National
Budget pegs 15% more subsidies on food, fuel, fertilisers
New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) The Union Budget 2018-19 presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday proposed 15 per cent higher subsidies at Rs 2.64 lakh crore on food, fertilisers and petroleum products.
The subsidy for the fiscal 2018-19 on food, petroleum and fertilisers is estimated at Rs 2,64,335.65 crore in the last full budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before the 2019 general elections.
As per the Revised Budget Estimates, the subsidy on these three categories has been pegged at Rs 2,29,715.67 crore for the ongoing fiscal.
A sum of Rs 1,69,323 crore has been allocated towards food subsidy for 2018-19, as against Rs 1,40,281.69 crore in the Revised Estimate of the current fiscal.
The fertiliser subsidy has been raised to Rs 70,079.85 crore for 2018-19, compared with Revised Estimate of Rs 64,973.5 crore in the current financial year.
Under fertilisers, the government has set aside Rs 44,989.5 crore in the next fiscal for the urea sector, as against Rs 42,721.7 crore allocation in this fiscal.
The outlay on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers under the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme has been increased to Rs 25,090.35 crore in the next fiscal, up from Rs 22,251.8 crore in the current year.
The petroleum subsidy has been hiked to Rs 24,932.8 crore for 2018-19, which is up from estimated the Rs 24,460.48 crore outlay for this fiscal. Of the allocation for the next fiscal, that for Liquified Petroleum Gas is at 20,377.80 crore and for kerosene the subsidy bill is Rs 4,555 crore.
For 2017-18, LPG and kerosene subsidies have been pegged at Rs 15,656.33 crore and Rs 8,804.15 crore respectively.
Jaitley’s focus has been on rural india and agriculture, perhaps with an eye on electoral gains for the ruling party at the Centre next year.
For the Kharif agricultural output, the Minister increased the minimum support price to one-and-a-half times the production cost, raising institutional farm credit to Rs 11 lakh crore in 2018-19 from Rs 8.5 lakh crore.
He also made a significant announcement of fiscal slippage with implications for pushing inflation, revising upwards the government’s fiscal deficit target for 2017-18 to 3.5 per cent of the GDP, or the equivalent of Rs 5.95 lakh crore. The higher target came in place of the 3.2 per cent for the current fiscal announced earlier.
Jaitley further projected a fiscal deficit of 3.3 per cent of GDP for the coming financial year.
Meanwhile, official data later on Thursday showed the Centre’s fiscal deficit for the first nine months of 2017-18 stood at 113.6 per cent — Rs 6.20 lakh crore — of the full year’s target of Rs 5.46 lakh crore.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.