The Hindu : National : It was Amartya Sen this time

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Tuesday, Mar 01, 2005

National

National

It was Amartya Sen this time

NEW DELHI, FEB. 28. Nine months into the harsh realities of running the Finance Ministry appears to have taken its toll on P. Chidambaram for, unlike last year, he was today neither poetic nor sentimental while presenting Budget 2005-06.

The man who hit the headlines with his "Main Hoon Na" [I am there] dialogue appeared more business-like this year and, instead of English novelist Charles Dickens, chose to quote noted economist and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.

``My redemption lies in good deeds and not in good words,'' he had said last year comparing himself to Pip, the protagonist of Dickens' Great Expectations.

However, this year, he appeared more realistic quoting Mr. Sen: ``Growth of GNP or of individual incomes, can, of course, be very important as means to expanding the freedoms enjoyed by members of society. But freedoms depend also on other determinants, such as social and economic arrangements [for example, facilities for education and health care] as well as political and civil rights."

Kudos from wife

Opposition parties may have criticised his Budget as ``uninspiring'' and ``directionless,'' but Mr. Chidambaram's efforts have got the thumbs up from his better half!

His wife Nalini today described the Union Budget 2005-06 as ``helpful'' and praised him for including gender budgeting.

``I am quite satisfied with it. I think the proposals will be very helpful,'' she told reporters outside Parliament immediately after her husband completed the presentation of the Budget.

Ms. Nalini said the overhauled tax structure was ``much easier [to understand] and I hope people will be happy with it.''

``A gender basis has also been given to the Budget which is good,'' she added.

— PTI

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