It is a development-oriented Budget: Paswan

New Delhi, Feb 29: Terming the Budget 2016-17 as "development oriented", Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today said it is in the interest of poor, farmers and youth. "The budget is development-oriented. It is in the interest of poor, farmers, and youth.

There is special focus on agriculture, infrastructure, rural development, education and social sectors," Paswan tweeted.

In the Budget, an allocation of Rs 1.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Food Ministry, which is almost similar to the last year. Of this allocation, Rs 1.34 lakh crore is earmarked for food subsidy. For the Consumer Affairs Department, the allocation has been increased substantially to Rs 1,241.61 crore for 2016-17 from Rs 306.13 crore in the previous year.

The allocation has increased as the Price Stabalisation Fund has been shifted to this department from the Agriculture Ministry.

While presenting the budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley emphasised the need to ensure MSP reaches to farmers across the country. For which, he proposed three initiatives which will be carried out by the Food Ministry in 2016-17.

"First, the remaining states will be encouraged to take up decentralized procurement. Second, an online Procurement System will be undertaken through the Food Corporation of India. This will usher in transparency and convenience to the farmers through prior registration and monitoring of actual procurement. Third, effective arrangements have been made for pulses procurement," Jaitley said.

Meanwhile, Power Minister Piyush Goel described the Budget as a "transformational" one and said, "Vast subjects have been covered in it".

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "It is a Budget for every Indian. This budget has taken care of the rural India, gram panchayat, and urban India. It takes care of those who need healthcare. It has taken care of infrastructure. It brings a stable tax regime."

PTI