NEW DELHI: During the discussion on white paper in the Lower House of Parliament, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said it is a serious document with the documentary evidence for everything that is said in it.
“The two rails on which we want the economy forward is to correct all the undoing and remove the hurdles and misgovernance of economy of the previous 10 years and focus on reforms so as to move forward,” the FM added. She said in 2015-16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a media interview had said he had a lot of suggestions coming in to lay white paper but he didn’t go ahead as it could be detrimental to foreign investment. She added that in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, there was a big ticket corruption every year, so the citizens would have lost faith because of the white paper.
Sitharaman underscored areas like national security, environment, and leadership which were ignored by the UPA during 2004-2014. Sitharaman said unlike UPA regime when defence sector was laden with corruption, under Modi regime the defence budget was doubled in the last 10 years to `6.22 lakh crore in 2024-25. Defence capital budget increased from `86,000 crore to 1.72 lakh crore and 75% of the capital acquisition is earmarked for domestic production.
She highlighted that there was a critical shortage of ammunition and defence equipment in 2014. She added, “Bulletproof jackets and night vision goggles were not available for our soldiers.”
The minister highlighted a significant increase in delays for environmental clearances from 86 days to 316 days between 2011 and 2014, impacting business operations. This delay led to increased costs, hindered industrial growth, reduced job opportunities, and negatively affected investment prospects, including major projects like Vedanta.
She criticised the introduction of Jayanti Tax, likening it to a jizya tax, attributing it to activists and corruption. Emphasising a balance between nature and progress, she outlined initiatives under the current regime such as introducing transparency, implementing an online clearance system, and standardising impact assessments.
She stated that the Namami Gange successfully arrested pollution in river. Average time for clearance at the central level has been decreased to 70 days from 316 days.
“The forest cover has increased by 50,000 square kilometres, protected areas have risen to 998, and community reserves have grown from 43 to 220. Twelve beaches have gotten blue flag certification,” Sitharaman shared. Additionally, twelve beaches received blue flag certification.