Nitish applauds Union Budget on agri and health counts

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today lauded the Union Budget, saying it contained appreciable initiatives for the agriculture and health sectors.
"I could not listen to the entire budget speech of (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley, but heard the parts relating to agriculture, health and education. The finance minister deserves applause on these counts," he told reporters here.
The JD(U) chief lauded Jaitley's announcement that the minimum support price for Kharif crops would be calculated by adding 50 per cent to the production cost and that a similar formula would be adopted for the other crops.
"In the health sector, the announcement of a Rs five lakh healthcare cover for 10 crore poor families is a huge initiative. The move would, in effect, benefit about 50 crore people. I congratulate Jaitley on this count as well," Kumar said.