The Union Budget 2010 comes in a context when entire country is reeling under the impact of a massive price rise and has witnessed a negative growth rate in the agricutlure sector. Urgent steps should have been taken to curb price rise and provide relief to the common people. The budget presented by the government completely betrays these concerns.
The budget also shows the insensitive attitude of the government towards addressing the problems in the education sector. The education sector in India is marked by a dearth of funds with more than 90% of our population in the relevant age group not having access to education. The promised spending of 6% of GDP has been conviniently ignored by the UPA this year as well. There is only a small increase of Rs 5000 crores for primary education sector in the country. This is way below the required amont to fulfill the promises made in the Right to Education Act. MHRD’s own estimates have put the required spending for Right to Education in the Eleventh Plan at Rs 1.73 lakh crores. This gives an annual requirement of Rs 34,600 crores per year as oposed to the total Rs 22000 crores announced in the budget. As far as higher education is concerned the Revised Estimates for 2009-10 suggest that the allocation to higher education sector was only Rs 14389 crores in place of the original allocation of Rs 15429 crores made in the 2009-10 budget. This shows the deceitful role of the government in spending more money on the higher education sector. Also this year there has been a meagre increase of only Rs 1461 crores compared to the 2009-10 budget. This exposes the empty rhetoric in the tall claims being made by the HRD minister to expand the number of universities and other higher educational institutions in the country. To put it simply this budget has completely failed the expectations and needs of the student community in the country.
While the government has not announced any concrete steps to control price rise especially that of essential commodities (the President’s address terming it as inevitable), the budget proposals plan to make it even worse for the common people. There is a direct attempt to drive inflation even higher by proposing a hike in the prices of petrol and diesel by announcing a 5% increase in customs duty on crude petroleum along with a Re. 1 per litre increase in central excise duty on petrol and diesel. This will amount to an increase of Rs 2.50 per liter in petrol and diesel prices.
There is also a flawed approach in the budget which seeks to control the fiscal deficit by taxing the poor more and the rich less. Direct tax exemptions have been doled out to the rich classes with reduction in direct tax rates for high income earners along with real estate developers, hoteliers etc which will lead to a revenue loss of Rs 26000 crores. This comes in the backdrop of a Rs 80000 crore tax exemption given to corporates last year. At the same time the government plans to raise Rs 60000 crores from levying indirect taxes.
The budget also exposes the renewed neo-liberal thrust of the UPA government with increased emphasis on disinvestment and fiscal prudence. Rs 40000 crores worth of disincestment programme has been announced by the Finance Minister. There is also talk about further deregularizing the financial sector by issuing banking licenses to private players and Non Banking Financial Companies to operate in the banking sector. The dangers of a unregulated banking sector have become clearly evident after the financial crisis in the world economy. Yet blinded by its neo-liberal dogma the UPA is pursuing the path of financial deregularization when everyone else is doing the opposite. The budget also talks about opening up retail trade which can have disasterous implications for livlihoods of millions of people.
It is also shocking that food subsidy has been reduced by over Rs. 400 crore despite the commitment to enact a food security legislation. Fertiliser subsidy has also been cut by a whopping Rs. 3000 crore from what was spent last year. These moves to reduce subsidies in the name of targetting come at a time when inflation is galloping and agricultural output growth has become negative. The anti-people approach of the Government in reducing subsidies was laid bare in the Economic survey, which has prescribed the dismantling of the PDS and initiating a “coupon system” for food and fertilisers. The government’s antipathy towards the rural areas can also be seen in stganation in Central Plan outlays for agriculture, irrigation and rural development in real terms.
Apart from its pro-rich bias and the increased neo-liberal thrust this budget also seeks to undermine the federal structure of our country, where states have not been allocated the rightful 50% share in sharable central taxes. There is also a squeeze in central assistance in real terms.
The SFI believes that the misplaced priorities and the pro-rich bias which mark this budget are going to add salt to the wounds of the common people, who are already having a tough time making their ends meet today. In the eudcation sector also in the absence of any increase in spending more assaults of commercialisation and privatization are bound to follow.
We appeal to the student community to unite against this anti-people and anti-student budget and wage a militant struggle demanding an increased spening in education as well as fighting against all anti people measures, especially those which seek to make the inflationary situation even worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment