Chidambaram presents Budget 2013, makes strong pitch for inclusive development

NEW DELHI: With the UPA gearing up for elections next year, finance minister P Chidambaram tried to provide some sops to every sector in his Budget presented to Parliament on Thursday.
The focus was on the social sector and rural India, with finance minister announcing several schemes for inclusive growth.
Health for all and education for all are govt's priorities, Chidamabram said.
Chidambaram announced Rs 41,000 crore for Scheduled Caste plan, Rs 97,000 crore for women's development, Rs 110 crore for department of disabilities and Rs 37,330 crore for the health ministry.
Chidambaram announced Rs 1000cr additionally for the UPA's flagship Food Security Bill.
Food inflation is worrying and we must take steps to boost the supply of food items, Chidambaram said.
Reaching out to the investors, Chidambram sought to dispel tax-burden and regulatory fears
"Doing business in India must be seen as easy and friendly," Chidambaram said.
Foreign investment is imperative, Chidamabram said.
The finance minister expressed concern over high current account deficit.
He announced the setting up of a regulatory authority for road sector.
Chidambaram also announced the setting up of two new major ports — one in West Bengal and the other in Andhra Pradesh
Earlier, Chidambaram started his speech with a reference to the condition of global economy.
We are not unaffected with what happens in other parts of the world and our economy has also slowed down after 2010, Chidambaram said.
The finance minister said the challenge was to get back the growth target and there was no reason for any gloom.
Chidambaram said only Indonesia and China were growing at a faster rate than India.
Getting back to 8% growth rate is a challenge for the country, Chidamabram said.
Chidambaram expressed confidence that the economy will once again return to high growth phase.
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