Piyush Goyal: ‘All the schemes that PM had wanted to introduce … have been brought’

Were there any limitations?

There were plenty of limits … for instance, in the realm of tax, provision has been facilitated so that the taxpayer, doesn’t face any problem with refund after tax deduction at source. The farmers’ problems were glaring and genuine … that’s why we made sufficient provisions for them too … schemes (pertaining to them) got a nod from the Cabinet and were started from this year itself. That the workforce in the unorganised sector get old-age pension, matches with the ideology of our government. A lot has been done for workers in the last four years, be it gratuity limit, bonus fund limit, minimum pension. These schemes have benefited over 42 crore workers so that they can live their lives with dignity at old age.

That schemes for over 10 crore unorganised sector workers, 12 crore farmers, and 3 crore taxpayers have been introduced, is the reason why the Budget is being called an election Budget and the former Finance Minister called it an account for votes and not a vote on account…

This is unfortunate, the empathy that the PM has for the nation and its people, ministers sitting in their air-conditioned offices would not understand. They would not understand the relief a farmer, with land holdings of less than five acre, would get with Rs 6,000 a year. The attempt has been to make the farmer self-reliant with this scheme. As for the Budget being an election Budget, when Ayushman Bharat was introduced, there were no elections around the corner, when 100 per cent willing people were provided electricity, there were no elections. It was in 2014, right after elections, that the PM had declared that cleanliness was of prime importance to him. There were no elections then. The Congress, which has ruled for 55-65 years, provided toilets for only 1 in 3 women. Why? Why was sanitation coverage only 34 per cent during their rule and is now 98 per cent under the PM? Even after 70 years of Independence, over 2.5 crore families, 5-6 crore kids were deprived of electricity. Should people not have the right to have bank accounts? It is unfortunate that Congress deprived people of development for so many years, but is now criticising us when we are pushing things in the right direction, with a clear conscience. They cannot have the empathy that it is required to work for the workers, farmers, taxpayers … that the PM has.

Regarding income for 5 lakh middle-class taxpayers, the opposition is saying that you promised it in first year, so why you are bringing it up in the final year?

Can the Congress tell whether the fiscal deficit was around 4.5-5 per cent when they left the government or not? Can the Congress answer why, between 2009 and 2014, inflation crossed the 10 per cent mark? Why the current account deficit touched the 4.5 per cent mark? Can they answer why the growth rate was dipping when they were in power? The PM brought the situation under control, reworked the governance fabric and worked to eliminate corruption, and brought transparency to the system. The Congress had to pay the unpaid bills of over 1, 60, 000 people, which they did not till March 2014. We did it. Why did they keep Rs 500 crore in OROP, we disbursed Rs 35,000 crore of it to our ex-servicemen. We gave them respect … The PM’s work and foundation set up by the government will help develop the nation for coming decades and will light up the lives of 130 crore Indians.

So you are saying that the government has worked on fiscal discipline and improving the financial health for four years and bring populist measures, which are important.

There is no populism. We provided electricity in these four years, we introduced Ayushman Bharat in these four years, 9-10 crore toilets were not constructed overnight. The impact of schemes we have introduced for the 12 crore farmers, who will now get Rs 6,000 lifelong, will not be understood by those who do their politics over family name.

Talking about tax exemption, people were expecting it will become Rs 3.5 lakh from the current Rs 2.5 lakh?

This is an interim Budget. We have kept tax rates the same. But the new middle class will have certainty about their tax, that they need not fill up the TDS until the final Budget, so to make things easier for the middle class, we increased the tax rebate. The NDA has only increased the deductions in these four years. This way, over 3.5 crore taxpayers, would not have to pay tax. People with income above Rs 5 lakh per annum are paying tax and contributing for the development of the section that needs and deserves it the most. We should be proud that this tax is what will bring joy to the lives of those in the lowest rungs. Taxpayers who earn more than Rs 5 lakh per annum should be proud that their taxes being used well by the PM for those who deserve it the most.

Many questions were raised around demonetisation — its benefits, disadvantages. Today, you presented numbers in support of that too …

Demonetisation has endless benefits. It is unfortunate that demonetisation was talked of in a bad taste. Some people seem to be hurt by it and keep criticising it. In reality, the country’s citizen, its businessman, its taxpayer – all three are honest. Maybe that’s why the governments till now did not respect that. But PM Modi respected the taxpayer. He made sure that those who evaded tax be brought under the scanner. For the first time ever. This government has respected honesty. It believes that those who earn more than Rs 5 lakh per annum, should help other, poor people. India’s culture is such that people want to help, they want to contribute. Earlier, people did not wish to pay taxes because … the PM himself has said it, that for every Re 1 given, 85 paise is stolen, and only 15 paise reaches the poor. People were saddened by this. When we introduced Direct Benefit Transfer, Jan Dhan account, linkage of mobile phones with Aadhaar and made sure that each penny reaches the poor I believe the taxpayer is now proud and happy that he is contributing to the country’s development.

Coming to farmers’ concern … the government has maintained that farmers’ income has to be doubled till 2022, and that it is a continuation process. How will today’s step help the cause?

Benefits are many. You see, we have increased the MSP by 1.5 times, we have distributed over 15-17 crore soil health cards across the country so that farmers know what will grow well in that area. We are trying that the benefits of irrigation schemes reach as many farmers as possible quickly … We want all farmers to get cheap loans at the time of trouble. We want that there is 100 per cent payment with Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. The PM has thought about the holistic development of the farmer. Farmers are getting free LPG, toilets … This government has done a lot to give farmers and their families a safe and progressive future. Recently, for the animal husbandry and fisheries too, we have decided to bring interest suspension. We have come up with sustainable solutions, which will help improve the farmers’ lives in the long run.

It is a big challenge to bring in schemes for those in the unorganised sector, and more so to implement them. In this regard, there have been major announcements today. But how difficult would it be to implement it?

We have distributed the benefits of the insurance scheme, with the Jan Dhan Yojana, to crores of people. There was a thought that a man of 60 years and above needs a cover for he cannot work much after that age. We have introduced a scheme keeping in mind this concern. All workers between the ages of 18 and 40 will have to give a very nominal amount. The central government will chip in a matching amount to ensure that all workers aged 60 and above get a pension of Rs 3,000. This, in fact, is a good profit making opportunity for the LIC. LICs all over country will be given the task, and in a very simple, non-complex manner, people will reap benefits of the scheme.

Do you agree that there is political messaging behind the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog for the protection and promotion of cows?

It is a misfortune that it took so many years to introduce this scheme. It is written in the constitution, in the directive principles, that it is the responsibility of the government to take care of cows. I believe we have fulfilled our responsibility.

Transcribed by Anshika Ravi