At 69, R. Kannan, former deputy manager of a nationalised bank, shows little interest in the live broadcast of the budget. “It is the same year after year. The annual exercise is just a ritual. Prices rise before, and after the Budget, too,” he says.
He placidly watches his daughter-in-law Rukmini serve lunch to his grandson Raghav who has just returned from school at their modest home in Pozhichalur, a southern suburb behind Chennai airport.
According to him, the Budget proposals this year are along expected lines. “There are no important announcements that will bring significant relief to pensioners like me,” he says.
The interest on term deposits has always been just 0.5 per cent more for senior citizens, says Mr. Kannan, adding this interest on term deposits should be fixed.
“The livelihood of most senior citizens depends on interest from these deposits. We do not have any other source of income and are dependent on our children,” he says.
The expansion of quality healthcare on the lines of JIPMER, Pondicherry, is another priority for Mr. Kannan. “Nearly all the people who throng government health centres are the poor and lower middle class, and there has been no major policy announcement or budgetary allocation to improve healthcare services.
Mr. Kannan’s son K. Uppili has the perennial hope of a reduction in fuel prices as he spends close to Rs. 8,000 a month on travel expenses.
A sales manager, now on medical leave, he travels long distances every day. Spending 20 per cent of his salary on travel alone affects the family’s expenditure on recreation and leisure.
“I gave my wife Rs. 100 this morning for buying vegetables, but she ended up spending Rs. 225 on a week’s supply,” he says.
“There is not enough money to invest in gold or land. This has been the story for more than 10 years, says Ms. Rukmini. Every month, they cut down on spending on groceries and fruits to make up for the increase in cost of other commodities, she says.