New Delhi: Defending the white paper on India’s economy, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that national security was compromised, environmental clearances were delayed and leadership failed during the previous Congress-led UPA government. She also said that 10 years of dedicated efforts by the Modi government have put the economy back on track, corrected all misgovernance, and focused on reforms.
Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the White Paper, the Union finance minister, in her opening remarks, slammed the Opposition, saying that the paper shows “which government puts the nation first and which puts the families first”.
“I wish to highlight three important issues in the white paper -- how national security was compromised in those 10 years, how the environment as a ministry had become a bottleneck and not one proposal could move and the country’s developmental programmes suffered and finally, how the leadership failed the country,” Ms Sitharaman said.
Challenging the Opposition that the white paper was fully based on evidence, the Union finance minister said that the UPA government indulged in "glaring mismanagement" of the defence sector. The Rs 3,600 crores AgustaWestland scam is a case in point.
“I challenge anyone who says this document is baseless. Everything is backed by evidence. I challenge anyone who says that we have tabled a white paper that has no proof,” said Ms Sitharaman.
Ms Sitharaman further said that there was a critical shortage of ammunition and defence equipment in 2014, adding that bulletproof jackets and night vision goggles were not available for our soldiers. And added that the Modi government more than doubled the defence Budget -- from Rs 2.53-lakh crores in 2013-14 to Rs 6.22-lakh crores for fiscal 2024-25.
Referring to HAL’s new factory, inaugurated by the Prime Minister, the Union finance minister also said the new facility is making modern Tejas aircraft. “We have given it business worth Rs 4-lakh crores, including for helicopter production," the Union finance minister said, claiming that because the Modi government spent adequately on the defence sector, no terrorist attack happens in the country and left-wing extremist violence has declined by more than 52 per cent. Also, there has been a 72 per cent decline in security forces deaths and a 68 per cent decline in civilian deaths between 2014 and 2023.
Besides, the Union finance minister also said that job opportunities were hurt during the UPA regime and the "Jayanti tax" had to be paid to gain environmental clearances in the UPA regime.
"The Jayanti tax during the UPA tenure delayed environmental clearances for projects for up to a year. The average time to clear projects increased to 316 days from 86 days between 2011 and 2014... When the Modi government came to power, we brought in transparency, an online system for green clearance and timely and standardised approvals. Our 10 years of dedicated efforts have put the economy back on track and we corrected all misgovernance,” she said.
Lauding the Modi government's policies on environmental issues, Ms Sitharaman said, "The average time for clearance at the Central level has been reduced to 70 days from 316 days. The forest cover has increased by 50,000 sq km, protected areas have risen to 998 and community reserves have grown from 43 to 220. Twelve beaches have got the Blue Flag certification.”
Ms Sitharaman said that the leadership failed during the UPA period of 10 years. “The big-ticket corruption during the UPA tenure averaged one each year and common people were disillusioned. This impacted the ease of doing business where the cost of business went up, industrial growth was blocked, job opportunities were hurt and youth lost a lot. The big-ticket projects like Vedanta were affected and the image of India as an investment destination went for a toss,” she added.
