 "Anand Neelakantan")
Does the Budget address the distress caused by the pandemic?
Unfortunately, this Budget doesn’t offer much on that front. The informal sector is in a shambles, and the unemployment figures are at record levels. The lacunae in our health system were pitifully exposed during the second Covid wave. Yet, no effective budget allocation has been done in improving our health infrastructure. As far as the middle class is concerned, even the long-awaited change in the income tax slabs didn’t happen. Nor does it address the farming distress. The pandemic has pushed the bottom half of the population to dire poverty, and not much stress is seen to uplift them.
Will this Budget help the economy and create jobs?
If India wants to enjoy the demographic dividend, which is fast turning into a demographic nightmare, we need to get our act right in employment generation. We still have a considerable population of illiterates and not enough is being spent in improving our primary educational sector. Like the ones of the past decades, this Budget also remains woefully inadequate in allocating sufficient funds to education.
What is the best thing about the Budget? And the worst?
The big push in infrastructure with private sector participation is welcome, let us hope it would not remain in paper like Make in India or smart cities. National highway expansion is one of the most significant achievements of this government, and it is good to see that the push is continuing. Finally, the much-needed river linking project is moving in the right direction, but implementation will be the trickier part.
Does the Budget make India a better investment destination?
The spectrum auction could bring some significant investment. So could the alternative energy sector. The move to ease out 75,000 compliances and elimination of 1,486 union laws are commendable and could drive investment. However, these need to translate into more jobs rather than making more paper billionaires.
The Budget scores well in infrastructure push, disinvestment and environment-friendly plans and inadequately addresses the concerns of farmers, students, the health sector and the middle class.
