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Promise of Achhe Din? A Critical Analysis of Union Budget 2016-17 -Delhi Solidarity Group

-Report by Delhi Solidarity Group

The Government of India presented its annual budget with much fanfare, claiming it to be propoor and pro-rural, but the question looms whether it will really change the lives of the marginalized sections of the society. For a country like India that claims to be ‘democratic, socialist, sovereign, republic’ working towards the ‘welfare’ of its citizens it might be assumed that the key areas on priority for the government must be health, education and livelihood. It may also be assumed that a substantial proportion of the budget shall be invested in these areas. However, on a close analysis of the budget presented by the Finance Minister on the 29th of February 2016, one cannot help but be disappointed in the way the wealth of this country is being put to use. The budget has not only failed to give due share to the Dalits, Adivasis, women and children but has also failed to take concrete steps to resolve the economic crisis prevalent in the primary sector of the economy, i.e. agriculture. Instead of providing the farmers with substantial financial relief, they have been left in a mess of false hopes and promises. Also, education and health have not been provided the kind of attention that is needed.

For a common person, looking at the budget he/she must be warned that the absolute increase in the amount of money allocated within each ministry is not enough. This increase must be compared with the allocations made in the previous few years and also evaluated in comparison to the total GDP growth that has been observed. What must also be kept in mind is whether the government has been able to utilize the budget at its disposal. Presence of unutilized budget, especially in the categories of social sectors like rural development, health, education, etc. signals towards government’s failure to channelize the money into these sectors even after huge promises of implementing thousands of schemes are made in the Parliament during the budget presentation. In the year 2014-15, the unspent amount of Planned Budget was Rs 1,12,356 crores, showing how far the Government fell short of its targets. The major unspent amount was from the Education, Water and Sanitation, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Backward and Minorities.

Please click here to access the full report entitled Analysis of Union Budget 2016–2017: Perspective of weaker sections.