Now that the much awaited annual exersice of expenditure and returns for thecurrent fiscal year over by the finance ministry , a feeling of being let down is being echoed from from quarters not few to begin with.
The point is : The budget envisages a very optimistic approach to social and educational empowerment of th people on the fringes of development , however it misses the moot point that only allocation of resources is not the cure , it's effective implemtation is.
From the umpteeem interviews that the FM minister has attended , a suspicion of dogmatism , inflexibility and taking things aa they come rather shaping them , ails them . It seems he has already made up his mind remedial sides without paying due heed to adminstrative efficacy, and more sinisterly wants to prove his detractors wrong , although at the back of his mind the concerns raised by them cannot be whisked away just like that , which even knows.
The budget revolves around the belief that if you cannot put the economically ostracized into the mainstream , push the one's into mainstream into insolvency . That is the point you get, by the way the exemption limits have been tempered with. Infact with one masterstroke he also hopes to rein in the monster of inflation , the albatross for the current government. But I believe he prescribed the diagnosis for wrong ailment . By putting in lesser money into the hands of people who spend anyways on luxury items one cannot control inflation of essential goods by monetary constraints. The inflation that we are currently seeing is basically from the supply side constraints of the most essential goods and services . The demand for such goods is 'inleastic' in the long and short run and with increasing living standards , they are bound to have a 'push' effect on the supply . Infact it was an opportune moment to scale up the production base which was a laggard for all these years . Alas ! Politics and myopia seems to have played spoilsport.
As for agriculture , the suicides by farmers are due to non payment of loans which puts them under immense strain . Naturally the government has to offer a helping hand . But that cannot be only through disbursement of loans . It is the farmer who at the end of the will have to return the money , which basically means he should make money on his produce . The ailing argriculture needs a new injection of vibrancy , exposure to high yielding seeds and most importantly access to Technology, Markets that pay them the returns . Even the father of Green Revolution has expressed his disappointment with the lacklustre budget provisians for agriculture . I believe the right way to do so will be open all services in one centre all across the major farming regions . You cannot expect a man of restricted letters to run after every nook and corner to get his due . It is we who need to offer .
Now on the tax on the booming services sector. At the very outset it is a very welcome move . You cannot exmpt the people who are in a position to pay taxes and infact abide by the duty in the land of the business but cunningly evade taxes in the country of operation. However that taxation policy has to be uniform . Infact the companies growing at 50% ought to offer themselves for this . But God Save From These Egoist Capitalists.
Continuing with his tirade against inflation the FM has brought into it's folds the tax abiding citizen by roping in more services under the Devil of Service Tax . The idea of service tax at the very outset is ridiculous. It is tantamount to double taxation and has played pivotal role in inflation . It has jacked up the prices of goods and services and the cost have been passed onto the gullible consumers who have no other way to go. Infact this is where the diagnosis should have been made . But our FM overlooked it , delibrately maybe. See we have to realize that the government coffers are brimming never before . As is the case with conservation of Mass and Energy , same holds forth for money too. The coffers comprise the hard earned money of people who rightfully own it , but have unfortunately to part with it . Despite this they have no say in it's expenditure. The government is therefore under moral and fiduciary obligation to pay back the benefits , which undoubtedly ismore of a lip service by the wily FM.
Infact a complete synpopsis of the budget can be surmised as 'TOKEN STEPS ' for structural inadequcies in the economy. The after shocks and the complete ramifivations are just on the anvil .It is a budget with thorns disguised , waiting to prick you when you have the monthly or the yearly budget (Appraisals for some) introspection.
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