Defense procurement underneath the UPA-led authorities was nil for 10 years, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Monday throughout a debate within the Rajya Sabha on supplementary spending for the present fiscal.
“For folks, who’re apprehensive in regards to the primary necessities for Defense, for troopers, for his or her weapons, for his or her bulletproof jackets, for the bullets, for the carbines and even for fighter plane, I need to inform that 10 years of Indian Defense historical past recorded nil purchases. Sir, 10 years had been misplaced. After 2014, quickly, we had to purchase from pin to plane, every little thing,” Sitharaman stated.
Defending the federal government’s proposal to chop rate of interest on workers’ provident fund deposits to over four-decade low of 8.1 per cent, Sitharaman stated the speed is dictated by in the present day’s realities the place rate of interest on different small saving devices was even decrease.
She stated the choice to decrease the rate of interest was taken by the central board of the provident fund managing physique, EPFO, which has representatives of all stakeholders, together with worker unions.
“The EPFO ​​has a Central Board that takes the decision on the speed. It has reduce the speed down from 8.4 per cent to eight.1 per cent. I simply need to lay these info earlier than the House that the EPFO ​​Central Board, which has representatives from varied stakeholders for the Pension Fund, the Employees Pension Fund, has taken a name. Forty years, it has not been introduced down. Yes, forty years! There are in the present day’s realities which do maintain us within the context of selections that are being taken by the Central Board of the EPFO. It has but to come back to the Finance Ministry for approval. But the actual fact stays, these are the charges that are prevailing in the present day and it’s nonetheless greater than the remainder of them,” she added.
Later, the House returned a cash Bill moved by the Finance Minister, authorizing the federal government for cost and appropriation of sure sums from the Consolidated Fund for the monetary 12 months 2021-22.
The Upper House of Parliament additionally returned one other Appropriation Bill for the expenditure performed within the 2018-19 monetary 12 months. Both the Appropriation Bills had been handed by the Lok Sabha earlier.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
