Rollback of Budget proposals not under pressure: Sinha

This deficit would be made up by reducing expenditure and better revenue collection, he said adding Rs 10,000 crore were saved through reduction of expenditure during the last financial year.

Rejecting the criticism that his budget proposals have been harsh on the salaried and the middle class, Sinha said during the last four years the number of income tax payees had risen from 1.15 crore to 2.5 crore and all of them were not from the salaried and the middle class.

Many persons have been brought under the tax net, he said adding the government had fixed a target of increasing the number of I-T payees to five crore in the next two years. Sinha said the proposals affecting the middle class were criticised but incentives given to the farmers and labourers were not appreciated.

Sinha justified the reduction in the interest rate on savings and said the interest rates were in accordance with inflation. The average inflation rate is around 1.5 per cent, he said adding the interest rates in the country were more .

Sinha said along with the reduction in interest rates on savings, loans had also become cheaper. Interest rates on the housing loans have registered a fall of four per cent in the last two years during which time Rs 76,000 crore of housing loans have been given, he said.

He, however, refused to say what he would do with regard to reducing interest on the provident fund from the existing 9.5 per cent saying people would know about it at an appropriate time.