The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Budget has an eye on next elections’

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Sunday, Mar 02, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Budget has an eye on next elections’

Special Correspondent

‘Tilt towards agriculture is specific and bold’
‘Narrow focus on improving productivity’

Bangalore: R.S. Deshpande, Head of the Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Centre, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, sees the Union Budget as “looking towards the next elections.”

“The tilt towards agriculture is specific and bold,” he said. “The loan waiver scheme is a response to the persistent demand raised by farmers from across the country.”

However, he said, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram referred to the Report of the Expert Group on Agricultural Indebtedness, headed by Prof. R. Radakrishna, only in passing. The issue of “streamlining the credit delivery mechanism” or the fact that farmers have to borrow from the informal sector had not been factored into the plan to waive loan repayments by farmers. “The benefits are substantive, but not far-reaching,” he said.

The Finance Minister had focussed narrowly on improving productivity rather than ensuring that farming became a viable occupation for farmers. He described the allocation for mobile soil testing labs in 250 districts of the country as evidence of “misplaced priorities”.

He termed the increased allocations for education and health “positive, provided they reach the rural areas”. Prof. Deshpande said “it is wrong to say that industry has been ignored”. Only one segment of organised industry, the IT sector, had faced problems in recent months, mainly on account of the appreciation of the rupee.

He said the maintenance of status quo on the corporate tax rate, the fact that there had been no increase in surcharge and the benefits conferred on income tax assessees were all benefits that accrued to industry. “I do not see why they should complain.”

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