IEP Chandigarh

The Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday evoked mixed reactions among various stakeholders. People involved in travel and tourism industries welcomed the annual exercise, while small and medium-scale traders felt it ignored the sector.

Mahender Singh who is pursuing Post Graduation Diploma (Travel and Tourism Management) in Panchkula based College said that overall, the budget is very good, and on behalf of the tourism industry, I’d like to welcome this budget. Referring to the mentioning of the tourism sector in the beginning of the budget speech, he said it was for the first time that the sector has been given such importance.

The general budget presented by Union Finance Minister has been described by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala as a budget to advance economic reform and industrial growth in the nation.

He said that new doors of progress will open with this budget and new employment opportunities will be created. He added that all sections of the society will be satisfied with the budget. Deputy Chief Minister, Sh. Dushyant Chautala thanked the central government for including the state government’s digital library scheme in the central budget.

Chautala said that the Haryana government is moving ahead with the dream of building a digital library in every village and has been strenuously working in this direction for a long time. He said that it is commendable to include the plan of the Central Government to build a digital library in every village of the country in the budget and this will lead to a major achievement in the education sector. Dushyant Chautala said that this step of the government will strengthen the foundation of the future and rural children will be able to get better education facilities in the village itself.

 Terming union budget as anti-poor, farmers, labourers, small traders and farmers, Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the Budget is silent on the issue of preventing inflation and creating employment. Hooda said the people of the country and the state are struggling with problems like inflation and unemployment, but there was no provision in the budget to provide relief to people. “Farmers are agitating for MSP and employees are agitating for old pension scheme. The budget is silent even on their demands.

President of Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee HS Lucky has termed the union budget as an eyewash and with no futuristic approach. Today taxes are being levied on every item in the form of GST and every citizen has to bear the brunt of taxes directly or indirectly.  The basic problem of price rise and unemployment has not been addressed in this budget. There is nothing  for the common man in the budget. The relief given to the common man is minuscule  and  the benefit of income tax is just an eyewash .

Terming the proposals of the budget, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam for 2023-24, as excellent, Aman Verma, a student of Panjab University Chandigarh said that the budget would do a lot of positive things in the coming years. A huge 33% increase in Capital Investment has been made to Rs. 10 Lakh Crores, which will have a cascading beneficial impact on all the segments of the economy. With regards to personal taxation, the Finance Minister proposed the New Tax Regime as the default system, with no tax applicable for income up to Rs. 7 lakhs. The basic tax slabs have also been revised, providing relief to taxpayers. For non-government salaried employees, the exemption limit on leave encashment has been increased to Rs. 25 lakhs from Rs. 3 lakhs. This huge jump will benefit a very large number of retiring employees.

Prateek Mittal, Executive Director of Sushma Group, said that this budget will boost realty prospects in tier 2 cities as it allocates Rs 10 lakh crore in capital investment outlay and intends to set up an urban infra development fund with an annual allocation of Rs 10,000 crore. Together, these two steps will lead to a massive creation of infrastructure – road, rail, metro and airports immensely benefitting the tier 2 cities. Further, a net reduction of 20-25% in income tax rates will also increase disposable income, and some of it will be invested in real estate

LC Mittal, Director of Motia Group said that the demand for real estate will rise as the government announced a new tax regime and tax rebate. Also, the tier II-III cities will see increased demand and supply as the Government pushes for their economic development. In the Budget, the FM said that the States and cities will be encouraged to work towards sustainable cities for tomorrow that will create additional real estate growth potential.

A government employee said that: “Investment of Rs 2.4 lakh crore in the railway sector, along with the development of 50 additional airports throughout the country, will greatly improve connectivity, making it easier for tourists to explore our country.”

Another student said that “Exemption limit in income tax has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to 7 lakh which will lead to a rise in money flow in the market.

Company employee said that the decision to expand the scope of services in DigiLocker to include MSMEs and make PAN a common identifier, would give boost user documentation, supporting the onboarding efforts of NBFCs and fintechs driving financial inclusion among such companies.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1*

:- Aiming at recovering all pending dues of service charges/property tax, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh has started acting tough against the non-paying government institutions and autonomous bodies. The MCC has recently recovered 4.11 crores from authorities as service charges/property tax and one month notices have been served to the non-paying institutions who owe approximately Rs. 74.67 crores.While sharing this development, Sh Anup Gupta, Mayor Chandigarh today said that with regular efforts, the MCC has recovered 4.11 crores on account of service charges/property tax arrears from Hotel Shivalik view, Lake View and the Chef, sector 17 from the department of CITCO. Apart from that Haryana Govt. has paid up tax against buildings of mini secretariat and Haryana Tribunal tax. Employees State Insurance Corporation and Red Cross, Sector 16, Chandigarh respectively.He said that one month notices have been served to the non-paying institutions and autonomous bodies amounting to Rs. 74.67 lacs including Punjab University, PGI, PEC, Tech. Teachers Training Institute, Sector 26, Kendriya Primary School, Sector 31, Chd. College of Engg. New sector 26, Kendriya Vidyalaya, sector 29, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, sector 25, Regional Provi. Fund commissioner, sector 17, KV Primary school, sector 47, Nirman Sadan sector 33, Railway Station, Daria, IMTECH sector 39, Mini Sectt. Punjab sector 9, CRPF Camp sector 43, HRTC workshop, Ind. area Ph-I, Haryana PWD sector 19, Govt. Press & Prtg. Haryana sector 18, Chief Engineer, UT, Chandigarh respectively.He said that after the notice period, appropriate legal action will be initiated against the non-paying institutions as per law.

IEP Chandigarh

Today on the occasion of the presentation of Union Budget 2023 byHon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP Chandigarhorganized a viewing and discussion on the same at its State Head Office,Kamlam, Sector-33, Chandigarh. The same was attended by prominent Chartered Accountants, Lawyers, Financial Experts, Traders, Industrialistsand various other intellectuals from varied walks of life.The gathering was unanimous in its appreciation of the Budgetpresented on account of it being highly progressive as well as all inclusive.Building upon the previous Budgets of the Modi Government which havepropelled India to being the 5 th largest economy from earlier 10 th positionand growing at the pace of 7%, among the highest in the world, this Budgettoo is highly growth oriented on the Macro-Economic front. A huge 33%increase in Capital Investment has been made to Rs. 10 Lakh Crores,which will have a cascading beneficial impact on all the segments of theeconomy.Special attention has been paid to empowerment of women, youth,SC/ST/OBC/Underprivileged sectors by creating support infrastructure tofacilitate their income through heightened entrepreneurship moving towards“Aatam Nirbharta”.The budget seeks to expand access to credit facilities for theagricultural sector and increase the Capital outlay at both the Central andState levels. In addition, the government has allocated funds for health andeducation sectors.With regards to personal taxation, the Finance Minister proposed theNew Tax Regime as the default system, with no tax applicable for incomeup to Rs. 7 lakhs. The basic tax slabs have also been revised, providingrelief to taxpayers.For non-government salaried employees, the exemption limit onleave encashment has been increased to Rs. 25 lakhs from Rs. 3 lakhs.This huge jump will benefit a very large number of retiring employees.In the spirit of “Minimum Government Maximum Governance”, easethrough digitization for doing business as well as for the common man hasbeen ensured. The provision of ‘Unified Filing Process’ will obviate theneed for separate submission of same information to different government agencies. The concern for the financial betterment of senior citizens andwomen was particularly appreciated by the group.Prominent among those attending at BJP Chandigarh Head Office,were Sh. Chander Shekhar, Dr. Dharinder Tayal, CA Vishal Puri, CATarsem Garg, CA Parmod Bindal, CA Shiv Gupta, CA Ravinder Garg, CAVineet Aggarwal, CA Alok Krishan, CA HS Khurana, CA Naveen Soni, CAAnil Kalia, CA Amit Sondhi, Advocate Hitesh Puri, Advocate Ruchi Sekhri,Sh. Gajendar Sharma, Dr. Ruchit Uppal, Sh. Kailash Jain.BJP Chandigarh also organized viewing and discussion of Budget2023 at District Level across the city under the District Presidents whichwere attended by hundreds of professionals and citizens.

IEP Chandigarh February 1

Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda today visited India women’s cricket team captain Shefali Verma’s house to congratulate her on winning the Under-19 Women’s World Cup. 

He extended hearty wishes to the family and said Haryana’s daughter has brought laurels not only to the state but to the entire country. Along with this, he also congratulated the other player of the team, Sonia. Hooda demanded the government to appoint both the players to high posts like DSP under the sports policy implemented during the Congress tenure.

Hooda then addressed a press conference on the Union budget and said the budget is anti-poor, farmers, labourers, small traders and farmers, because instead of giving any new relief to them in the budget, the budget of announced welfare schemes has been cut. He said Haryana remained empty handed in the budget as no special plan was announced for the state.

Hooda said the people of the country and the state are struggling with problems like inflation and unemployment, but there was no provision in the budget to provide relief to people. “Farmers are agitating for MSP and employees are agitating for old pension scheme. The budget is silent even on their demands. During the Corona period, every class had to face heavy losses, but no provision has been made in this budget for its compensation,” he said. 

Citing figures, the Leader of the Opposition said fertilizer subsidy was reduced from Rs 2.25 to Rs 1.75 lakh crore in this budget. “Urea subsidy was 1,54,098 crore in last year’s revised budget, this time it was reduced to 1,31,100 crore. Similarly, food subsidy was reduced from 2.87 to 1.97 lakh crore. It has also been reduced from 2.43 lakh crore to 2.38 lakh crore, making a huge cut in the budget of rural development,” he said.

Similarly, the budget of MNREGA has also been reduced from 89,400 crores to 60,000 crores. 12,954 crore was announced in the last budget for Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, which has come down to 10,787 this time. Rs 68,000 crore was announced in the last budget for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, this time it has been reduced to 60,000 crore. Rs 15,500 crore was announced for the crop insurance scheme in the last budget, this time it has been reduced to Rs 13,625 crore. The budget makes less than 1 percent provision of total GDP in education and health. These two sectors should have been given the highest priority,” he said.

IEP Chandigarh ,

A 36-year-old woman suffering from multiple fibroids in uterus has undergone robot assisted minimally invasive myomectomy and hysteroscopic procedure at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mohali recently.The patient had suffered two miscarriages in the past and was unable to conceive. Post procedure she is now healthy fit to conceive

  IEP Chandigarh

  For the coming financial year, PGI allocated Rs 1923.10 crore, which is Rs. 73.10 crore more than last year’s   revised budget estimates.

   The highest allocation was for the creation of capital assets with Rs 343.10 crore. In the previous year, under this head, Rs 270 crore was provided. The grant- in-aid for salaries & the budget estimate under the grant-in- aid (general), which remain same as previous year i.e. Rs 1300 crore & Rs. 270 crore respectively. Rs. 10.00 Crore were allocated under budget Head GIA (SAP).

      The proposed amount was Rs. 2250 Crores for this year. 

 “This is initial allocation and as per our past experience we always get required funds under Supplementary Grants                     ( November/December) based on expenditure pattern and new developments ( like new recruitments , projects, etc.) during the year”, said Sh. Kumar Abhay, Financial Advisor, PGIMER, Chandigarh.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1

          Minister of Social Security, Women and Child Development Dr.  Baljit Kaur said that the CDPO Ajnala Jaspreet Singh has been suspended with immediate effect accused of demanding bribe and harassing an Anganwadi worker.

Giving information in this regard, the Cabinet Minister said that Amandeep Kaur, an Anganwadi worker of village Karimpura near Ajnala of Women and Child Development Department, had alleged that Jaspreet Singh CDPO  used to demand bribe to get her transferred and harassed her unnecessarily. Due to which the Anganwadi worker resigned.

          The Minister of Women and Child Development also said that the Anganwadi worker said that this officer used to demand bribe from her through a supervisor. Due to which this officer has been immediately suspended by her.

The minister said that the main objective of the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is to provide corruption free administration to the people of the state. Therefore, while suspending this officer, She has given instructions to other officers and employees of the department that any officer and employee who commits corruption will not be spared in future.

IEP Chandigarh/New Delhi, February 1

Asserting that the Union Budget 2023 will act as a “turbo engine” to propel and excel India’s as fastest growing economy, BJP National Spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill has termed the Budget as “Bumper Bonanza Budget” for youth, tax payers, MSME, women, farming community, LIGs beside many other sectors. In his Budget reaction, Shergill said, “The Budget is path-breaking and will provide wings to India’s growth story by focusing on investment, increased expenditure, employment and ease of doing business.”

 Further terming the Budget as visionary, development-oriented and beneficial for all the sectors, the BJP Spokesperson said that Budget 2023 has taken care of everyone. Highlighting some key announcements in the Budget, Shergill said, “This Union Budget has the highest budget allocation for Railways, for Middle Class – tax slabs have been revised and a new small savings scheme with 7.5% interest rate ‘Mahila Samman Bachat Patra’ for women has been announced.”

 The BJP Leader said that an agri-focused accelerator fund to encourage startups has been launched for farmers. “Start-up in agriculture for farmers, agriculture fund and digital training to farmers will revolutionize agriculture in the country”, he emphasized. Shergill added that the FM’s announcement of increasing agricultural credit target to Rs 20 trillion with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries besides Centre to encourage 10 million farmers to take up natural farming is a very big announcement aimed at the welfare of the agri sector.

 Further applauding the Union Budget 2023, Shergill said that FM’s speech making an announcement of a Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture to be built as an open source, open standard, interoperable public good will go a long way in the progress of the farm sector. “As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rightly said, this will enable inclusive farmer-centric solutions and help improve access to farm inputs, market intel and support for the agriculture industry, and startups”, he added.   

 Complimenting Sitharaman for her public welfare announcements, Shergill said, “Allocation for PM Awas Yojana Raised by 66 per cent to provide houses to poor will immensely benefit the underprivileged. Also, the government has announced to launch ‘PM Kaushal Vikaas Yoajna’ 4.0 to skill the Indian youth in new-age courses for Industry 4.0 in the next three years.”

 Shergill said that increasing CAPEX by 33 per cent and enhancing Credit Scheme, Refund to MSMEs besides reducing as many as 39000 compliances for industry/Simple KYC are also a welcome step. “This Union Budget 2023 is nothing short of “Kamaal” budget by “Kamal Ki Sarkar”, Shergill concluded.