Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Feb 1 : Briefing the media about the Budget implications for the different Ministries and Departments under his charge, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that if one was to explain the General Budget 2022-23 in a single sentence, it would be appropriate to say that this is a “Futuristic Budget with scientific vision and StartUp incentives”.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dr Jitendra Singh said, India looks forward to a crucial decade ahead, which will primarily be determined by two factors (a) Economy and (b) Science, Technology & Innovation. Keeping these critical aspects in mind, he said, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had presented an all-inclusive Budget which touches a wide spectrum of sectors ranging from rural, healthcare, agriculture, sanitation, etc.
The hallmark of the budget, said the Minister, is that nearly every announcement or initiative reflected in the budget has a strong bearing on scientific technology and innovation. In this regard, he referred to the announcement of innovative new initiatives like Digital Rupee linked with technology, Digital Banking units in 75 districts, Digital University and StartUps linked to Artificial Intelligence, Space Technology, etc.
The future roadmap for the coming years, said Dr Jitendra Singh, also reflects in some of the StartUp initiatives announced by the Finance Minister. These, for example, include exemption of tax for StartUps for another one year i.e. upto 2024, he said.
The emphasis on Drones including “Drone Shakti ” through StartUps and utilisation of Kisan Drones in the agriculture sector are bound to give India a headway over other nations of the world, said Dr Jitendra Singh.
For promotion of StartUps, the Budget provides for Export incentivisation and domestic production incentivisation, observed the Minister.
The Minister took a special note of the fact that a small Ministry like Earth Sciences has been allocated a budget of Rs. 2,653.51 crore, which is in addition to Rs. 4,000 crore allocated earlier for the Deep Sea Mission. This only indicates Prime Minister Modi’s belief that the economy of future India is going to be hugely dependent on ocean and sea resources, he said.
Similarly, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the budget allocated for Ministry of Science & Technology is Rs.6,000 crore, out of which the Department of Biotechnology gets Rs.2,581 crore and this is the Department, which has been conducting trials on DNA Vaccine earlier and now on the the Nasal Vaccine.
Dr Jitendra Singh recalled PM Narendra Modi’s concern about climate change expressed in COP 20 and pointed to reference in today’s budget speech to Low Carbon Development strategy. He said, the Science Ministries have been given a boost by PM Modi in carrying forward the Hydrogen Mission.
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