The Central budget of 2010-11 is a further step in the realisation of a vision of India vibrant with the income, wealth, saving, education and the entrepreneurial energy of the top 5-10 per cent of the population and the rest of Indians, serving that minority and surviving as barely literate, malnourished multitude.  With the accession of Rajiv Gandhi to power, a vision began to germinate. That vision was that of...

Forget the rhetoric, the FM’s left little for core social sectors The Union finance minister’s enthusiasm in marking the roadmap to financial discipline and pushing reforms in Budget 2010 is somehow missing in his proposals for inclusive growth. These proposals lack the required homework—in referring to relevant literature, including some recent government reports, and in making estimates of the required funds—and certainly do not reflect much commitment to inclusive growth. Agriculture—which...

IN GREEN-LIGHTING the new “nutrient- based” fertiliser policy, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee pulled off a political coup, overriding the objections of the once-powerful UPA allies, DMK and NCP. What’s more, it is those very critics who will be responsible for the actual delivery of benefits to farmers under the new scheme — which is a tall order. With Mamata Banerjee’s TMC putting in only a token caveat, the reservations of Union...

One looks forward to the Finance Minister's budget speech with a hope that it spells some new major initiatives and schemes for development, and that it might promise any major allocation of resources to any sector, besides fresh tax proposals. In the case of education sector, one might feel disappointed at the proposals made in the Union Budget for 2010-11 on both counts. No new initiatives are proposed; no major...

This staggering loss has affected India's agri business Sustainable supply chains needed to link farmer to marketing centres The decline in the farm sector will hit the food and grocery retail sector too. It is estimated that the growth rate in the food and grocery retail sector will dip to 8.8 per cent during 2009-10 from 9.5 per cent during 2008-09. The food and grocery retail sector is worth Rs. 10.24 lakh crore....