Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

A budget for transforma­tion

- Sunanda Mishra letters@hindustant­imes.com ▪ The writer is research scholar, department of economics, University of Lucknow

Acountry is said to be developed if it has its base strengthen­ed and at the same time it provides for a decent standard of living, which includes provision for food, clothing and shelter. So has been the provision for this year’s budget which can be termed as a “budget for the poor” since it has taken several measures for their uplift. The basic principle behind a strong economy lies in how less is inequality of income among various classes and the applicatio­n of this principle has been seen very much in the union budget 2018-19.

For ages, the Indian economy has been defined as an agrarian economy. This year’s budget has left no stone unturned to redefine this sector. There has been an increase in 12.8% expenditur­e for strengthen­ing the agricultur­e sector. Apart from this, the various initiative­s taken for agricultur­e include 100% tax deduction for companies registered in the name of farmer producing companies which

FOR AGES, THE INDIAN ECONOMY HAS BEEN DEFINED AS AN AGRARIAN ECONOMY. THIS YEAR’S BUDGET HAS LEFT NO STONE UNTURNED TO REDEFINE THIS SECTOR.

undoubtedl­y is an intelligen­t move towards attracting more private players.

Apart from this, another noteworthy feature of this budget includes the introducti­on of the world’s largest government funded programme. It is believed that a healthy nation contribute­s to a wealthy nation. Hence, all possible measures have seen to be taken in ensuring universal health care.

The two major initiative­s launched under the Ayushman Bharat programme involves expansion of wellness centres on one hand and launch of national health protection scheme on the other hand which claims to cover 10 crore vulnerable families. The third major and the most talked about area in the current scenario dealt by this budget is women empowermen­t. Measures have been undertaken to decrease the day-to-day problem of women, particular­ly in the rural areas. The Ujjwala Scheme this year has targeted to provide free gas cylinders to about eight crore women who are genuinely in need of it.

We can hereby conclude that overall the 2018-2019 budget has taken all the possible measure to keep the population satisfied. For the poor, it has led to their upliftment, for the farmers it has been a dream budget. For the entreprene­urs, it has paved the way for several other job opportunit­ies particular­ly in the agricultur­al sector and for the youth of today it promises to ensure them employment by expanding several job opportunit­ies. If the proposed targets are achieved by the budget then no doubt the wellness of the country would be enhanced in the years to come.

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