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India unveils budget aimed at boosting incomes, spurring economic growth

India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is flanked by junior Finance Minister Anurag Thakur as she arrives to present the budget in Parliament in New Delhi, India, February 01, 2020. Reuters
India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is flanked by junior Finance Minister Anurag Thakur as she arrives to present the budget in Parliament in New Delhi, India, February 01, 2020. Reuters

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Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday unveiled the budget for fiscal 2020-21, vowing to boost income of Indians and their purchasing power, in a bid to revive domestic economic growth that has slumped.

India estimates economic growth this fiscal year, which ends on March 31, will slip to 5.0 per cent - its weakest pace since the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

These are the initial highlights from Sitharaman's fiscal 2020-21 budget speech:

* India to allocate 2.83 trillion rupees ($39.82 billion) for agriculture and allied activities

* Approves 3.6 trillion rupees ($50.65 billion) for a federal water scheme

* To allocate 993 billion rupees ($13.97 billion) for the education sector in 2020/21

* Taxes from medical devices to used to fund healthcare infrastructure

* India to allocate 690 billion rupees ($9.7 billion) toward healthcare spending

* Scheme focused on encouraging manufacture of mobile phones, electronic equipment and semiconductor packaging to be introduced

* Milk processing capacity to be doubled by 2025

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