NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the Union Budget for its measures for every section of society, asserting that it has heralded better growth and a bright future.

“The budget will act as a catalyst in making India the third-largest economy in the world and will lay a solid foundation for a developed India,” he said in his televised remarks after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget in Parliament.

Modi lauded the budget’s sharp focus on the youth, backward sections, women and middle class as also on manufacturing and infrastructure sectors and asserted that the proposed employment-linked incentive schemes will create crores of new jobs. “This visionary budget will uplift and empower every stratum of our society, paving the way for a brighter future for all,” he said, stressing his government’s commitment to generating employment and self-employment opportunities. The employment-linked incentive scheme will create crores of jobs, he said, noting that the first salary of the first job of a youngster will now be borne by the government.

“A big focus of this budget is the nation’s farmers,” the PM said, noting that the government, after unveiling the world’s biggest grain storage scheme, has now introduced “Vegetable Production Clusters” which will help both farmers and the middle class.

The PM said that over the last 10 years, around 25 crore people have come out of poverty. “Building on this momentum, this budget will further energise the aspirations of our neo-middle class. Unprecedented opportunities will be unleashed for our younger generation,” he said.