this, concentrating on the middle class, which is almost 31 per cent of our country's population, talking about almost 45 crore people, where the zero tax lab has been increased up to Rs 12 lakhs. In the Congress regime, up till 2014, every single middle class salaried person up till the salary of 12 lakh was taxed almost Rs 2 lakhs.

"The Modi government has seen that two lakh rupees has been brought back completely into the pocket of every middle class, salaried person and I think that itself is a huge step," Scindia said.