Sir — This refers to the editorial, “The action begins now” (March 2). Despite the fact that the Union Budget for 2015-16 has failed to please the salaried class, which had strongly supported the BJP in the lok Sabha poll last year, the document is pragmatic and growth-oriented. A series of cuts in customs and excise duties in the Budget are aimed at creating jobs via the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Besides a proposal for having a National Skills Mission, the Budget emphasised on higher education, with proposals to set up new IITs and upgradation of existing institutions.
The announcement to launch the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is a milestone towards providing social security to the poor. This scheme will cover accidental death risk of two lakh rupees for a premium of just Rs12 per year. The proposal to launch a fully IT-based Student Financial Aid Authority to enable the poor and the middle class students to pursue higher education of their choice without any constraints of funds is also a welcome step. It can be safely said that this Budget will benefit the aam aadmi in the long run.