Rajnath Singh praises 'budget for progressive and positive India', says it will bridge gap between rural and urban India

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday termed the budget 2018-19 as a “budget for progressive and positive India” and said it would help bridge the gap between rural and urban India. [caption id=“attachment_4312415” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Home Minister Rajnath Singh. PTI[/caption] Singh said the budget will also boost economic growth and public investment as massive allocations have been made in the infrastructure sector. “It is indeed a budget for a progressive and positive India. This budget envisions a paradigm shift in economic priorities and it will help in bridging the gap between between the rural and urban areas of our country,” he told reporters in New Delhi. Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on presenting a “historic budget for a new India”, Singh said the government has shown its commitment to bring relief to the lives of ordinary citizens by extending the coverage of ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana’ to 8 crore poor families. “The budget is one of the most farmer and people’s friendly budgets presented in the recent years. The proposal to include 10 crore poor and vulnerable families under the annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh will bring a massive change in health outcomes,” he said. The home minister said the proposal to launch ‘Operation Green’ in rural areas will spur agricultural growth and it will definitely go a long way in doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. The budget has also earmarked Rs 22,000 crore to strengthen agriculture infrastructure in India, he said. “The budget will benefit farmers with better price realisation for their crops. The proposal of setting up MSP’s at 150 per cent of the production cost from the Kharif season will help in fighting the agrarian distress in rural areas,” he said.