Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatraya said that the Union Budget 2017-18, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, would boost the pace of development in the country.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Dattatraya said that the number of tax payers in the country would increase by about 35% and the tax collected from them could be utilised for various schemes. He said that the Finance Minister has made some strategic moves to include in tax net the willful tax evaders who were identified as a result of demonitisation. He said that the Union Budget was quite progressive and would give a major boost to the GDP. He also welcomed the decision to provide Rs. 10 Lakh Crore Agriculture Credit and said it would help the farmers and ensure growth of agriculture sector.
Reacting to criticism by former Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy on Union Budget, Dattatraya asked the Congress leader to first explain as to what he did for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh during his two tenures as the Union Minister during UPA regimes.