Cover Story
Union Budget 2015-16:
Tipping the Scales?
by Nada Faruqi [Aligarh Muslim University]
28-Feb-2015. Union Budget 2015-16 was
presented amidst fervent hopes tempered with
diverse insecurities. The BJP having swept to polls
last year largely on the 'Development' card, the
common man hoped not to be taken for a casual
ride this time. While the opposition cried the 'procorporate, anti-poor' rhetoric, Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley was found promoting the round-theclock, round-the-year government narrative. "The
credibility of the Indian economy has been reestablished, the world is predicting that it's India's
chance to fly," avowed Mr. Jaitley. With the many
benefits to middle-class taxpayers such as the
increase in the limit of deduction of health
insurance premium, the increase in the deduction
limit towards the expenditure with respect to
specified diseases of serious nature in case of very
senior citizens, additional deduction for differentlyabled persons, service-tax exemption on Varishtha
Bima Yojana; FM might have managed to generate
m a ny a s m i l e b u t s u r e l y n o t d e vo i d o f
apprehensions. The hike in service tax and
education cess, with the reduction in corporate tax
served as differently seasoned morsels of a
seemingly fine dish. The safety net for the
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vulnerable sections of the society in the form of
three insurance schemes– Pradhan Mantri Suraksha
Bima Yojana which will cover accidental death
insurance, Atal Pension Yojana, a contributory
pension scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan
Jyoti Bima Yojana to provide natural and accidental
death insurance were hailed but criticized mainly
on the grounds of being too far-fetched for the poor.
Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan also
pushed for the enactment of a 'universal pension
scheme' to ensure "true social security" (The Hindu,
1st March, 2015). The additional surcharge to be
levied on the rich taxpayers is a fine move towards
striking a balance. A stringent law for black-money
hoarders and the proposed Indian Financial Code
were good pointers, notwithstanding the fact that
making of laws is one thing in India and
implementation is another. In a bid to "cut overseas
gold demand”, Gold Monetisation Scheme has
been proposed by Mr. Jaitley. This will indeed be a
game-changer as has been promised, if done with
all seriousness and intent. Also, the NDA
government has surprisingly allocated funds to the
already existing schemes such as MGNREGA that
were being dubbed as 'baggage' of the UPA