From increasing the share in the gender budget to focusing on farmers community by introducing several schemes to establishing education institutions and much more, the State budget for the fiscal year: 2019-20 released on Tuesday brought satisfaction for almost all sections of the society. Be it academicians, students, housewives, business class or service class, the budget that covered Rs 85,429 crore received appreciation of all groups.
The expectations of people from different fractions of society especially of the middle-class were soaring high after the introduction of 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker section among upper caste. Meanwhile, the recent steps taken by the State government on various frontages has eventually increased the anticipations of public.
From homemakers to scholars to business women, every individual was expecting for a ‘Common Man’ budget covering tax rebates, large share in women security and safety, simplification in tax slabs, expansion of cottage industries including various schemes for students with special focus on tax recompenses on education loans, increase in number of institutions etc.
The hopes of public about some major transformations that includes enhancing economy while bringing a few major changes in different sectors enfolding their requirements became a reality on budget-day.
With an aim to counter ‘Brain Drain’, the State government has taken up a giant leap in ensuring quality education by establishing seven more women institutions in the State besides increasing the numbers of government schools.
“The decision of the State for opening more number of institutions for women here is worth commendable. Now, the State government must focus on ensuring quality education at these proposed institutes. The problem of faculty and resources crunch must be addressed soon to make Jharkhand an ‘Education Hub’,” said Prachi, a local resident who is pursuing her Masters from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
Echoing a similar view, Assistant Professor of St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi, Priya Srivastava said, “The State government has come up with a much appreciated budget especially in context to education. The decision of opening schools and colleges will not just increase the coverage but will eventually boost the Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) of the State. The government now needs to focus on expanding the base of Research and Development (R&D) to excel in every field. This is a major ‘Miss’ in the current budget.”
Expressing his views on changes in tax slabs, a financial advisor – cum – LIC Agent, Nagendra Kumar Pandey said, “The budget is satisfactory and can be termed as ‘Aam Aadmi’ budget. Alteration in tax slabs, huge share in agriculture sector ensuring farmers’ well-being, increasing the monthly pension for widows from Rs 600 to Rs 1000 for weaker section is a welcome move.”
With quite a number of thumbs up for the budget, the people associated with Tour and Travel business appeared moderately unsatisfied with the percentage of share allocated to the Tourism Sector.
“Overall the budget is satisfactory as it has covered almost all major sectors but with no focus on tourism industry, the decision can bear out a major loss. Tourism is one of the major revenue sectors. Out of 10 points, I will give 7 marks to the budget,” said FJCCI - Jharkhand vice president and owner of Skyline Tours and Travel Limited, Soni Mehta.
On the contrary, the homemakers gave a stamp of approval to the budget. “The State budget has covered almost all segments. I just hope that the consistency is maintained and in the long-run, our household plan does not get hampered,” said, Poonam Virmani, a homemaker.