The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Budget 2004-05

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Saturday, Jul 10, 2004

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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Budget 2004-05

Budget 2004-05

Sir, — The Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, has done a commendable job in giving a fillip to the agricultural sector with a programme to revive thousands of water-bodies all over the country. Other incentives such as making tractors cheaper and according farmers easy access to rural credit are also welcome. The salaried class may not have much to cheer about but those with income up to Rs. 1 lakh do not have to pay tax.

The budget is pro-farmer, pro-poor, two sections long neglected by the National Democratic Alliance which focussed on just a few sections. The irrational behaviour of the Sensex on a small turnover tax of 0.15 per cent is strange. We cannot have a `please-all budget'.

D.B.N. Murthy,
Bangalore

Sir, — Mr. Chidambaram has rightly sowed the seeds for agricultural development. But the absence of incentives for small savings is a big disappointment. It does not need any research to know that a majority of the population fall in the category of small savings. However, it is not too late for the Minister to reconsider his decision.

R. Rajalakshmi,
Bangalore

Sir, — It is heartening to see the emphasis on agricultural infrastructure promised in the Common Minimum Programme being attempted. But one wonders why the Minister failed to tax the rich farmers?

Chandrasekar. K,
Chennai

Sir, — It is good to see more allocation of funds for the agriculture and health sectors.

C. Jaswanth,
Hyderabad

Sir, — The proposal to disallow offsetting a business loss against income from salary is not good. Today, a lot of women take up distributorships or other such ventures to supplement their salary. It needs a lot of hard work and discipline. This is done mainly to overcome the uncertainty of employment in a regime of hire and fire. This proposal in one stroke discourages such initiatives.

R. Shreelakshmi,
Chennai

Sir, — Sadly, there is no relief for the differently-abled persons, most of whom belong to the lower income group.

N.S. Venkataraman,
Chennai

Sir, — It is an attempt to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

Anuj Pachauri,
New Delhi

Sir, — The seemingly pro-poor budget is more form than content. It has not favoured the direct tax payers. It has only added to their misery by adding a cess.

K.R.A. Narasiah,
Chennai

Sir, — The limits for exemptions in allowances under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act such as a transport allowance of Rs.800 a month or the monthly education allowance of Rs.100 are old measures that needed to be revised.

G. Kannan,
Bangalore

Sir, — Once again, this annual ritual has turned out to be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. No prizes for guessing who is the unfortunate Peter and who the fortunate Paul.

Krishnan V.D.G.,
Chennai

Sir, — The raising of the FDI caps in the insurance, telecom and civil aviation sectors is in tune with the economic reforms.

T.V. Shivananda,
Koppa, Karnataka

Sir, — The CENVAT exemption for the handloom and powerloom sectors is a great solace to the weavers.

V. Pandy,
Tuticorin, T.N.

Sir, — The general public should feel satisfied that the budget has managed to project a balanced outlook without sacrificing growth prospects.

R. Madhavan,
Salem, T.N.

Sir, — The Rs. 3,225-crore gift to Bihar is disappointing. In the present scenario, Andhra Pradesh should have got it.

Gaurav Dua,
New Delhi

Sir, — Be it the NDA or the UPA, Yashwant Sinha or P. Chidambaram, the common man always gets a raw deal in the budget.

A. Venkataraman,
Chennai

Sir, — A fairly good job considering that Mr. Chidambaram had to accommodate the CMP, the aspirations of the middle class and senior citizens besides the UPA allies' demands.

V.S. Ganeshan,
Bangalore

Sir, — Mr. Chidambaram's statement in his budget speech that Verdict 2004 was for the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, is shocking.

Her party won just 145 seats in the 543-member House and even the alliances with friendly parties did not bring this near the halfway mark.

K.R.P. Gupta,
Mumbai

Sir, — The exemption of excise duty on computers is a welcome step.

S.N. Thiruvazhiode,
Kochi, Kerala

Sir, — Kudos to Mr. Chidambaram for announcing a desalination plant in Chennai and for increasing to 9 per cent the interest rate for senior citizens.

G. Purushothaman,
Tirunelveli, T.N.

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