Union Budget empowers women youth and farmers Himachal BJP leaders

     Shimla, Jul 23 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jairam Thakur on Tuesday hailed the Union Budget as a milestone in achieving the target of a "developed India" and said steps have been taken to empower women, youth, farmers and the poor.
     In a statement issued here, the former chief minister said that changes in the tax slab have come as a relief to the middle class.
     "The budget would give wings to youth, increase agriculture production, and provide better infrastructure for the storage and marketing of agricultural products, and farmers would be able to sell their products on their own terms," Thakur said.
     He said the budget will boost the manufacturing sector, which would help in the creation of 1 crore jobs, while internships to 1 crore youth in top 500 industries would help in skill development and employment generation.
     Announcement of relief to the state for the damages caused during the rain-related disasters in last year's monsoon is a boon, Thakur said as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda for the aid.
     "With the abolition of custom duty on three important cancer medicines, the ongoing war against cancer will become more effective," he added.
     The BJP state chief Rajiv Bindal welcomed the continuation of free ration to 80 crore poor people, Kisan Samman Nidhi and the scheme under which three crore houses will be provided to people in rural areas and one crore houses in urban areas.
     Allocation of 2.52 lakh crore for rural development and Rs 1.52 lakh for education and skill development would help in employment generation, Bindal said, adding that 11.11 lakh crore for infrastructure development is a new record.
     Former chief ministers Prem Kumar Dhumal said that the budget is a strong and positive step towards building a 'developed India' and all sections of the society have been taken care of in it.
     This budget undoubtedly supports development, is financially far-sighted, farmer- and poor-friendly, he added.
     Shanta Kumar, another ex-CM, said, "The budget's provisions are designed to fortify our agricultural sector and promote sustainable practices through natural farming.
     Furthermore, the emphasis on skill development will equip our workforce with the necessary tools to thrive in the evolving job market, he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)