The finance minister’s frequent references to the “Amrit Kaal” — India’s 25-year-long lead-up to its first centenary of Independence in 2047 — in her budget speech, frame, in no small measure, the government’s accomplishment of running the world’s largest welfare programme: Feeding 800 million in the country free or subsidised food. As a farmer, however, one hopes a better measure of accomplishment would have been the country not having to feed anyone for free because everyone can afford nutritious meals.
Times have been harsh and, with the pandemic adding to the severity of the situation, the youth in all parts of the country has been engulfed by anxiety. Over a fourth of the country’s youth are without employment and that is without even factoring in the disguised unemployment across rural India. After the farmers’ protest — globally the largest and the longest — ratcheted up pressure on the government, students are now agitating for jobs. It seems that an era of mass protests is beginning. The finance ministry has lost its appetite for bold announcements and the government, overly influenced by foreign consultants and businesses, remains resolute in falsely assuming that a trickle-down economy will solve the problem. Unemployment remains the biggest challenge faced by the country. It is like a powder-keg waiting to go off.
There is much more at stake though. Inflation has raised its head and the emerging picture is frightening. People will only be able to afford less nutritious food, poor households will see their savings dwindle, medical treatment will be deferred, more food will be cooked by burning wood, and education degrees will lose their relevance. That will be India adjusting to a new normal. The illusion of PM KISAN is unravelling in the villages — the monthly dole of Rs 500, limited to the landowning classes, does not even cover the rise in gas cylinder prices, two-wheeler fuel costs, the hike in tractor diesel prices, or healthcare and education costs that have shot up multiple times. It’s quite possible that in Budget 2023, a year before the parliamentary elections, the government will double the PM KISAN amount to Rs 1,000.
This year, at least, the finance minister did not fall for electoral populism. Arguably, the backlog of problems received by Nirmala Sitharaman left her with little room to manoeuvre. The rising global fuel and fertiliser prices have forced tougher choices upon the nation.
