The Union Budget lacks creative proposals to arrest inflation and tackle unemployment and corruption, Finance Minister K.M. Mani has said.
Addressing a discussion on the budget organised by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT) here on Thursday, Mr.Mani said but for apportioning Rs.500 crore to bridle inflation, no concrete proposals had been put forward by the Union Finance Minister.
There were no revolutionary projects for employment assurance and improving agriculture sector. The budget did not have any concrete proposal for containing fiscal deficit. The proposals put forward were unlikely to yield any immediate result.
The Union Finance Minister seemed to have taken a cue from the State budget in tacking unemployment.
The skill acquisition initiatives, entrepreneurial mission, and start-up villages were some of the projects in the State budget.
Such ideas seemed to have been emulated in the Union Budget too. The proposal to fix the lowest pension at Rs.1,000 was a welcome step. After earmarking Rs.100 crore for increasing administrative efficacy, it did not mention what radical changes were being expected by the government.
The proposal for increasing foreign direct investment in the defence sector might give way to doubts. The government should have been more cautious and could have experimented in other productive sectors.
“The allocations for Kochi Metro, Rubber Board, FACT, and the Cochin Shipyard are welcome. Except for the metro, there is no substantial allocation for the State.”
Kerala would get a tax share of Rs.1,000 crore, which was a commendable proposal. Mr. Mani welcomed the proposals earmarking Rs.37,800 crore for national highway development and Rs.1,800 crore for rural roads.
