CITU flays Union Budget

CITU denounces the utter insensitivity of the Union Budget 2011-12 to the most pressing and burning issues before the common people, the toiling class in particular, viz. price rise and public distribution system and rising unemployment. The issue of universal social security of the vast unorganized sector workers also stands totally ignored.

The budget has not addressed a single step in addressing the issue of relentless price rise especially of food items which is bringing tremendous miseries and hardship to the mass of the working populace. Rather, the Govt overtures reflected both in the Economic Survey (2010-11), and the Budget Speech clearly signal its policy of patronizing the Corporate Traders and Speculators in the commodity market on the plea of modernizing the supply chain. The Finance Minister is eloquent in while admitting that more than 40 millions tons food grains are stored with the Govt at present (which is much above the buffer stock norm) but does not bother to propose any step to distribute the surplus grains, at reduced prices through strengthened Public Distribution system in order to generate downward push in the food prices.

That the high price phenomenon in basic food commodities is being nourished and promoted by the Govt. to facilitate the windfall gains by the corporate traders through speculation and hoarding has become crystal clear from all such actions as well as its loud projection of present inflation as growth-induced and its pleadings for liberalized FDI-entry in multi-brand retail trade. It continued to remain negligent towards addressing the crisis situation in agriculture supplying food and other basic necessities to people. Despite devoting long speeches on the urgent need for improving the agriculture, the budgetary provisions remained much below the requirement and actually marked a decline both as proportion to overall budgetary expenditure and as percentage of GDP.

CITU resents the way the budget has totally ignored the demand for a National Social Security Fund for unorganized sector with allocation of substantial fund put forth unanimously by All the Central Trade Unions in the country and also recommended by the National Social Security Board headed by the Union Labour Minister. In the background of continuous and consistent countrywide struggle by the Anganwadi workers and helpers the rise in their remuneration announced in the budget is a delayed but welcome development. However, it must be noted simultaneously that still remuneration of these Anganwadi workers and helpers will remain much below even the statutory minimum wage despite their frontline role in country’s flagship child development scheme.

Govt’s bias against common people stands exposed by its budgetary decision to reduce the direct tax to the tune of Rs 11500 crore while simultaneously increasing the burden of indirect tax by Rs11300 crore. The budget reduces surcharge on corporate taxes, but does not bother to reduce the custom duty and excise duty on crude oil and petroleum products, despite the fact that crude oil price has reached alarming levels in the international market and govt. is poised to increase price of petroleum product in regular frequency, creating cascading impact on inflation and price rise. CITU demand that govt. should announce immediately abolition of customs duty on crude oil import and reduction of excise duty in petroleum products.

CITU also deplores the single track focus of the budget on reduction of subsidies on basic essentials like food, kerosene, diesel, LPG, fertilizers etc through direct and indirect means while the budget fails to mention any single actionable step for recovering black money as well as huge tax arrears, both within and outside the country, contain tax evasion and other forms of tax leakages.

In the face of explosion of numerous events of corruption involving the entire governance, the budget sought to skip over the entire issue cavalierly except giving lip service about probity in public life.

The budget while being eloquent on GDP growth, is completely silent on the employment generation commensurate to GDP growth. It only encourages and incentivises the Indian Corporates for investing and creating assets and employment abroad, while millions of unemployed youth in the county are yearning for decent job within country.

CITU records its strong opposition to the move for complete deregulation of financial sector through encouraging private banks, liberalizing speculative FII participation in mutual fund schemes, deregulation and liberalized foreign participation in insurance sector and privatization of insurance and pension sector through various legislative and executive measures as proposed in the Budget. All these moves are going to create disastrous consequences for the national economy, if not resisted resolutely through united countrywide action. CITU also reiterates its strong opposition to disinvestment of PSU shares, unleashed by the UPA-II govt with greater vigour, and pledges to resist such disastrous move as reflected in the Budget.

In totality, the Union Budget (2011-12) reflects continuity of the same neoliberal corporate captive anti-people policy regime spreading miseries for the millions to benefit handful of corporate and moneyed class, both domestic and foreign. CITU calls upon the working people to heighten its united resistance to such anti-people policy regime.

Union Budget 2011-12

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The Union Budget 2011-12 fails to address the serious problems affecting the people and the economy. The Budget comes at a time when people are suffering due to high inflation and relentless rise of food and fuel prices. In this backdrop, the massive Rs. 20000 crore cut in major subsidies for 2011-12 on fuel, fertiliser and food, from what was spent in 2010-11 (Revised Estimates), come as a rude shock. The cut in food subsidy by Rs. 27 crore clearly exposes the Government's lack of willingness to enact a meaningful food security legislation. The Finance Minister's stubborn refusal to reduce excise and customs duties on petro products and obduracy in moving away from the ad-valorem duty structure, coupled with the cut on fuel subsidy by Rs. 15000 crore, indicates massive increase in fuel prices in the days to come. This exposes the anti-people character of the Government.

The direct cash transfer programme announced for implementation from next year is a smokescreen for this subsidy cut. The current BPL lists exclude large sections of the country's poor. Direct cash transfers to a small section of beneficiaries cannot substitute for the subsidised provision of essential commodities like food and fuel. The rise in kerosene prices will immediately affect the poor.

The Budget has provided relief of Rs. 11500 crore in direct taxes, while proposing to mobilise an additional Rs. 11300 crore through indirect taxes, which will inevitably be passed on to the consumers. This is a regressive taxation regime, which enriches the rich while burdening the ordinary citizens. As per the Statement of Revenue Foregone, total tax concessions reached over Rs. 5 lakh crore in 2010-11, with corporate tax exemptions totalling over Rs. 88000 crore. The tax-GDP ratio, which had reached almost 12% in 2007-08, has declined since then to around 10% in the current Budget. At a time when income inequalities are rising fast, a decline in tax GDP ratio shows the waning commitment towards redistributive policies and a throwback to trickle down economics.

No concrete steps to unearth the huge sums of black money stashed in offshore tax havens were announced. The DTAA (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) with Mauritius, through which 42% of FDI inflows into India is routed, is the biggest conduit of tax evasion by MNCs and Indian corporates. Rather than plugging such channels, the Finance Minister is signing more tax avoidance treaties with other countries.

With resource mobilisation taking a back seat, Plan Expenditure as percentage of GDP in 2011-12 will decrease from what was spent last year. The Budget Support for the Central Plan in 2011-12 has increased by only 12% over 2010-11, while nominal GDP has increased by 14%. Such squeeze in real expenditure marks all the major developmental heads. The flagship schemes of the social sector have been neglected in the budget and social sector spending is slated to fall in real per capita terms. The allocation for NREGS has fallen by Rs. 100 crore, despite a claimed increase in the wages. The provisions for ICDS are far below the estimates for full universalization as directed by the Supreme Court.

Agricultural growth has been below 3% on average in the first four years of the Eleventh Five Year Plan, despite a target of 4%. It is shocking in this backdrop that the budget provision for the Agriculture Department has been cut from last year. The allocations for the welfare of women, minorities, dalits and tribals are thoroughly inadequate. Capital expenditure is projected to fall from 1.7 per cent of GDP to only 1.2 per cent, which will affect basic infrastructure for the people.

The announcement of impending legislations directed at liberalizing the sensitive financial sectors like insurance, banking and pension funds is meant to appease foreign finance capital. Further liberalization of rules for Indian Mutual Funds accessing foreign investors would also facilitate the flow of speculative finance into the economy. Greater inflows of such speculative finance at a time when India's current account deficit is widening, does not augur well for the health of India's economy.

Overall, the Budget reflects the abandoning of the aam admi agenda by the UPA-II Government and its pursuit of an aggressive neoliberal agenda. The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) calls upon the people to strengthen resistance against these neoliberal policies.

Left Front sweeps village committee polls

The ruling Left Front emerged victorious in the village committee elections in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council by winning 473 of the 527 village committees.

The Congress and its ally the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), a tribal party, bagged 56 committees which is better than the last village committee elections held in 2005 when they had secured 23 village committees. The other committees were won by independents.

The tribal council which constitute two-third of the State territory is home to the tribals that form one-third of the State's population.

It came into being in 1985 under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to provide more autonomy to the backward tribals and facilitate economic development in the area. CPI (M) State secretary Bijan Dhar said it was a people's mandate for peace, development and good governance.