The Hindu : National : Chidambaram “half-hearted” in carrying out CMP

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Chidambaram “half-hearted” in carrying out CMP

Special Correspondent

“Allocation for welfare schemes inadequate”
“Buoyancy in taxes due to growth in manufacturing”

CHENNAI: It is an ‘atypical’ budget of Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, as he has half-heartedly carried out the National Common Minimum Programme, Professor of Economics Venkatesh Athreya said on Tuesday.

Delivering a special address on ‘Budget, a view,’ organised by the Indian School of Social Sciences here, he said: “For the first time in the last four years, Mr. Chidambaram has been forced to respond to the National Common Minimum Programme. The waiver of farm loans was also suggested by the Left parties in their memoranda. The Left must get the credit. In the last three-four years, he has not given any major concession to the corporate sector, and this year, he has not touched it.”

“Electoral budget”

Refusing to call it a ‘Communist’ budget, Mr. Athreya said: “It could be easily referred to as an ‘electoral’ budget. Any economic policy is bound to have different sets of impact on different societies. When some concession is given to a particular sector, then everyone calls it a populist budget.”

Dr. Athreya felt that the money provided for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Integrated Child Development Services, health and education was inadequate.

“Very little thrust”

“For the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, he has allocated Rs.16,000 crore and said more would be provided as and when the demand arises. If that is the case, what happens to the budget? The allocation under the Integrated Child Development Services is far from needed, and the health sector is given only 15 per cent more than the previous year. Very little thrust is laid on infrastructure and agriculture. Mr. Chidambaram should have been bolder and spent more,” he said.

He attributed the buoyancy in taxes to the growth in manufacturing, and not to the change in the rate of taxes or the growth in compliance.

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