Budget disappointing, says YSRCP

Terming the union budget for 2013-14 as disappointing, YSR Congress has said the insight suggests that hard days are ahead as UPA II seems to have given up all efforts to revitalise the economy and failed to raise any new hopes.

“The Finance Minister hinting at imports of coal and gas only suggest that there would be more hike in power tariff which also leads to unemployment, “senior leader DA Somayajulu told reporters here on Thursday.

The budget has nothing to look forward to and does not give rise to any new hopes though it has made some symbolic gestures of increasing facilities to certain sections while in reality the governance is marred by indecisiveness and the economic activity is badly hit by policy paralysis.

The fiscal deficit /GDP ratio is pegged at 5.2 per cent, major portion of it has been used to fill the revenue deficit instead of creating capital assets. The current account expenditure which the government has indicated, is well above the permissible mark. This is a sign of panic, he said.

There was no proper mention on agriculture in the budget but for some symbolic gesture to Northeast. While Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal put together produce the major share of paddy and farmers here are in distress, there was no mention of any scheme to provide them succor. Though 18 per cent of the total loans should be given to agriculture as per RBI directive the Finance Minister had juggled the figures in this aspect, he said.

The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme too is based on some assumptions and not on definite terms, he said

Farmers were expecting waiver of loans or interest but the Chidambaram budget went ahead on the premise that all is well in the agriculture sector though the reality is otherwise.

With coal and other mining activity coming to a standstill and the government, afraid of scams, not giving the nod for exploration it has decided to import coal which will increase our deficit and increase unemployment.

The generalised view that the economic growth has slowed down worldwide is a fallacy as we cannot compare our economy with that of developed countries as budget vis-à-vis population would be very different.

While China, having manifold earnings through exports, could sustain a healthy growth rate, our performance has been degrading as there was indecisiveness at the highest level. The Prime Minister, he said, is acting like a referee instead of leading from the front and taking proactive decisions.

The only silver lining is the return of the industrial allowance.

The budget as a whole is utterly disappointing as it does not raise the hope of rejuvenating the economy, he said.

On the vibrant part of economy, he said capital vs loan ratio which fell from 101:100 to 43:100 during Chandrababu Naidu term was back to 135:100 when YSR was Chief Minister as there was heavy economic activity, he said.