Sitharaman Defends Budget, Says Centre's Funds Not "Free Pool of Cash"

In response to opposition members questioning the release of funds to various states, Sitharaman refused to "squander" these public funds simply to meet artificial deadlines or political demands.

Sitharaman said, "Centre's funds are not a free pool of cash. It's hard earned contribution of every Indian citizen. We refuse to squander the money simply to meet a deadline. There is a very transparent process, and we go by that."

Further responding to the middle class, the Finance Minister said there is no evidence of middle-class suppression; in fact, the middle class is expanding.

"Budget never forgetful of past; it remembers fragile days, double-digit inflation," she said.

"The economy is not only for the elite; the middle-class basket is widening. Between 2013-14 and 2024-25, the number of taxpayers rose from 5.26 crore to 12.13 crore. Thus, over the past 11 years, the number of income tax payers has more than doubled. Growth has therefore been at a CAGR of 7.9%," she said.

"This represents the largest structural expansion of the middle class in the country. Suppression cannot be claimed when the tax base is widening, and the net itself is expanding. This is not suppression; people are coming on board voluntarily to pay taxes," Sitharaman said.

She highlighted that 16 new schemes were announced in Budget 2026, with allocations, and 4 existing schemes received a top-up. Earlier, during the UPA, schemes were announced without allocations. Budget speeches are more than just announcements about schemes and allocations; they also set the direction."

"I urge all the parties and members of the house to encourage their respective State Governments to participate actively in the schemes that have been announced. Many of these will operate in a challenge mode, so the sooner they come forward with exhaustive planning that accounts for all the filters under the PM Gati Shakti framework, the better. Any state that comes up for these mega schemes, which we have announced they can stand to benefit," she said.

Speaking on inflation, Sitharaman said inflation is at a historic low, even though growth remains high.

"I want to highlight the fact that inflation is at a historic low, even though growth remains high. There is no inflation crisis in India today. Inflation has been tamed and firmly anchored due to stability and the steps taken by the government," she said.

On the issue of unemployment raised in the Parliament, the Finance Minister said, "The country's labour market is going through a phase of structural transformation. In 2017-18, the unemployment rate was 5.6%, whereas in 2023-24, it declined to 3.2%. In fact, the unemployment rate has decreased."

The Finance Minister also talked about the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), saying, "For MSMEs, we are creating champion MSMEs, meaning at least the medium-sized ones with potential to grow bigger. We want to support them while equally supporting small, micro, and nano enterprises that have growth potential."

- ANI