Union Budget 2021-22 highlights: What you should know from Sitharaman's speech
India TodayHealth emerged as the topmost priority of the Narendra Modi government in the Union Budget 2021-22 as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third consecutive on Monday. She said, “Within 48 hours of declaring a lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana valued at Rs 2.76 lakh crore.” Nirmala Sitharaman identified eight areas of focus for the Union Budget 2021-22 as the “Sankalp of NATION FIRST”. Commenting on the Union Budget, economy watcher Diwakar Vijayasarathy, the founder of DVS Advisors LLP, said, "As expected health has been given a prominent platform and was the first pillar of the budget speech and has increased in the allocation of around 138% is definitely a welcome move.” Taxes The government has proposed an agriculture cess of Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and Rs 4 per litre on diesel. In the case of pulses, Sitharaman said the increase in the amount paid to the farmers increased 40 times in 2020-21 over 2013-14 — from Rs 236 crore to Rs 10530 crore.