Lip service to Indian education

The Union Budget presented to Parliament lacks clear thrust and direction. It’s replete with obfuscations and populist giveaways and glosses over inadequate funding for infrastructure and India’s abundant human capital. It’s unlikely to deliver growth, inclusivity or sustainable development. Dilip Thakore reports Preceded with great expectations and hype with television news anchors edgy with excitement, the Union Budget 2013-14 — the last full budget of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II) government — presented to Parliament and the people by finance minister P. Chidambaram on February 28 just a month ago — seems like a faded dream. Although a “simple, straightforward and reasonably short” budget speech was promised, by the end of the 95-minute exercise the finance minister, whose star is riding high within the Congress party bedeviled by runaway corruption and unapologetic nepotism which are likely to cost it dear in the General Election scheduled for next summer (2014) , none of these objectives was achieved. The Union Budget 2013-14, whose goal as articulated by Chidambaram was “higher growth leading to inclusive and sustainable development”, is neither simple nor straightforward. On the contrary it lacks clear thrust and direction, is replete with obfuscations and populist giveaways, and glosses over inadequate funding for infrastructure and human capital development. It’s unlikely to deliver higher growth, inclusivity or sustainable development. If one ignores the jokey comments plastered all over the dailies and ephemeral commentaries of the talking heads of television, and reads Chidambaram’s latest budget speech — fine print spread over two pages in the pink papers — it becomes clear that its prime objectives are to maintain subsidies in the pre-election year and rein in the fiscal deficit to prevent a meltdown of the rupee, which will shoot up the country’s import bill and high current account deficit (imports minus exports) and usher in an era of hyper-inflation. Therefore considerable financial jugglery and sleight of hand have been done to maintain the fiscal deficit this year at 5.2 percent of GDP and reduce it to 4.8 percent next year. To show this is possible, Budget 2013-14 projects that revenue receipts (mainly direct and indirect taxes) will rise by 19 percent to Rs.10.56 lakh crore. Capital receipts (to fund infrastructure and plan expenditure) — mainly through market borrowings of Rs.5.5 lakh crore —  are expected to rise by 10.5 percent to Rs.6.08 lakh crore to fund the total budget expenditure of Rs.16.65 lakh crore  ($306 billion).     On a careful reading of these numbers, it becomes quite obvious the expectation of garnering revenue receipts of Rs.10.56 lakh crore is built on shaky premises, if not wishful thinking. For one, it’s doubtful whether economic growth of 6.1-6.7 percent which is necessary for revenue receipts to increase by 19 percent, is possible. In 2012-13, revenue receipts fell short of the budgeted Rs.9.35 lakh crore by 7 percent to Rs.8.71 lakh crore. Despite Chidambaram’s platitudes to the effect that “doing business in India must be seen as easy, friendly and mutually beneficial”, his Budget speech didn’t…