Needed: Schemes for needy, not empty promises

As Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stands up in Parliament on Thursday to present the last Budget of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, what would the people of this country be looking forward to in the Budgetary proposals?

For one, people are tired of the frequent spiraling out of control of prices of essential commodities like onions and tomatoes besides food grains and would love the FM to bring into effect a price control mechanism to relieve their financial woes.

While edible oil prices skyrocketed some time ago and are showing no signs of falling, the rates of fuel including petrol and diesel have remained abnormally high for years; the government should at least now when the Lok Sabha elections are drawing near, try to lessen the burden on the common man by offering relief in fuel prices which will also have a cascading effect on the transport sector and bring down commodity prices.

Though the Covid pandemic has waned, the deleterious effect it had on the economy including the loss of jobs and shutting down of business and industrial establishments, is far from over.

Industry, particularly the small and medium scale units with no huge capital resources to fall back on, will definitely take years to get back to pre-pandemic levels and for that, it will need a generous helping hand from the government in the form of subsidies, easier loans and tax relaxation.

By going soft on business conglomerates like the Adanis and Ambanis, the BJP- led NDA government has unequivocally sent out a message that they mean much more to them than the common man on the streets.

A reframing of economic policies to place the middle classes and the poor at the centre of economic planning, is the only way to correct this distortion in our budgetary planning and the doling out of precious resources.

No signs of a broad-hearted approach towards the needy have been in sight in recent years with even a vital rural job scheme like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme seeing its fund allocation falling though it is the lifeline of lakhs in India’s countryside providing gainful employment through the year.

Social welfare schemes of a similar kind which appeal to the masses, will have to be conceived to bring succor to those in dire need of such help.

Those who need such assistance the most are the rural lot who are the worst affected by crop price fluctuations, the vagaries of the weather, the never ending debt trap and market uncertainties.

Despite grandiose announcements about welfare schemes being launched for them, the benefits rarely reach the farmer with ruthless officials and middlemen making the best of their ignorance or lack of education.

And unless the benefits intended for the rural masses do not reach their pockets, the change many are eagerly waiting for in rural areas will never happen.

Low-cost housing on a mass scale, attractive incentives for those who would like to set up business or industrial units and also provide jobs to others, a universal health scheme which the poor can access without being forced to go through the rigmarole of red tape, welfare programmes to improve the lot of the elderly and the disabled, cheaper and accessible education for every kid - the wish list can go on and on.

Not to mention the much awaited Income tax relief the middle class and salaried lot are looking forward to. And this is a list which keeps growing with each passing year for the benefits of the budget which the poor eagerly look forward to, hardly reach them.

Will it be any different this time is the big question? Or will the budgetary proposals, like in any other year, tactfully evade the most pressing issues of the day and instead remain a bundle of statistics and empty promises which benefit only a select few?