The hallmark of any government is its commitment to the poor. That being the case, there should be programmes to address the grievances of the marginalised.

The UPA government had so many such programmes, but unfortunately most of them are on the verge of abandonment, if the 2015 Budget proposals are an indication.

The Food Safety Programme is supposed to save millions from starvation and death. But now, nobody is sure about the continuation of that programme and similar others.

Better placed

In fact, the BJP government is better placed to do more for welfare schemes, as oil prices have drastically come down. The Centre is now able to save crores of rupees in subsidy and could have used the funds to further strengthen welfare measures. When corporate tax was cut down, the common man should have been given the benefit of higher income tax ceiling, which unfortunately did not happen.

Each State in India has its own issues and priorities for growth and development and the Union Budget is supposed to be an effective means to address them. Sadly, Budget 2015 has not done so in the case of Kerala, which keenly looked forward to assistance to revive its crumbling rubber price, a boost for cash crop exports and support for other traditional sectors of the State.

The Budget is also a dampener for Kerala’s efforts to accelerate growth in the domain of higher education. We intended to transform the State into a hub for higher education and the granting of an AIIMS and IIT in this budget would have been great for the State. But this did not happen, even as we were completely ready with the required land for both these projects, as demanded by the Centre. The ₹1,000 crore earmarked for start-ups is a thing that we welcome.

(Chandy is CM of Kerala)

Related Topics