Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya applauded the Union Budget on Saturday and said that the first budget under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term is aimed at increasing employment, supporting the middle class, and boosting the growth rate of the country's economy.

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Speaking to ANI here, Mandaviya said, "The PM Modi-led government has been formed for the third time. This was the first budget presented under the third term of the PM Modi-led government. The budget aimed at increasing employment, giving support to the middle class, and encouraging MSMEs to increase the growth rate of the economy of the country."

Meanwhile, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) held protests across Tamil Nadu on Saturday against the Centre, alleging that the state was neglected in the Union Budget 2024. The protest comes ahead of the 9th NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in the national capital.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the Union Budget and said that the budget seems like a "vengeful act" against the States and people who boycotted the BJP. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister further said that the Union government continued to disregard Tamil Nadu.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2024-25, made major announcements for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, including a boost in infrastructure.

Notably, on Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin was the first to announce his boycott of the NITI Aayog meeting. Following this, the Congress said its chief ministers, including Himachal Pradesh's Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, and Telangana's Revanth Reddy, would also skip the meeting.

This year's theme of NITI Aayog's meeting is 'Viksit Bharat@2047', with a central focus on making India a developed nation. The Governing Council Meeting will discuss the approach paper for the vision document on Viksit Bharat in 2047. The meeting aims to foster participative governance and collaboration between the central and state governments, enhancing the quality of life for both rural and urban populations by strengthening the delivery mechanisms of government interventions.