No particular class standing to states: Nirmala Sitharaman

By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday dominated out particular class standing to Odisha and disinvestment in Navaratna central public sector enterprise Nalco. Addressing mediapersons on the Centre’s choice on the demand of particular class standing from states together with Odisha right here on Friday, Sitharaman stated the Finance Commission has made it clear that no particular class standing might be given to any state.

She stated Telangana was an exception and the state was given particular class standing after it was bifurcated from Andhra Pradesh. But the Finance Commission’s clear opinion was to grant no extra particular class standing to some other state.

The Union minister additionally put to relaxation all speculations on a potential sale of presidency stake in Nalco. “We follow a calibrated disinvestment strategy, which is pragmatic and does not distort the market. The disinvestment target has been set realistically. However, Nalco is not in the disinvestment list,” she stated.

Sitharaman additionally denied that the allocation for MGNREGA and paddy procurement has been decreased. She stated the agricultural employment assure programme is a demand-driven scheme. “Whenever there is an increase in demand, the provisions will go up. We also want to ensure that the fund is well spent,” she added.

She stated the procurement has not been introduced down, and in reality, the quantum of foodgrains procured from farmers has gone up together with the quantity of MSP paid within the final eight years. “The government is not just to allocate funds but also to ensure their full utilisation. It is being ensured that the entire amount of MSP is put into the accounts of the farmers by eliminating the scope of pilferage and involvement of middlemen. Total amount spent on procurement is at an all-time high now,” she stated.

Disagreeing that allocation for Ujjwala scheme has dropped considerably from Rs 310 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 0.01 crore in 2023-24 because it finds no takers, she maintained that the allocation was decreased within the funds following saturation of the connection goal.

Underlining the Prime Minister’s emphasis on not transferring the burden of worldwide hike in costs of things like fuel and fertilisers to the poor, the minister stated that the federal government is offering a Rs 200 subsidy per cylinder in order that they’ll proceed to refill their cylinders. She stated folks do perceive the influence of value hike of imported gadgets and calibrate their consumption accordingly.

Sitharaman stated the GST compensation regime has been prolonged until 2026 to repay the loans taken throughout Covid-19 pandemic as per the choice of the GST council. The loans had been taken to pay the states some quantity of the whole compensation due.The states should not going to lose something because the GST income goes up each month post-pandemic, she stated.

BHUBANESWAR: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday dominated out particular class standing to Odisha and disinvestment in Navaratna central public sector enterprise Nalco. Addressing mediapersons on the Centre’s choice on the demand of particular class standing from states together with Odisha right here on Friday, Sitharaman stated the Finance Commission has made it clear that no particular class standing might be given to any state.

She stated Telangana was an exception and the state was given particular class standing after it was bifurcated from Andhra Pradesh. But the Finance Commission’s clear opinion was to grant no extra particular class standing to some other state.

The Union minister additionally put to relaxation all speculations on a potential sale of presidency stake in Nalco. “We follow a calibrated disinvestment strategy, which is pragmatic and does not distort the market. The disinvestment target has been set realistically. However, Nalco is not in the disinvestment list,” she stated.

Sitharaman additionally denied that the allocation for MGNREGA and paddy procurement has been decreased. She stated the agricultural employment assure programme is a demand-driven scheme. “Whenever there is an increase in demand, the provisions will go up. We also want to ensure that the fund is well spent,” she added.

She stated the procurement has not been introduced down, and in reality, the quantum of foodgrains procured from farmers has gone up together with the quantity of MSP paid within the final eight years. “The government is not just to allocate funds but also to ensure their full utilisation. It is being ensured that the entire amount of MSP is put into the accounts of the farmers by eliminating the scope of pilferage and involvement of middlemen. Total amount spent on procurement is at an all-time high now,” she stated.

Disagreeing that allocation for Ujjwala scheme has dropped considerably from Rs 310 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 0.01 crore in 2023-24 because it finds no takers, she maintained that the allocation was decreased within the funds following saturation of the connection goal.

Underlining the Prime Minister’s emphasis on not transferring the burden of worldwide hike in costs of things like fuel and fertilisers to the poor, the minister stated that the federal government is offering a Rs 200 subsidy per cylinder in order that they’ll proceed to refill their cylinders. She stated folks do perceive the influence of value hike of imported gadgets and calibrate their consumption accordingly.

Sitharaman stated the GST compensation regime has been prolonged until 2026 to repay the loans taken throughout Covid-19 pandemic as per the choice of the GST council. The loans had been taken to pay the states some quantity of the whole compensation due.The states should not going to lose something because the GST income goes up each month post-pandemic, she stated.