The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Union budget

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Wednesday, Jul 08, 2009
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Union budget

The Union budget 2009-10 is people-oriented with provisions for filling the yawning gaps in the development process. The focus is on the downtrodden, the marginalised and the disadvantaged sections. However, mere allocation of funds is no solution to the many ills that plague these sections. The solution lies beyond roma locuta est, causa finita est (Rome has spoken, the case is closed).

The budget should resonate through the length and breadth of the country and make the people aware of their entitlement so that the proposed rural spending percolates down to the needy.

C. John Rose,

Arumanai

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee deserves praise for making rural development his lead point. India’s real growth lies in the development of villages. Real India, as Gandhiji pointed out, lives in the villages.

Jetling Yellosa,

Nizamabad

Mr. Mukherjee’s budget is stimulus oriented, not growth oriented. There is no reduction in corporate tax. Senior citizens have to wait till 65 to avail themselves of the tax benefits. The removal of the 10 per cent surcharge on personal income above 10 lakh will have a mixed effect on different sections. Although more funds have been allocated to flagship programmes, one wonders how effective the move will be — implementation of the schemes is not foolproof. Not an impressive budget.

Ganapathi Bhat,

Akola

I do not understand how the massive funds allocated for rural development and the NREGA will reach the target groups through an inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy. An additional Rs. 2000 crore has been allotted for higher education. But what and where is higher education in India? Nobody discusses how the funds allocated for agriculture could be better utilised. On the whole, it is a welcome budget drawn with a human approach but its execution is a question mark.

K.K. Lakshmanan,

Coimbatore

Throwing a substantial part of taxpayers’ money in subsidies can at best be described as a short-lived political move. Who will repay the loans in this era of repeated loan-waivers? Most subsidies do not reach the intended beneficiaries because they are diverted by vested interests for personal benefits. Evaluate the expenditure on subsidies against the negligible enhancement of tax exemption slabs for the general category, women and senior citizens.

The real task of a government lies in inculcating a spirit of hard work and self-reliance in the citizens.

Col. G. Singh (retd.),

Bikaner

The budget is a disappointment to all sections of society. The expectation of the middle classes that it would give them a substantial income tax relief has been belied. Those who expected the budget to stimulate the stock market revival feel let down.

Industry, which believed that the reform process would get a boost, feels bitter.

A. Thirugnanasambantham,

Coimbatore

In order to preserve its vote bank, the UPA government accepted the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission and increased the salaries of the government employees. But while the Fringe Benefit Tax and the 10 per cent surcharge on the income of those earning more than Rs. 10 lakh annually have been scrapped, no substantial increase in the tax exemption limit has been given to thousands of poor government servants.

Vijaya Kumar,

Coimbatore

As always in the past, the expectations of the salaried class have been shattered. The aam aadmi has been taken for a ride. The worst sufferers are the pensioners, who get only a fixed income. The decrease in the interest from the fixed deposits has added to their woes.

Janaki Mahadevan,

Chennai

It is time the age of senior citizens was redefined as 60 — as done by the Railways — for Income Tax purposes. Central government employees retire at the age of 60 and those in State government at 58. Most of them depend only on their pension for income. This is also the period when many have financial obligations — higher education and marriage of their children, repayment of housing loans, medical expenses and so on. What little money they have in the banks after incurring all the expenditure hardly earns them enough interest. It is earnestly hoped that the government will help the senior citizens.

P.K. Dayanand, Chennai

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