Rajya Sabha resumes discussion on General Budget 2025-26

The Rajya Sabha yesterday resumed the discussion on the General Budget 2025-26. Participating in the discussion, Bhagawat Karad of the BJP said the fiscal deficit was brought down by 0.4 percent due to proactive measures taken by the government. He said the direct benefit transfer helped in stopping leakages and saved the government exchequer.

Taking part in the discussion, Praful Patel of NCP expressed confidence that the country will become the third-largest economy in the world in the coming years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said India has witnessed significant progress in building robust infrastructure and other sectors.

Arun Singh of BJP observed that this budget is going to meet the aspirations of the 140 crore people of the country. He said it is pro-poor and will help increase the income of the farmers and generate employment opportunities for the youth. He said earlier the country’s economy was in bad shape, which has been strengthened by the current regime.

Mr. Singh highlighted that the government has increased the budget for the health sector and for railways; over 2 lakh 64 crore rupees have been allocated—that is six times higher than that of the UPA regime. The BJP MP also said around 137 crore rupees have been allocated for the agriculture sector.

On the other hand, Independent MP Kapil Sibal said the government could have revealed its future plans in the education sector, especially when more and more technologies are emerging. Stating that Viksit Bharat means Shikshit Bharat, he expressed displeasure at increasing the budget for education by only seven percent. He alleged that the government did not pay sufficient attention towards two important sectors, education and health. He also questioned how the government is going to make the economy competitive and innovative, particularly by making India a manufacturing economy.

He said the manufacturing contribution to GDP has declined to 12.9 percent.



Congress MP Chandrakanth Handore said the welfare schemes planned for 70 percent of the people in the country are not being fully implemented at the ground level. Another party MP, Ashok Singh, alleged that the current government’s economic policy is only for the rich and not for the poor people. He also alleged that the Make in India is just a publicity stunt. Dola Sen of Trinamool Congress welcomed the decision to provide a tax rebate up to an income of 12 lakh rupees.

However, she said, nothing has been done for those 90 percent of people in the country who earn between 10 thousand to 20 thousand rupees a month. She demanded to lower the indirect taxes on petrol and other products. She accused that prices of petroleum and cooking gas are increasing, but the budget is silent about it. She alleged that budgetary allocations for several schemes have been slashed and the household savings have declined. Jaya Bachchan of the Samajwadi Party also criticised the budget. She urged the government to look into the taxes imposed on the audiovisual industry. Nominated MP Sudha Murthy also spoke on the budget.

CPI(M) MP John Brittas said that import duties on steel, which have gone up, will affect the industries. He said the government must decide on the foreign policy and what should be the path going forward. NCP (SP) leader Fauzia Khan alleged that the Union Budget is favouring a chosen few industrialists. She recommended a 25 percent wealth tax and to allocate six percent for education and three percent for healthcare.

Niranjan Bishi of BJD criticized the budget, alleging that it has nothing for the working class, like mill workers, farmers, and labourers. AAP MP Raghav Chadha said the income tax rebate will not affect much. He said, to boost demand, there must be a reduction in GST. The discussion will continue on Thursday.

Both Houses of Parliament will not sit today due to the holiday on the occasion of Sant Ravidas Jayanti.