JD-U supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday welcomed the Union Budget proposal of increasing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of crops to 1.5 times of the input cost.

He also congratulated Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for announcing the "grand initiative" of National Health Protection Scheme under which Rs 5 lakh cover will be provided a year to 10 crore poor and vulnerable families in the country.

"This grand initiative will be covering 10 crore families that means almost 50 crore people will get coverage upto Rs 5 lakh rupees every year," Nitish Kumar, whose party is a part of the NDA, said.