IANS New Delhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday that the government is committed to encouraging global economic partnerships, leveraging technology to strengthen traditional sectors and to significantly enhance the export potential of India. 

Addressing a post-budget webinar on the theme 'Regulatory, Investment, And Ease Of Doing Business (EODB) Reforms', she said the government will now bring up the general Vishwas Bill 2.0 to decriminalise more than 100 provisions in various laws. It will further simplify processes for businesses, the minister said. The Finance Minister emphasised that the government remains committed to ensuring the timely implementation of all budget announcements for the year 2025-26.

Highlighting the focus laid on capex, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the pathway for reforms is complemented by the government's unwavering focus on capital expenditure as a driver of economic growth. For the year 2025-26, total effective capex is proposed at 15.48 lakh crores, which is 4.3 per cent of the GDP, with 11.21 lakh crore allocated as core capital expenditure by the Centre, which is 3.1 per cent of the GDP. This unprecedented investment in infrastructure development is already creating jobs, strengthening industries and laying the foundation for private sector participation in India's growth story.

The Finance Minister also highlighted that budget announcements for 2024-25 such as the hike in the limit under MUDRA loans from Rs10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the new MSME Credit assessment model have already been implemented. As many as 11 Public Sector Banks have extended it to existing customers and seven Banks have extended it to new ones as well. Besides, 21 new SIDBI branches have already been opened in MSME clusters during 2024-25 in line with the budget announcement.