Middle class and household savings to be in focus

Times News Network
New Delhi: Narendra Modi, who is all set to be sworn in as PM for the third time, on Friday said that middle class and household savings will be among focus areas for his govt, while promising to accelerate the pace of development.
Speaking after his election as the leader of NDA, Modi described upper middle class and middle class as the driving force of growth and mentioned them along with the women and the poor as his priority.
In his campaign, Modi had spoken about the 100-day agenda for the new govt, some of which will feed into the Budget, due to be presented soon.
The comments point to more steps to channelise savings into the financial sector, adding to the large base of retail investors into the mutual fund space and direct investors in stock markets. Many financial sector experts have argued that it may be time for govt and regulators to build upon the JAM (Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar, Mobile) framework to ensure that money, instead of lying idle, is used to create wealth.
In the manifesto, BJP had promised better housing facility for the middle class through a reduction in the cost of construction and registration and regulatory changes such as automatic approvals for housing designs. Besides, ahead of polls, Modi had announced a new interest subsidy scheme for the urban poor, something that is expected to be implemented after the budget.
Besides, the Sankalp Patra had promised to increase the Ayushman Bharat coverage, while expanding it to include senior citizens too. They will also get doorstep delivery of several govt services, it had said.
The party manifesto had also spoken about BJP govt’s plan to launch an insurance scheme for traders and small businesses to protect them from accidents, thefts and natural calamities.
While there have been demands for reworking the income tax slabs, it is unclear if the Centre will change its strategy on the new tax regime after the budget. Besides, there is expectation of changes in the GST slabs too.

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