New Delhi: Confident of doing well at the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not resort to any sops or freebies in the interim budget. There was no change either to individual tax rates or any increase in allocation for many popular schemes such as PM Kisan Samman Yojana, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme or PM Awas Yojana.
She, however, did not let go of the opportunity, a budget speech just weeks before elections, to list the various achievements of the government. She started her 46-minute speech saying `the Indian economy has witnessed profound positive transformation in the last 10 years’.
She highlighted the inclusive approach to development and growth which is `all-round, all-pervasive and all-inclusive’ ensuring housing, cooking gas, electricity, tap water and bank accounts for all and how free rations for 800 million people eliminated worries about food.
The finance minister also spoke about the four `castes’ that the government has focused and will continue to do so—poor, women, youth and the farmers. “The earlier approach of tackling poverty through entitlements had resulted in very modest outcomes,” she said adding that by empowering the poor, the Modi government has lifted 250 million people from multi-dimensional poverty. As much as ₹34 trillion has been transferred to the needy through direct benefit transfer, resulting in a saving of ₹2.7 trillion.
She mentioned that under the PM-Kisan Samman Yojana, 118 million small and marginal farmers benefitted. About 40 million farmers got crop insurance under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana. Youth, she said, were being empowered through a New Education Policy, Skill India Mission, establishment of many ITIs, IITs, IIMs, AIIMs and new universities. She said over 430 million loans have been sanctioned to youth for meeting their entrepreneurship aspirations.
She saved the best for the women explaining how 300 million Mudra loans have been given to them and how female enrolment in higher education and STEM courses have risen sharply. Almost 70% of houses under the PM Awas Yojana in rural areas have been sanctioned to women either as a sole or joint owner.
The only time the finance minister mentioned the word `free’ was on rooftop solarization and ‘muft bijli’. Hopes of any freebies were dashed quickly when she explained that people can get as many as 300 units of electricity free every month by installing roof top solar panels. Her other announcements for the future included—a new scheme for middle class housing, more medical colleges, a cervical vaccination scheme for girls, extending insurance scheme to health workers, a fresh impetus to agri-processing and a new programme for dairy farmers.
“The impact of all-round development is discernible in all sectors. There is macro-economic stability, including in the external sector. Investments are robust. The economy is doing well,” she said. Average real income of the people has increased by 50%, she claimed. “People are living better and earning better, with even greater aspirations for the future,” she added.
PM Modi called the budget inclusive and innovative. “It has confidence of continuity. It will empower all four pillars of Viksit Bharat—yuva, garib, mahila and kisan. This budget gives the guarantee of making India a developed nation by 2047,” he added.
Opposition parties, however, were not enthused. “Not very much came out of it (this budget),” said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. There was a lot of rhetorical language and very little on concrete implementation, he added. Harismrat Kaur Badal said that the budget was hollow with nothing for youth, women or farmers. “I saw arrogance when they said they would present the Budget in July. You cannot take any election for granted,” she said. Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury said this budget was more to woo people for the Lok Sabha elections. “The finance minister took a long time to hail praises, but delivery was zero,” said DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran.
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Published: 01 Feb 2024, 03:44 PM IST