Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday rejected the Opposition allegation that food subsidy has been cut in the Union Budget 2023-24. Replying to discussion on the Budget in Lok Sabha, the Minister said it has been almost doubled to 1.97 lakh crore rupees. Ms Sitharaman also said that fertilizer subsidy has been raised to 2.25 lakh crore rupees for the current fiscal. She said the agriculture credit target for 2023-24 has also been increased to 20 lakh crore rupees.<br />'' <br />''The Finance minister said in this budget, the government has tried to balance the requirement of India's development imperatives within the limit of fiscal prudence. She said, by taking pre-emptive measures and also adhering to monetary policy decisions by the RBI, the government has been able to return to the realm of the tolerance band as defined by the RBI. The Finance Minister said that by taking these measures, the Consumer Price Index came down to below six percent level. She said the new tax regime has been made very attractive.