Union Budget 2020-21: Naveen Airs Mixed Reactions

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik gave mixed reactions to the Union Budget 2020-21 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Saturday.

In his reaction, the Odisha CM welcomed the allocation for setting up Kisan Rail and Krishi Udan for a seamless national cold supply chain. He also hailed the decision to expand PM-KUSUM to cover 20 lakh farmers for solar pumps.

The Odisha CM also praised the decision for removal of dividend distribution tax and introduction of concessional component tax.

He said, “Odisha had requested for extension of Concessional Tax rates to Cooperatives in line with Corporate Tax cuts. We welcome the announcement of Concessional Tax rates for cooperatives.

Besides, Naveen also welcomed the announcement of New Education Policy and FDI in the education sector.

However, the Odisha CM expressed his concerns over the certain provisions in the Union Budget 2020-21.

Almost all allocations under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes have been stagnant, the CM reacted.

The divisible pool of Central Taxes has shrunk by almost Rs 59,000 crore. This will reduce Odisha’s share by about Rs 3000 core, Naveen noted.

The CM also expressed his concerns for not inclusion of any archaeological site of Odisha in the proposed iconic sites to be developed by the Centre.

He also demanded a National Tribal Museum for Odisha.

“Drinking water is a national priority. Allocation of 11,500 crore nationally against an approved plan of Rs 3.6 lakh crore is too little. Infact Odisha spends about Rs 3600 crore in drinking water, he said.

Sensex is an indicator of investor confidence. The drop of almost 1000 points today shows that there is a huge scope to take a number of measures, he further said.

“Investor confidence is important for fresh investments to come in, to spur growth which is the biggest challenge now. This will have a huge impact on job creation and livelihood options for our youth”, the Odisha CM said.