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Uneventful & a missed opportunity

Finance minister P Chidambaram?s Union Budget for 2013-14 has been largely uneventful. Given the fact that this year’s Budget comes against the backdrop of the slowest economic growth in a decade, the finance minister has missed the opportunity to give that much-needed booster dose for growth.

Finance minister P Chidambaram?s Union Budget for 2013-14 has been largely uneventful. Given the fact that this year’s Budget comes against the backdrop of the slowest economic growth in a decade, the finance minister has missed the opportunity to give that much-needed booster dose for growth.

There have been some feel-good moves in the form of special schemes for three key sections of society ? women, youth and the poor ? in addition to greater thrust on infrastructure and higher spends on food security. I am also happy with the government?s continued focus on rural India. The decision to extend the interest subvention scheme for short-term crop loans and higher allocation for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme are big positives that would surely go a long way in putting more money in rural pockets and improving their standards of living. This would, in turn, ensure continued rural demand.

However, the lost opportunities far outweigh the positives. While steps like R2,000 relief to taxpayers in the R2-5 lakh bracket and R1 lakh additional relief on home loans of up to R25 lakh would put more disposable income ? howsoever little ? in the pockets of the common man, these were much below expectations.

Given the continued inflation, there is very little real relief and cheer for the common man.

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First published on: 01-03-2013 at 05:01 IST
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