Budget 2018 will boost economy, infrastructure, says Devendra Fadnavis; terms govt's decision to increase farmers' income 'historical'

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday hailed the Union Budget, saying it was a big boost to sectors like infrastructure, economy, health care and job creation. Fadnavis said the provision of Rs 40,000 crore for enhancing the transportation in Mumbai with the expansion of suburban railway system and new airports was a big boost to the infrastructure sector and the economy. [caption id=“attachment_4330689” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Devendra Fadnavis. AFP[/caption] He termed as “historical” the decision to increase farmers’ income. “With an aim to put more money in farmers’ pockets, the Centre has decided to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of all crops by at least 1.5 times of the production cost,” he noted. He also welcomed the target of Rs 3 lakh crore for loan disbursement under the Mudra scheme in the next fiscal. “The Mudra loan has been given to more than 10 crore people, of whom seven crore are women and five crore are from the scheduled castes and other backward classes,” he said. Fadnavis also welcomed the government’s initiative to launch the National Health Protection scheme to cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable people. “It is another history created by the Modi government. This is the world’s largest health care initiative. Under the new scheme, 50 crore people would get free health care benefits up to Rs 5 lakh per family for treatment,” he said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting the budget proposals, said the government wanted to help farmers produce more and realise higher prices. He said the crop production is at a record high and the government is committed to giving 50 percent more than cost of crop production to farmers. The government also proposes to set MSP at one-and-a-half times the cost of production for Kharif crops, Jaitley said. Click here for more updates on Budget 2018