PM Modi leads brain-storming at 11 budget-related webinars

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 11 budget-related webinars over the last few weeks during which valuable suggestions were also received from stakeholders to aid the effective implementation of the budget announcements, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The prime minister's address of the webinar for discussing budget-related announcements of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) culminated the series of 11 budget-related webinars he addressed.

In the last few weeks, Prime Minister Modi participated in webinars relating to ministries/departments of higher education, rural development, agriculture, defence, health, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Principal Scientific Advisor, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and the Department Economic Affairs and DIPAM.

The Union Budget-2022 has made several announcements for the economic growth of the country and to further the wellbeing of our people, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

These webinars were conducted with the objective of sustaining momentum of the budget and to create a sense of ownership by all stakeholders in its implementation, the statement said.

These webinars covered a diverse spectrum of subjects like SMART agriculture, PM Gatishakti, 'Aatmanirbharta' in defence, digital education and dynamic skilling, inclusive and equitable healthcare delivery, Make in India and financing for aspirational economy, it said.

The main objectives for organising the webinars were developing a sense of ownership among the key stakeholders for the budget, the statement said.

This exercise will also help ministries and departments to hit the ground running as soon as the new fiscal year begins and also ensure time-bound implementation, it said.

Consultation with various stakeholders helps bring their practical and global expertise and experience and to identify lacunae, it added.

The shifting of budget to February 1 and these interactions in the webinars enables state governments get better visibility of priorities and thus plan their budgets better, the PMO said.

The webinars saw an estimated participation of around 40,000 stakeholders which included entrepreneurs, MSMEs, exporters, global investors, representatives of the central and state governments, and youth from the world of startups, among others.

Comprehensive panel discussions and theme-based break-out sessions were organised during each webinar.

A large number of valuable suggestions were received by the government during these webinars which will further aid in effective implementation of the Budget announcements, the PMO said.