Dear Indians,
This is not a review. This is my first, rather second article. I guess some of you must have gone through my first article in which I spoke out against the Governments that have been ruling India for the past 57 years and exploiting its wealth and resources as much, or maybe more than the British actually did.
My second article focuses on the Budget that is presented every year on 28th February, by the Finance Minister of the Ruling Party. Lately, I noticed that this event has been given undue importance by the media and all the news channels. Almost a month before the budget, the news channels start discussing, rather call that gossiping, with the CEO’s of the TOP companies belonging to various sectors like Automobiles, Steel, Chemicals, Insurance, Banking and so on. They keep talking about how the Budget can enhance the growth prospects of that sector in the days to come. They keep talking about economy, the stock market, the GDP, Tax Net and countless other jargons that make sense to very few people. In simple words, every channel becomes the Loudspeaker though which Industries declare their Wish Lists.
Once the wish lists are prepared, they go about the futile exercise of analyzing which of these might get fulfilled in the forthcoming Budget. It used to be interesting in the past when there were very few channels dedicated to news. But now every other channel has some expert speaking something or the other about the Budget. Why has the budget got hyped up so much? I began to wonder in surprise.
I began to think.
What the Budget tells:
The budget is the official announcement by the Government about the income and expenditure calculations resulting out of the various policies and measures that are going to be implemented in the year ahead. It talks about the present and the future. It talks about fund allocation for the various ministries like Defence, Health, Agriculture, Education and so on.
What the Budget doesn’t tell:
The budget conveniently ignores the mistakes of the past and shows us some pleasant dreams of the present and the future. The budget is not what it should be. It has become some sort of eyewash that the Government is using to fool the people, with the media as the accomplice. Let me explain.
In every budget, the Finance Minister gives some interesting statistics to prove that India is shining. For example, he quotes the Literacy Rate, Industrial Output, the Foreign Direct Investment, and Foreign Exchange Reserves. We feel great because the jump in numbers is quite significant compared to previous years. It is this sweet talk that distracts us and deviates our attention from the burning issues like Poverty, Unemployment, Health, Infrastructure, and Corruption. Sadly, statistics of these issues are rarely mentioned in any of the sentences that they keep mumbling through the whole session.
The finance minister then goes about the usual routine of announcing measures to reduce fiscal deficit (fiscal = money, deficit = shortage). The middle class mostly bears the brunt of these measures since commodities get taxed, all kinds of income gets taxed. In the recent budget, we saw the FM announcing a 2% cess on income tax to fund the education policy. He never mentioned a thing about how this money will be used in improving education.
Then, the FM makes ministry specific announcements, like how much money each of them are going to be allocated. It’s no hidden fact that most of the departments are already bloated with too many people doing too less work. Funds ranging in several thousand crores are allotted for the ministries. A very brief explanation is given as to what they would be doing with all that money.
The FM also mentions some new policies and rules that are supposed to be effective in increasing productivity, attracting investment, reducing bureaucratic hurdles, curbing corruption, and so on. Its another issue altogether that many of these policies never get implemented, some due to the lack of funds and some due to the lack of consensus among the Parliament members.
What the Budget Should Tell People:
We, as honest, tax paying middle class people don’t want any flashy dreams of India becoming a Superpower or outperforming China in growth and prosperity. We know it’s not easy. But why not show some transparency.
Why doesn’t the Budget include an analysis of how the money allocated to the various ministries was spent? Why not make each Cabinet Minister stand up and give detailed explanations about everything that they did with OUR hard earned money that fills the coffers and finally gets allocated to them.
That is when we will get a sense of relief and satisfaction that our money has been well spent. Every ministry must have an audit done at the end of the year to identify any swindling or siphoning of money. Every rupee spent must have a proof attached and there should be some independent agency investigating and checking to make sure the money has been used for the intended purpose.
Hence, the Budget should First and Foremost focus on understanding where things are going wrong and correct them before making new plans and trying to implement them without clarity and success. On The Big Fight (on NDTV24/7), the Communist representative was continuously trying to drive home one point: Tax the Rich and Distribute among the poor. This meant that the Government should play the role of Modern Day Robin Hood. What he did not understand, is that the Entire System is Flawed and Corrupt.
- Tax the rich: Rich people, industrialists who may have crores of rupees outstanding as income tax will try to evade it by doing the following: Imagine a rich guy Mr. X has 500 crores of tax to pay. He will meet up with the Top Income Tax Guy and make a deal. The deal is that Mr. X will pay 50 crores of tax, and 5 crores bribe to the IT person to get his sheet clean. Deal done, both are happy. Who is the loser? The people. Why does it happen? Let’s see.
Hey people, since my review crossed 10000 characters, I am splitting it into two halves, each of 5000 words. This is the first half. Second half coming up soon!! Lots more information and insight to come. Watch out for Part II : Taking you behind the Mumbo-Jumbo!.