Citizen-friendly, development-friendly and future oriented Budget: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a "citizen-friendly, development-friendly and future-oriented Budget."

"I want to congratulate Nirmala Sitharaman for citizen-friendly, development-friendly and future-oriented Budget. This Budget will make the nation prosperous (samrudh) and will make the people 'samarth' (able)," Prime Minister Modi said.

"With this Budget, the poor will be strengthened and youth will get a better tomorrow. The middle class will progress with this Budget, development work will expedite even more. The tax structure will be simplified and infrastructure will modernize," he added.

This Budget will strengthen the enterprises and will further increase the participation of women in the development of the country, Modi opined.

"It will make Education better in the country and will take the benefits of artificial intelligence and space research amongst the people. This Budget has reforms for the economy, it has 'Ease of Living' for common people and welfare of villages and poor," he remarked.

Terming it as a "green Budget," Modi stated that emphasis has been put on agriculture, electric mobility, and solar sector.

"In last five years, the country has left behind the atmosphere of depression. It has come out of that atmosphere. Today, the country is filled with confidence... Today, in people's lives there are new desires and many expectations. This Budget is giving assurance to the nation, that these (desires and expectations) can be fulfilled. This is a Budget of hope and expectation," he said.

"The Budget for 'New India' is one of hope and it is a Budget that will boost India's development in the 21st century. The Budget for 'New India' has a roadmap to transform the agriculture sector of India," he added.

Prime Minister Modi went on to add that the Union Budget 2019-20 will help in fulfilling the commitments made for the 75th Independence Day in 2022.

"In last five years, our government took various steps to empower farmers, poor, Dalit and others. In the next five years, this empowerment will now make them the country's powerhouse. The country will get the energy of becoming the five trillion dollar economy through this powerhouse," he said.

"In the Budget, new initiatives have been announced for structural reforms in the agriculture sector. By investing in rural infrastructure, there will be new opportunities for jobs in villages. Just like the 'Swachh Bharat Mission', 'Har Ghar Jal' initiative will make the country strong to tackle the issue of water scarcity," he added.

Sitharaman had earlier today presented the Union Budget 2019-20 in Parliament.