India / Union Budget 2021-22 will set path for the decade: Sitharaman

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that Union Budget 2021-22 is about the role of government as a facilitator and the private sector as a key driver of economic growth, without which the country would be losing a big opportunity.

Speaking at a post-budget interaction held by Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Bengaluru, Sitharaman said that the budget is not just for this year, "but for setting the path for the decade."

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third Union Budget for the financial year of 2021-22 on February 1. In the budget, the government proposed to privatise most central public sector enterprises (CPSEs). "Firms will be privatised in sectors other than atomic energy, space and defence; transport and telecommunications; power, petroleum, coal and other minerals; and banking, insurance and financial services," she had said in her budget speech.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government ministers had praised the budget saying it will help the country's economy and create a lot of employment opportunities. The opposition, however, criticised the privatisation plans. "Modi Govt plans to hand over India's assets to his crony capitalist friends," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said.

Meanwhile, bank unions staged a protest in all the state capitals on Friday against the government's privatisation of public sector banks. About 10 lakh bank employees and officers under the banner of United Forum of Unions consisting of nine unions including All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), agitated against government's proposal. AIBEA in an official statement also warned if the government does not pay heed to their demands they will march towards Parliament in the national capital next month.