Budget seeks to boost agriculture, industry: PM

Terming Budget as growth oriented, PM said it seeks to boost industry, agriculture and infrastructure.

Terming the Budget 2004-05 as growth oriented, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that to find a solution to the ills plaguing various sectors, the Union Budget proposes to give boost to agriculture, industry and social and physical infrastructure.

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Underlining that the Budget aimed to combine the rapid economic growth with enhanced social equity, the Prime Minister said it proposes to give "high dosage of investment in agriculture, industry and social and physical infrastructure."

Pointing out that the fiscal deficit at present was at 4.4 per cent, the Prime Minister said the Government's endeavour would be to wipe it out.

He said an amount of Rs 10,000 crore additional plan expenditure provided in the Budget would be utilised to carry out the objectives of the Common Minimum Programme.

A meaningful solution to mass-poverty, ignorance and disease which still afflict millions of people, can best be found in a rapidly expanding economy particularly so in fast expansion of our agricultural economy and rapid acceleration of our industrial growth, the Prime Minister said adding this budget seeks to do this.

Pointing out that India had great diversity and complexity where no single application will work, the Prime Minister underlined the need for experimentation of viable options which must vary from state to state and region to region.

He stressed the NGOs had an impact on this process and said the Government wanted to take cooperation of NGOs and other agencies active in social development and associated areas, like education and social services.