Union Budget 2017: FM Arun Jaitley woos rural, poor voters

Know how Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tried to reach out to the rural and poor people as a part of the Union Budget 2017

New Delhi, Feb 1: In the very beginning of the presentation of the Union Budget 2017 on Wednesday in Parliament, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley laid out his plans for rural areas.

"With better monsoon, agriculture is expected to grow at 4.1% in current year," Jaitley announced in the Lok Sabha.

The Finance Minister said that he has adopted a unique approach to uplift the conditions of the rural and poor people.

"My approach in preparing the budget is to spend more on rural areas, infrastructure and poverty alleviation with fiscal prudence," added the FM.

Earlier, the opposition protested against the presentation of the budget ahead of assembly polls scheduled in five states--Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur.

However, The Supreme Court in January cleared the presentation of the budget in Parliament dismissing a public interest litigation seeking its postponement citing assembly polls in five states scheduled from February 4 to March 8.

But, the FM did not make any specific announcement for the poll-bound states. Still many feel that the budget is likely to make an impact on voters, especially those from UP and Uttarakhand.

OneIndia News