On poll eve, FM woos farmers, youth with sops
With crucial elections in five states fast approaching, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday tried to reach out to farmers and unemployed youth with some sops. In her Budget 20222023 speech, Ms Sitharaman proposed steps to boost the agriculture sector and addressing concerns of unemployed youth by announcing that 60 lakh jobs are likely to be created through PLIs, Start-Ups and MSMEs, and that 163 lakh farmers will get direct payment as per the MSP value for wheat and paddy procured during 2021-22. She added that the government’s focus will be on value branding of millet products, increasing the production of oilseeds and chemical free natural farming.
Ms Sitharaman also proposed the use of drone technology for crop assessment, spraying of insecticides and nutrients and said that special funds will be created for startups in agricultural and rural enterprises.
No new schemes or expansion of MNREGA was announced to take care of low income and rural families. In fact, the amount for MNREGA for 2022-23 is 25.51 lower than the current financial year’s revised estimate.
The finance minister spoke of the government's aim to boost growth and infrastructure and India being an economic superpower in its 75th year of Independence, though the two large sections — farmers and unemployed youth — that are angry with the government were hoping for something more tangible.
Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram said, “Today’s Budget speech was the most capitalist speech ever read by a finance minister,” while Yogendra Yadav of the Swaraj Party said, “Message is loud and clear, the government is out to take revenge on the farmers.”
Responding to the severe criticism the government has faced because of the alarming number of deaths and distress during the second Covid-19 wave, the finance minister said a national tele-mental health program will be launched.
There has been a steep
rise in mental health issues during the pandemic, and access to mental health services through telecommunications or videoconferencing is essential, but the Budget had no proposals to overhaul the country's health infrastructure and ensure there is no shortage of medicines, hospitals beds or oxygen.
Ms Sitharaman said that to empower women, Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 will be revamped.
Mission Vatsalya was first launched by the Maharashtra government for women who lost their husbands due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The main aim of this mission is to facilitate 18 benefit schemes for women who have lost the main earning member of their family and are living in rural areas with impoverished backgrounds.
The biggest sop that could possibly attract voters is the increase in the tax deduction limit for state government employees from 10 per cent to 14 per cent on employer’s contribution to the National Pension Scheme (NPS). This brings them at par with Central government employees, the minister said. This proposal is possibly a counter to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s promise to bring back the old pension scheme to give better social security. In fact, restoration of the old pension system has been a long standing demand of government employees and has now become a poll issue in Uttar Pradesh.
To soothe the rising rage of unemployed youth, the minister mentioned an initiative that has the potential to create 60 lakh jobs.
“The Productivity Linked Incentive in 14 sectors for achieving the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat has received excellent response, with potential to create 60 lakh new jobs, and an additional production of 30 lakh crore during next 5 years,” she said.
However, the minister announced a 30 per cent tax on virtual digital assets like cryptocurrency, in which about 1.5 core people have invested out of whom 75 per cent are in the 21 to 35 age group.