The Budget has exposed the failure of the current government when it comes to fiscal health, said the Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule, participating in a discussion on the proposed Union Budget 2020-21 in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Terming the budget as “long and tiresome”, she said that the government is “living in a fairytale world”.
“While the government is talking about achieving a $5 trillion economy, we are not even barely crossing 5% [growth],” she added.
Investment declining
The Opposition in the Lok Sabha expressed concern over the “decline” in investments in the country and said that the expected GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate and tax collection figures appear unrealistic. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member B. Mahtab said that investment in India has been the main driver of growth, but it has been declining since 1991.
“More corrective measures are necessary. The banks were not in a position to lend for infrastructure and the government should not lose sight of wider reforms in the public sector. There is a need to bring competition within the banking sector,” he said.
Dayanidhi Maran of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam noted that the government is selling away assets, which does not work for the country in the long run. “Also, while the government is saying that it has brought in a more effective tax paying mechanism, the truth is that to understand the new tax laws, one has to spend more money paying the auditor to figure out which bracket one falls into. Why can’t you come up with a single tax system?”
‘Unrealistic numbers’
Expressing apprehension over the Budget numbers, Preneet Kaur of the Congress Party said the presumption of 10% nominal GDP growth and 12% rise in tax collection seem “optimistic and unrealistic given the low economic growth and falling exports”. The agriculture sector seems to be an area of concern, she said, adding that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana needs to be reviewed.
However, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Aparajita Sarangi said that there is a balance between intent and content, and vision and provision, in the Budget. “We have moved from policy paralysis to policy action under the Narendra Modi government,” she said.
‘Because of fear’
“The real issue for the economy is not addressing investors’ sentiments. The government is strong, our Prime Minister is strong, then why are people not investing? It is, in my view, because of fear. People would rather sit on the mountains of cash than invest it,” Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said in the Rajya Sabha.
