During the “Corona” 

crisis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget

2021-22 in Parliament on 1 February 2021. The most special thing about this budget is that for the
first time in the history of the country, a paperless Budget is presented.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has mentioned 6 pillars in the budget emphasizing

employment generation through investment in the health and infrastructure sector.

 These Six Pillars are:

1. Health and Wellness
2. Physical and Financial Capital and Infrastructure
3. Inclusive development for aspiring India
4. Re-energize human capital
5. Innovation, Research, and Development
Minimum Government and Maximum Governance Health and Wellness
The health sector budget has been increased by 137%.

PM Aatm Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana has also been announced. For which an allocation of 64,180
crores has been made.

35 thousand crore rupees have been proposed for the Covid-19 vaccine. The launch of Mission
Nutrition 2.0 has also been announced.

Physical and Financial Capital and Infrastructure

The government has proposed to increase the capital expenditure by 34.5% to Rs 5.54 lakh crore
in FY 2021-22 to accelerate economic growth through the creation of basic infrastructure in the
country.

The Finance Minister said that the fiscal deficit is expected to be 6.8% of GDP in the next
financial year starting from 1st April. However, during the Covid-19 epidemic, the fiscal deficit
could reach 9.5% in the current financial year due to an increase in expenditure and a decrease in
revenue. It is proposed to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26. The establishment
of TFI has been announced with 20 thousand crores. And PLI scheme has been announced for 13
sectors under Aatm Nirbhar Bharat.

Special emphasis has also been laid on the development of infrastructure in the budget. An additional
Rs 1,18,101 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Roads and Transport.

The railway has been allocated 10055 Crore. 11000 crore rupees have also been allocated for metro
rail.
Inclusive Development for Aspiring India
Under this, the target of agricultural credit has been increased to Rs 16.5 lakh crore in the financial
year 2022.

The Finance Minister has announced to increase the allocation to the Rural Infrastructure

Development Fund to Rs 40 thousand crores. And it has also been proposed to double the micro-
irrigation fund.

1000 more Mandis will be brought under e-NAM. The minimum wage system will be applicable for
all categories of laborers. And a provision of Rs 15,700 crore has been made for MSP.

Re-energize Human Capital

The quality of more than 15,000 schools will be improved to comply with the National Education
Policy. 100 new Sainik Schools will be set up in partnership with NGOs, private schools, and
states.

It is also proposed to set up a central university in Leh to arrange for higher education in Ladakh.
A target has also been set to establish 750 Eklavya Model Residential Schools in the tribal areas.

Innovation, Research, and Development

The methodology of the National Research Foundation has been prepared, this will strengthen the
entire research system of the country.

Financial incentives of ₹ 1500 Crore have also been announced to promote  digital transactions.
The Finance Minister said that a “National Language Translation Mission” will start so that
knowledge related to governance and policy will be made available in the major languages of India
on the Internet.

Minimum Government and Maximum Governance

The upcoming census will be the first digital census in the history of India. For this, Rs 3767 crore
has been allocated in the year 2021-22.

This time the expenditure on health has been increased by 137%. And Rs 35,000 crore has been
allocated for Covid-19 vaccination.

To improve health-related systems, the central government will launch the PM Aatm Nirbhar
Swasth Bharat Yojana.
What Is PM Aatm Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana?
Through this, the capabilities of primary, secondary, and tertiary care health systems will be
developed. Along with strengthening the existing national institutions, a new institution will be
formed to identify and treat new diseases.

This scheme will be in addition to the National Health Mission. 17,788 rural and 11,024 urban
health and wellness centers will be supported under this scheme.

Critical care hospital blocks will be built in 602 districts and 12 central locations. Integrated
Health Information Portal will be expanded to all states.

15 health emergency operation centers and 2 mobile hospitals will be set up.

Declaration on Pneumococcal Vaccine

The pneumococcal vaccine has been announced to be implemented in the entire country. Currently,
it is limited to only five states. This will prevent more than 50,000 child deaths every year.

Water supply in Urban Areas

It has been announced to launch Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) in the budget. The objective is to
provide universal water supply in all 4378 urban bodies with 2.86 crore domestic tap connections
and liquid waste management in 500 “AMRUT” cities. 2 Lakh 87 Thousand crores will be spent in
the next 5 years for this mission.

To make urban India more neat and clean, it has announced to spend Rs. 1,41,678 crores in a period
of 5 years between 2021 to 2026 under Urban Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0.

Budget Provision for Basic Structures

Emphasizing strengthening the infrastructure, the Finance Minister said that it is the government’s
priority to continuously increase the manufacturing sector in double digits to create a $ 5 trillion
economy.

The government has announced a PLI plan for 13 sectors to make manufacturing global champions
for self-reliant India. For this, the government will make a provision of 1.97 lakh crore rupees in the
next 5 years.

In order to boost textile production, 7 textile industries will be set up in the next 3 years. The
National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) has been expanded to include 7400 projects.

To promote infrastructure, development financial institutions will be set up with Rs 20,000 crore.

Provision for development of Rural Infrastructure
A provision of ₹ 40,000 crores has been made for the  Rural Infrastructure Development Fund.
The irrigation fund created under NABARD with a corpus of ₹ 5,000 crores will be doubled.

Provision for Road Transport and Highways

Mega national highway projects will be constructed in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, and
Kerala. The National Highway Project in Tamil Nadu will be 1.03 lakh crore.

₹ 65 thousand crores worth of national highways will be built in  Kerala. A 675 km national
highway will be built between Kolkata and Siliguri in West Bengal.

In Assam, highway and economic corridor will be built in the next 3 years at a cost of Rs 34,000
crore. A provision of ₹ 1,18,101 crore has been made for the  Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways in the budget.

Provisions in the budget for the Ministry of Railways

According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the National Rail Scheme 2030 has been
prepared to develop the railway system for the future.

For the convenience of the passengers, the Vistadome Coach will be introduced. 100%

electrification of Broad Gauge routes will be completed by December 2023.

Metro project will be promoted in Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Nagpur.  A provision of Rs

1,10,055 crore has been made for the railways

Conclusion
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the budget of 2021-22 has been presented during
extraordinary circumstances. There is also a feeling of reality in it and there is confidence in
development.

The Prime Minister said that this budget has been emphasized to increase “ease of living” in the
lives of common people by simplifying rules and procedures. Under this, 64,180 crore rupees will
be spent in the next 6 years.

QUESTIONS:
Q1. What is the theme of Union Budget 2021?

Ans: “Ease Of Living” is the theme of Union Budget 2021.

Q2. Who presented the Union Budget of India 2021-2022?

Ans: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman presented the union budget of India 2021-22.

Q3. What is the total budget of India 2020-21?

Ans: Rs 30,42,230 crore is the total budget of India of 2020-21.