While debates are on whether the first budget presented by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has reflected the common man’s aspirations or not, city residents seemed rather disconcerted after listening to the Finance Minister’s speech. While some hailed it for giving them a chance to save more, others looked at it with scepticism.
For Nino Baby, a college lecturer from Aluva, the budget seemed largely a non-populist one. Her major expectation from the Union Budget was access to services such as health and transportation at affordable rates. “For the working woman who is looking at some sops and rebates, this budget does not present any goodies. The absence of specific programmes to rein in spiralling prices and inflation is a big letdown,” she said. She welcomed the move to allocate Rs. 50 crore for pilot testing a scheme for the safety of women on public transport and another Rs. 150 crore for steps to ensure the safety of women in large cities. Jaideep Narasimhan, a senior executive of a company, commended the decision to raise tax deduction limit on account of interest of housing loan in case of self-occupied property from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh and investment limit under Section 80C. “Apart from these, there is nothing in the budget that directly benefits the common man and it looks like a continuation from last year.”
Sumathi Indusekhar, a resident of Tripunithura, pointed out that the budget has little provisions to check the soaring prices of essential items. “We had expected more announcements that would help the commoner. Even the proposed hike in investment limit under 80 C is marginal,” she said.
For middle-level traders like Benny George, the budget was a disappointment as he felt that “it ignored the aspirations of the commoner”. “The government could have proposed more rebates for the middle class as the prices have gone through the roof.
Mujeeb.E. Mohammad, a government employee termed it a progressive budget at a difficult time. “There is no denying the budget gives a long term direction to education and infrastructure development. But as a government that came to power on an anti-price rise wave, this budget is totally disappointing,” he said.