India unveils budget to boost COVID-hit economy

India has announced plans to double health care spending in its 2021/22 budget. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament on Monday that the government was allocating 2.2 trillion rupees ($30.2 billion/€25.3 billion) to the health care system, an increase of 137%.

India is set for its worst-ever recession in the current financial year ending March 31. The economy is projected to shrink by 7.7%, according to government estimates.

The new budget will also remove limits on foreign investment in the insurance market.

"Our government is fully prepared to support and facilitate the economy's reset. This budget provides every opportunity for our economy to race and capture the pace that it needs for a sustainable growth," said Sitharaman. 

How do protesting farmers see the budget?

Sitharaman said credit lines to the agriculture sector would increase and a new tax would be used to boost infrastructure.

However, the announcement was not welcomed by the farmers protesting the government's agricultural reforms.

"Forget about these targets," said protest leader Kirankumar Visa. "There is not even one measure to either raise farmers' income or generate jobs in the countryside. She didn't talk about her government's promise of doubling farmers' income by 2022."

Tens of thousands of farmers have camped out in the outskirts of New Delhi in protest against the agriculture laws introduced by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September.

India and the coronavirus

India has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases after the US, with more than 10.75 million infections and 154,392 deaths.

Millions of people lost their jobs following a lockdown last year, and thousands of small businesses remain shut.