Union Budget 2021: Hours just after Sitharaman presented Budget 2021, the Congress stated that the spending budget was a let-down like never ever ahead of. Sitharaman had earlier stated that this year’s spending budget would be like never ever ahead of. However, the Congress party stated that her spending budget failed on 9 of 10 points recommended by it on January 28. Addressing a press conference, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram stated that the improve in cess on petrol and diesel have been a cruel act on poor and farmers. He stated it was a vengeful act against the thousands of farmers who took out the biggest tractor rally in history. “It is also a cruel blow to federalism because states do not get a share in the revenue from cesses,” he stated.
Chidambaram additional stated that Sitharaman did not mention Defence at all “as if Chinese had vacated Indian territory”. “She did not mention that defence expenditure in 2021-22 will see no rise. It is flat at Rs 3,47,088 crore, almost the same as Rs 3, 43, 822 crore in the current year,” he stated. On healthcare, he stated, the finance minister gave out a thoughts boggling figure of Rs 2, 23, 846 crore for wellness. “It was a conjuring trick. She added the one time cost of vaccination Rs 35,000 crore and the Finance Commission grants amounting to Rs 19, 214 crore. She also included allocations to the department of water and sanitation. Shorn of these add ons, the allocation for health was Rs 72,934 crore in 2020-21, and Rs 79, 602 crore in 2021-22,” he stated, adding that offered inflation, the improve is virtually nil. “What kind of additional healthcare infrastructure can be built with this parsimonious allocation,” he asked.
The former finance minister additional stated that on two non-negotiables that the Congress had described, namely healthcare and defence, the government has failed miserably. He stated fiscal numbers show that the fiscal predicament was in a mess. He also stated that the income deficit 7.5 per cent and fiscal deficit 9.5 per cent in present year have exceeded every single prediction which includes the government’s. “In 2021-22, the government estimates it will borrow about Rs 3.42 lakh crore less but nobody is willing to believe the government. The borrowing number has been understated by assuming that there will be disinvestment revenue of Rs 1.75 lakh crore. The record of this government on disinvestment is poor,” Chidambaram stated. The senior congress leader additional stated that income deficit 5.1 per cent and fiscal deficit 6.8 per cent numbers for 2021-22 will send alarm signals to the rest of the planet, specially the investors and international lenders.
On allocation to the agri sector, Chidambaram stated that the farm sector had been quick changed. “The budget allocation for agriculture and allied activities has been reduced from Rs 1,55, 775 crore in the BE (Budget Estimate) of current year to Rs 1,48, 301 crore in the BE of next year. Budget allocation for PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi has been reduced from Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 65,000 crore,” he stated. The former union minister also stated that the MSME sector was dismissed in one sentence with allocation of Rs 15,700 crore. He stated practically nothing was described about low interest loans, working capital or moratorium and practically nothing will be completed to revive closed units or to recover millions of jobs that have been lost. “The budget was a let down like never before – it is not a budget like never before but it is let down like never before,” Chidambaram stated.