100 Days of Modi Sarkar – Day 48

Day 48 of Modi Sarkar
Modi Sarkar - Day 48

Modi Sarkar Work - Day 48

There have been several positive aspects of the initial budget presented by the National Democratic Alliance government and this can be understood from the way people have reacted to the same. The salaried class is especially happy with the increase in the tax exemption limit from INR 2 lakh in a year to INR 2.5 lakh. The retired professionals are appreciative of the fact that their pensions have increased by some degree thus providing them some additional financial comfort in a phase where they need it the most.

Indian economy could improve thanks to budget, says business fraternity

The business fraternity of India feels that there are signs that the Indian economy is back on the road to recovery, thanks to the amount of increase shown by industrial production during May 2014. The companies are also saying that the budget will also play a major role in the same. According to them, the government has created some strong policies, which if followed properly, could lead India to bounce back especially from the point of view of economy. The best thing about this scenario is that in April 2014 too, there had been a commendable increase in the levels of industrial production.

While this will be music to the ears of many there are some questions that need to be asked here. The first one is regarding a one-dimensional approach of the Indian business fraternity that never takes into account the dominant sector of Indian economy – agriculture – while making predictions about the same. Secondly, while it cannot be denied that the new budget has made a decent beginning of sorts, it can also not be denied that it does not really offer a lot by way of new thought. The prescribed measures are all about restricting further downslide and not necessarily about growth or increase in levels of income for people. This can be understood from the fact that not many jobs have been created.

Brokerage firms laud union budget 2014-15

As has been the case with the remainder of the business fraternity of India, brokerage firms have joined in the list of ones singing praise of the new budget. They feel that with this budget the Indian government has tried to provide a proper direction to the economy and also tried to deal with financial constraints, which in the post recession phase have assumed serious proportions. This reaction from the brokerage companies is a tad ironic considering the fact that the stock markets have not done well after the union budget was presented.

In the union budget the administration has focused on areas such as fiscal consolidation as well as critical sectors such as manufacturing, which has the potential to be a major wage earner for a majority of the skilled yet lowly paid workers in India. There are certain indications regarding tax administration that have been seen as positive by the firms and they feel that the outlook right now seems to be a good one.

Indians still stuck in Iraq

It was only a couple of days back that the chief minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, had praised the work being done by the union external affairs ministry to pull out Indians from Iraq. However, it seems that India’s issues regarding its citizens being stuck in strife-stricken Iraq are far from being over. Anurag Thakur, a BJP MP, has informed Sushma Swaraj that 28 more people from India are still at Iraq and 6 of these people are from Himachal Pradesh.

The MP from Hamirpur has in fact asked the external affairs minister of India to make sure that those people be evacuated safely from there. He has also, in his letter, provided the details of the people he is talking about. While the role being played by the Indian government cannot be questioned at least in this particular context, one wonders why are there no arrangements for increasing awareness and knowledge among people who are venturing into areas, which are prone to frequent disturbances, for earning their much needed livelihood. This also reflects the sad state of affairs in India especially with regards to jobs especially by the way people have to leave their homes and country to work in a basic job since their government or system cannot provide them what they need.

Mayawati critiques 2014-15 budget, says it is against poor

It is very rare that you are able to please everyone with everything that you do, and from the looks of it NDA has not been able to win over its political opponents with the 2014-15 budget.

The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and present head of Bahujan Samaj Party, Mayavati has stated that the budget is against the poor. She has opined that NDA ascended to power with a promise to usher in better days for the common people but have now shown the first traces of their true character through the budget. According to the prominent leader, who has been in the news in the past for supposed financial misappropriation, the budget is only going to help the rich amass more wealth while the poor are left to suffer and become even more impoverished.

Union Health Minister says tobacco farmers could increase their income

After the substantial increase in prices of cigarettes there have been some rather divergent reactions. Doctors and health conscious people are happy with this since it will restrict the amount of smoking among common people, especially among children and teenagers. Smokers, especially ones who subsisted on the low-priced packs, are now lamenting at how one option of relaxation is gone for them. However, from a more practical point of view it is being thought that the tobacco farmers are going to have a hard time of it since the lack of demand owing to high prices could act as impediment for their production.

However, Harsh Vardhan believes this will actually help these farmers to increase their income and thus free themselves from the grips of money lenders. A well-known group has recently carried out a scientific research that shows that there are a number of substitutes when it comes to production of tobacco. As per the union health minister the government is ready to share this information with states that grow tobacco as well as related entities. He has said that sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, mustard and pepper can be taken up in land being used for tobacco cultivation.

One important question that needs to be asked in this context is that will the demand of any of these crops match that of tobacco and will the sales be the same considering the fact that in India more people are into unhealthy dietary habits than into healthier options such as fruits and vegetables.

Economic indicators

Indicators Value Rise/Fall
SENSEX 25024.35 -348.40
NIFTY 7459.60 -108.15
Rupee/Dollar 59.93 -0.26
Gold 28,320.00 -176.00
Silver 46,015.00 -227.00
Crude oil 6,069.00 -111.00

Read More:

One Year of Modi Sarkar
Top Programmes Launched by Modi 
Pradhan Mantri Yojana
Narendra Modi