Interest of NE, violence-hit Manipur ignored
Source: Chronicle News Service / Prof Chinglen Maisnam

Imphal, February 01 2024: The interim union budget for 2024-25, placed in the parliament by finance minister on Thursday is seen as a temporary financial plan during an election year, aimed at meeting immediate financial requirements before a new government is formed.

The interim budget highlighted four major areas of focus for the government: poverty, youth, women and farmers.

"Their needs, their aspirations and their welfare are our highest priorities".

The budget has ensured that fiscal discipline is maintained even as the focus on capital expenditure and welfare programmes continues in the coming financial year.

Presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25, the finance minister said that the fiscal deficit would be lowered further to 5.1% in the next fiscal.

The budget figures, however, reveal the squeezing of expenditures in order to reduce the fiscal deficit.

The squeezing of expenditures has fallen on outlays on welfare schemes as well as on capital expenditure.

Expenditures on Agriculture & Allied Activities, Education, Health, Social Welfare, and schemes like the PM Krishi Sinchai Yojna and Umbrella Schemes for SCs, STs and other groups have been kept below budgeted levels.

The revised expenditures on PM Awas Yojna, PM Gram Sadak Yojna, and PM Poshan are not only lower than budgeted, they are even less than the expenditures in 2022-23.Schemes specifically for women and children have also seen a reduction on both counts.

This lower spending in 2023-24 than in 2022-23 has also encompassed heads that include Fertilizer and Food Subsidies, MNREGA and Urban Development.

It is significant that there is no mention of the MGNREGS, which has significant number of women beneficiaries, in the speech.

The actual allocations where the budgetary estimate for 2024-25 is the same as that of the revised estimate of 2023-24, and about 5 percent lower than the actual expenditure of 2022-23.Food subsidies have seen a cut of Rs 60,470 crore in between 2022-23 and 2023-24 while fertilizer subsides have come down by Rs 62,445 crore.

Rural Development expenditures and Transfers to States have remained nearly stagnant, implying a reduction in real terms.

The states are further squeezed as the loans given for capital expenditures are of a much lower amount than the loans given earlier in lieu of GST compensation.

This interim budget makes no announcements about immediate relief for the people of violence-hit Manipur.

No major recovery plans have been announced for Manipur which badly needs huge fiscal package amid the current explosive situation.

The relief and resettlement of displaced people of the state must also be the key priority for the budget.

It does not reflect any seriousness to address the worsening economic crisis of violence-hit Manipur.

The finance minister while talking about the rising economy of the country avoided any mention of the larger interest of the northeast and Manipur.

Hope that the budget will bring some relief to the NER in general and violence hit Manipur in particular.

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