New Delhi, 23 July 2024
The Union Budget 2024 presented today by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman depicts how a government can continue to ignore the plight of the Indian people with some lofty ideas and self-congratulatory words. This budget has been presented in the backdrop of a Loksabha mandate that has sent clear signals to the Modi regime that the masses are not going to be fooled by false rhetoric to hide massive policy level betrayals. But the present regime remains arrogant enough to read those signals.
The demand by the farmers to ensure legally protected MSP for all crops that would ensure 50% profit over input cost calculated according to Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation (C2+50) has been completely ignored. The budget has also ignored the demands of loan waiver for indebted farmers, pension for farmers and increasing expenditure in Kisan Samman Nidhi. The expenditure promised for agriculture that employs more than half of the Indian workforce is a mere 2.5% of the budgetary allocation. Rather than promising relief to the crisis ridden farming sector, the Finance Minister has further invited encroachment of GM crops in the name of climate resilient high yielding variety. The farmers of the country have time and again protested against enforcement of GM crops in Indian agriculture.
After consistently denying rising unemployment and forging data on employment, the government is now trying to sell its rhetoric on generating employment in the name of internship. Private sectors are being incentivised to offer lowly paid internships to educated youth of the country. This is in continuation of the government’s deceitful policy of selling unsecured and lowly paid work meant for mere survival as employment. No promise has been made to ensure expansion of jobs in the government sector, nor has any policy decisions been made to ensure that the private sector expands dignified employment opportunities. In the name of incentivising employment, an incentive to EPFO contribution for four years has been promised. Expenditure on MGNREGS has been kept stagnant despite increasing application for job cards.
At a time when there is a massive uproar against scams in exams like the NEET and massive failure of the NTA to properly conduct exams, no promise has been made to revamp the system. The government, rather than fulfilling its responsibility to revamp the public education system that is accessible to the vast majority of underprivileged sections of the society, has incentivised education loans in the budget. At a time when number of suicides by students and youth is increasing, the government has made no attempt to waive off education loan for students. Allotment for Maulana Azad National Fellowship meant for students from minority religious backgrounds have been slashed.
The need of revamping the public health system has also been completely ignored by the Finance Minister. The burning reality of massive inflation and reducing wages have also been summarily dismissed in the budget speech.
A mere lip service has been provided to the middle class in terms of marginal tax benefit to the earning group of Rs 3 to 10 lakhs annual income. No concession has been given to the vast majority of indirect tax payers.
To summarise, the Union Budget 2024 has refused to listen to the plight of India’s suffering working class, farmers, students and youth.
- Central Committee, CPIML Liberation
