Analysis

A Budget for the Common Man

Dr. Ravni Thakur

No growth without Equity and No equity without growth

The Congress Party's manifesto and then the CMP with its allies had a definite plan. This was to ensure that while economic reform continues, its gains do not remain limited to just the rich urban middle classes of the country. The budget presented by the finance minister this year has kept both aspects of the Indian economy in mind. It is indeed a well-balanced and well-crafted budget. It is a budget that called for inclusive economic growth. While our commitment to reform has continued, it is the budget's focus on the major social sector that needs to be highlighted for our workers so that they can further disseminate this to the masses. This is what is meant by the Congress's slogan `Congress ka haath garib aadmi ke saath' and the Congress in taking the lead has ensured that this slogan does not remain mere empty rhetoric like the BJP's India Shining Campaign. These are the budget's focus on integrated rural reform, infrastructure development, employment creation and gender empowerment. Chidambaram pointed out how his emphasis has been on following the mandate of the CMP and ensuring that this is brought out in resource allocations. It also needs to be pointed out that Smt. Sonia Gandhi took personal interest in the budget and ensured that the Congress's aims for social development were part of the budget. She has been at the forefront of pushing forward the need for continuity in economic reforms but also for the need to make sure that large sections of the country, its rural hinterland and the common man does not get left behind from the gains of economic growth.

Harvard Honour for Dr. Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Within days of Oxford University deciding to confer an honorary doctorate on the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, America’s most prestigious university, Harvard, has also decided to award him an honorary doctorate and has invited him to give a special lecture. Dr. Singh has accepted both the honours and is expected to travel this summer to England and the United States to receive the degrees.

Rural Development:

The government has created several programmes and allocated Rs. 18,334 crore for the rural sector and 8,000 crore for rural infrastructure. This represents a hike of 33 percent over the last budget. Irrigation schemes, an area neglected by the BJP, got 5,500 crores. We know that less than half the arable land in India is not under irrigation, making our rural sector totally monsoon dependent. The budget has tried to correct this anamoly and also included money for micro-credit schemes. Efforts will also be made to strengthen and fund rural credit schemes which peasants and especially small farmers can access more easily. Alongwith direct subsidies for rural development, the budget also makes efforts to diversify the rural economy. Agro-processing industries have been given a boost and the government also hopes to create direct marketing facilities for peasants.

Alongwith this, the government has also sought to connect all villages with populations above 1000 (500 in hilly areas) with roads, to construct 60 lakh new houses for the rural poor and to provide drinking water where it is still not available. A massive rural electrification scheme has also been launched.

Infrastructure Development:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rightly identified India's backward infrastructure as the main bottleneck to genuine economic reform. Infrastructure, especially development-oriented infrastructure includes the upgrading of our ports, airports and of course, better road connectivity. The Finance Minister announced the creation of a special fund which would draw upon Indian Foreign Reserves to help fund infrastructure projects. The minister has also mooted a plan to attract private and foreign funding for large-scale infrastructure development.

Health and Education:

Unlike previous budgets this government has after well thought-out planning provided the largest chunk of the budget to Education. This is excellent because we know that increased levels of education create for better overall development of programmes of family planning, skill upgradation and better access to the modern means of communication such as computers, etc. The fund for education allocation is the largest in the budget at 18,337 crores. Aimed at the less privileged and at eradicating illiteracy, the government has ensured that the programmes of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan do not suffer. Similarly, more funds and subsidies have been made available for both private and public coaching of SC/ST students. Higher education has also been given an impetus by the Rs. 100 crore made available to the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science.

Similarly, health, especially health schemes for the rural poor, have been strengthened and the government is pledged to open new clinics and better access to health facilities for rural areas. Health allocation has gone up by 22 percent to 10,280 crores.

Good News for Middle Classes, Corporate Sector:

The budget has not neglected the middle classes or even the Corporate Sector. It has created a tax structure that allows middle classes to save more and has also reduced the prices of every-day commodities such as LPG and kerosene. There has also been no hike in railway fares. The Government has also clearly shown its commitment to gender empowerment by giving women a higher tax slab and also by allowing women to pay less stamp and registration duties.

Area of Caution:

On the whole the budget is a good budget but one area of neglect can be pointed out. This is the lack of provisions for informal sector employees who make up the bulk of Indian poor. More micro-credit schemes in urban areas modeled on services provided by Grameen Banks and Sewa, etc., are a must. Growing urbanization is an irreversible phenomenon and we need to ensure that our rikshaw-puller and our small tailor can apply for loans to improve their small machines and make them more secure. That the daily stream of migrant labour has access to funds to set-up self-employed businesses. We all know that government jobs are shrinking, we now need to ensure that we create other avenues of employment in the small scale and private sector. We also need to target women in this sector since they provide the last line of family survival. This can only happen if we allow more freedom to individuals and not tie them down by unnecessary red tapism, leaving them at the mercy of touts and other agents.

The other important area to keep in mind is implementation of all the programmes. We know that subsidies have very rarely reached their target groups. The food subsidy for example is notorious for ending up in the wrong hands. Rajiv Gandhi pointed this out long ago when he spoke of how only one per cent of targeted funds actually reaches those it is meant for. The Finance Minister and the government must now ensure that there is no pilferage and wastage along the way of implementing its laudable projects. The redistribution of the fruits of economic growth will remain disproportionate if we fail to implement our aims. Here our own party cadres can be of great help. They can hold the local administration and the central administration accountable for failure and can at the grass roots ensure that people have knowledge about the various government schemes and subsidies that exist.

Alert Against Communal Forces: DPCC

NEW DELHI: Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president, Shri Ram Babu Sharma exhorted the people to be alert against the communal and casteist forces who have been working hard to create unease and unrest in a bid to stall the development of the country. He said this while addressing Congress workers on the occasion of 75th anniversary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi's historic Dandi March at Raj Ghat here on 12 March. The Dandi March celebration was set in motion when the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi read out a pledge and flagged off the Dandi March at Sabarmati and simultaneously, such re-enactment functions were held all over the country. New Delhi District Congress Committee organized the Dandi March programme at Raj Ghat where Shri Ram Babu Sharma read out the pledge to the Congress workers. The DPCC organized the Dandi March celebration functions in all the 12 districts of Delhi. Those who attended the function at Raj Ghat, in addition to Shri Ram Babu Sharma, were Delhi Chief Minister, Smt. Sheila Dikshit, senior Congress leaders Shri R.K. Dhawan, Shri Ajay Maken, Smt. Tajdar Babbar, New Delhi District Congress Committee president, Shri Ashok Chopra and many others. Before flagging-off the March, Shri Shashi Bhushan, President of the Freedom Movement Memorial Committee, addressing the large gathering, said that he had undergone an indefinite fast for making the `Balidan Sthal' of Mahatma Gandhi a national monument. Later in the day, another impressive function was held at Gandhi Smriti, 30 January Marg in which besides DPCC president, Shri Ram Babu Sharma, top leaders like Union Minister, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Delhi Chief Minister, Smt. Sheila Dikshit, former Union Minister, Shri Vasant Sathe, Shri Sajjan Kumar and others were present. The function was held under the convenorship of ex-MP, Shri Sashi Bhushan. After the function, a peace march was organized from Gandhi Smriti to August Kranti Park at India Gate. The marchers reached India Gate shouting slogans hailing Mahatma Gandhi and his cherished principles.