Parliament Passes Finance Bill 2021

The Parliament on Wednesday passed Finance Bill 2021, which gives effect to the financial proposals of the central government for the financial year 2021-22.

The bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, a day after it was approved by the Lok Sabha.

Replying to the debate on the bill, Finance Minister Nirmala accused the Congress-led UPA government of having "mismanaged the economy".

She noted that the Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) have declined to Rs 8.99 lakh crore as of March 2020.

"Things were a mess and the economy was mismanaged under the tenure of UPA. As of now, Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) have declined to Rs 8.99 lakh crore as of March 2020," she said.

She said the handling of the 2008 global financial crisis left a legacy of high inflation and "taper tantrum."

"The 2008 financial crisis was not similar to last year's COVID crisis. Our Prime Minister, even during the peak of the COVID crises, was engaged in more than 100 virtual meetings in order to learn about the development of the crisis. Last year, we presented a few mini budgets and this union budget too. We are handling the economy well," she said.

Ms Sitharaman also said PM Modi has led a corruption-free government.

The Rajya Sabha returned the Finance Bill after the minister's reply.

The Lok Sabha had on Tuesday passed the Finance Bill which has some changes in the proposals made in the union budget. The passage of the Finance Bill by Parliament marks the completion of the budgetary process.

The minister said the changes have been made largely to boost ease of doing business and easing compliance burden.