UNION BUDGET 2017-18: TRANSFORMING,
TARGETED, TIMELY AND TOTALLY FOR EVERYONE
MITHILESH KUMAR SINHA | PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, Department of Economics, Nagaland
University, Lumami-798627, Email- [email protected]
PROLOGUE:
The need of the hour is to revitalize the critical
drivers of growth of private consumption and
investment, boost employment generation,
create new infrastructure and stabilize the
economy at a time of global turmoil.
The larger theme of Budget 17 has been that of
calculated restraint and measured balance. In
line with its focus on transforming, energizing
and cleaning India, it saw measures being
announced to benefit farmers and the weaker
sections. But divided opinions naturally
emerged in print media as well as electronic
media. Some remarked it as a relatively regular
budget and not many changes on the revenue
side in it. There are no big bang reforms in it;
sloganeering budget; useless, baseless, mission
less, actionless, heartless; full of jargon and
window dressing; nothing for farmers; and
conservative budget. Many recent analyses
have liked the budget as a policy document that
signals to the public the progress that the
government has made keeping an eye on the
future. They coined it as prudent in practice;
sustainable, cheering for the common man and
market punter; a balance between social,
spending and CapEx; reviver of consumption and
productivity; controller of expenditure and
public investment booster for local
manufacturing; pro-Bharat; speed button for
digital push; a generator of employment
opportunities, and a path-breaking budget.
Now it becomes pertinent to evaluate and assess
Economic Challenger// ISSN 0975-1351/ April.-June, 2017
whether the budget is a game changer of
development or just conservative. For keeping
this view in the study, the paper is designed in
three sections. Section I reveals Budget
Mathematics. Section II examines the impact of
Budget on different sectors, and the last part
contains epiloge.
I
By focusing on growth and stability, the Budget
has surprised many. Although not a big game-
changer, the Budget offers relief to rural
segment and the middle class, which has been at
the receiving end in recent times. Higher
agriculture focus, boost to infrastructure as well
as affordable housing, and more money in the
hands of people, should help push up economic
growth and consumption.
TAXED THE RICH, GIVEN TO THE POOR
In the 2013-14 Union Budget, the then Finance
Minister P Chidambaram, for the first time,
coined and defined India's super rich- a person
with an income of over `1 crore. And, he imposed
a surcharge of 10 per cent on these individuals.
Four years later, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,
has created a new segment of taxpayers in the
Union Budget 2017-18- the rich - ones with an
income of `50 lakh-1 crore and imposed a
surcharge of 10 per cent of taxpayers with an
income of `1 crore and more, currently, paying a
surcharge of 15 per cent. That is not all. Several
other measures are targeting high-value
properties, purportedly, targeting the same
Union Budget 2017-18
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