Page 15 - DHC Budget Book 2021-22 Final

The Union Budget 2021 must be appraised against the context of the biggest Black Swan event in decades - the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic impacted global economic activity, financial markets and the vulnerable sections of the society.
It is against the backdrop of this reality that Nirmala Sitharaman, the Indian Finance Minister, attempted to present the Union Budget 2021. At a time when most would have commiserated with her for remaining defensive in the face of economic and social odds, the Indian Finance Minister surprised.
The Finance Minister did not just demonstrate grace under pressure or play for a draw as one would have expected; she batted to win. More than that, her Budget represented the spirit of a new India – a confident India, an India willing to depart from the IMF prescription; an India with the courage to say ‘Accept me for who I am’; an India with a sense of history and its own destiny. The spirit behind the Budget is that India should be ‘Self- Reliant’ in this globalised world.
India became AtmaNirbhar (self-reliant) by developing two COVID-19 vaccines, safeguarding not only her own citizens against the COVID-19 pandemic, but also those of more than 100 countries.
The big points of the Budget
The Finance Minister stressed on the economic impact of COVID-19 and steps taken by the government to foster recovery which included the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana valued at H 2.76 lakh Crs., three AtmaNirbhar Bharat packages including measures taken by RBI estimated to about H 27.1 lakh Crs. representing more than 13% of GDP and five mini-budgets.
The Union Budget 2020-21 was centred around six pillars.
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