Trashing the Union Budget as high on pomposity and low on tangibles, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the economy was clearly not a priority for the BJP-led Central Government, which was too busy pursuing its negative and divisive agenda.
There was nothing in the budget, he said, that could pave the way for economic reforms or raise public consumption that was an imperative for reviving the economy. The budget was nothing but mere rhetoric, said the Chief Minister, adding that it had failed to address the problems of any section of the society, be it the farmers, the youth, the industry/business or the middle class and the poor.
Far from reviving business sentiment, the non-visionary budget, which reflected the Union Government’s total apathy to the needs and aspirations of the people, would plunge the economy further to abysmal depths, warned Captain Amarinder.
Pointing to the Finance Minister’s failure to even mention the economic slowdown of 2019-20, the Chief Minister said this showed that the Centre had no intention of addressing the problems faced by the economy. The budget has dashed the hopes of one and all, with the famers still waiting for a solution to their debt stress and the challenge of stubble burning, the industry feeling ignored, and the youth still waiting for the light at the end of the dark tunnel into which this government has thrown them.
The 16-point Action Plan for Agriculture makes no mention of any initiatives or schemes to encourage crop diversification, noted the Chief Minister, adding that with buffer stocks of food grain already putting a strain on the states (including Punjab) and farmers, failure to diversify would further aggravate the problems for the country on the agriculture front.
Captain Amarinder also castigated the failure of the Central Government to provide the much-needed push to infrastructure. “And what is there in the budget to strengthen and upgrade the Irrigation and Power sector? How can India progress without infrastructural development?,” he asked.
Even the defence sector, which one would have assumed to be a key priority area for any government in these dangerous times, had not got its due, Captain Amarinder lamented, terming the Rs 10,340 hike provided for modernization of the defence forces and purchase of new weapon systems as a pathetic joke. “This is worse than the increment even a clerk expects at the end of the year,” he quipped.
The Chief Minister also flayed the Centre’s failure to address the concern of the states, including Punjab, on the delays in release of GST compensation. “Where will we get the money for the development of our state?” he demanded to know.
The budget offers no cheer for the industry, with a meagre Rs 27300 Cr allocated for promotion of industry and commerce, said Captain Amarinder. Some grandiose plans have been announced to make every district an export hub, but no roadmap has been drawn on the way forward, which shows how clueless the Government is when it comes to the nation’s economic development and progress, he added.
Frankly, this lack of vision is manifest in almost every major announcement in the budget. For instance, the decision to hold Online Recruitment Test for all Non-Gazetted posts in banks does not take cognizance of the lack of digital literacy among the poor students, Capt Amarinder said.
The Chief Minister lamented the step-fatherly treatment given to Punjab in the budget, which had failed to make any outlay for the celebration of the 550th anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the upcoming 400th celebration of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji, or for the promotion of Sikh Culture and Heritage. Despite being severely water-stressed, Punjab remains excluded from the districts which the Centre intends to focus on for water conservation, he pointed out, adding that even the Special Tourism Projects announced in the budget were meant only for BJP-ruled states. Such an approach does not behoove the government of a federal nation, he added.
Another area which is really a matter of serious concern for Punjab, and all other states, is the Centre’s decision to limit the GST Compensation Fund to collections under GST cess, said the Chief Minister. This, he warned, will further add to the problems of the states, which are already suffering immensely from the prolonged delays in getting their share of the GST revenue.
Even the industry has little to cheer in this budget, with a meagre Rs 27300 Cr allocated for promotion of industry and commerce, according to Captain Amarinder. Some grandiose plans have been announced to make every district an export hub, but no roadmap has been drawn on the way forward, which shows how clueless the Government is when it comes to the nation’s economic development and progress, he said.
BUDGET IS PRO-FARMER AND PRO-POOR, SAYS SUKHBIR BADAL
Hailing the union budget 2020 as pro-farmer and pro-poor, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday said the common man would be benefitted due to reduction in income tax even as the ground had been laid for achieving higher GDP by giving a boost to digitization, infrastructure and industry.
In a statement, the SAD President welcomed the Rs 15 lakh crore allocation for the agricultural sector. He said farmers across the country, including Punjab, would be benefitted by the government’s decision to go solar by subsidizing 20 lakh standalone solar pumps.
He said similarly the decision to set up Kisan Rail through PPP mode to transport perishable goods quickly as well as Krishi Udaan to transport agriculture goods to national and international destinations would give a much needed boost to the vegetable and horticulture sector in Punjab. “Insurance cover given to six crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna is also a path breaking step and will shield farmers from the vagaries of nature”, he added. He also lauded incentives given for fish farming and balanced fertilizers.
The SAD President also welcomed provision of Rs 85,000 crore for the welfare of scheduled castes and backward classes. He said as much as Rs 27,300 crore for development of industry and commerce besides launch of the national textile mission at a cost of Rs 1,480 crore. “This coupled with the government’s decision to restructure loans of more than five lakh MSMEs would help in revival of small units”, added.
Badal also welcomed the digital revolution being unleashed by the government particularly in the rural sector. He said the decision to lay optical fibre in one lakh gram panchayats would bring digitization to villages and would help the youth tremendously. He said simultaneous efforts to boost infrastructure by making new economic corridors, allocating Rs 28,600 crore for women linked programmes, making government functioning transparent and also allocating funds to tackle air pollution were laud worthy.
CII NORTHERN REGION WELCOMES BUDGET
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) welcomed the Government of India’s Budget 2020 saying it dwells on a roadmap towards building a new and aspirational India, focusing on boosting income and enhancing the purchasing power of people.
CII said many of its recommendations have been incorporated in the Union Budget 2020-21 like enhancing farmers’ income, availability of piped water for all, balancing the use of fertilizers, encouraging greater use of solar energy.
Sameer Gupta, Chairman, CII Northern Region highlighted that the agriculture sector which is the mainstream of the Indian economy, particularly in the Northern Region has been given special attention in the Budget. To address the issues that have plagued the agriculture sector, CII complimented the Finance Minister for announcements such as seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, setting up of ‘Kisan Rail’ through Public-Private Partnership, Incentivizing farmers to go solar, addressing water problem among others, Mr Gupta opined. The Budgetary allocation under the lead of agriculture & allied activities, irrigation and R&D has been increased to INR 2.83 lakh crores, which will be a big game changer for Northern states, he added.