Budget session: Modi govt set to face Adani, BBC docu bouncers
With election season round the corner, political considerations will occupy centrestage during the budget session with opposition parties trying to pin BJP on various issues
While expectations from the 2023-24 Budget are high since it comes ahead of nine assembly elections this year and Lok Sabha election next year, the opposition is gearing up to fire pointed barbs at the Narendra Modi government over the Adani-Hindenburg tussle and its impact on LIC and public sector banks; banning of the BBC documentary on Gujarat riots; security lapses during Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra; renaming of the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Mughal Garden; growing unemployment; and, steep rise in prices that is eroding the purchasing power of the poor.
President Draupadi Murmu is scheduled to address the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Tuesday and the Union Budget for 2023-24 is to be presented in Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday.
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The Budget, Economic Survey and the President’s Address are likely to be overshadowed by vote-catching political issues that range from more subsidies for farmers, higher GST revenue share demands, reservation for women in Parliament, caste census, old pension scheme and more community-based reservation. The other political priorities are local issues in states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where assembly elections are due.
Expected allocations
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to provide tax breaks for the salaried middle-class that has been complaining about erosion of purchasing power due to high inflation sparked off by the Ukraine-Russia war. Hawkers, small-scale units and medium-sized industries that suffered during the Covid-19 lockdown were provided with options to reschedule loans and avail fresh loans to re-start business operations while farmers are being provided with higher fertilizer subsidy due to skyrocketing international prices, in addition to Rs 6,000 per annum of direct cash transfer to supplement their income.
Food subsidy for the poor has also been revamped from the beginning of this year to provide relief to below-poverty line (BPL) families while employment guarantee remains the prime supplement for supporting the rural poor. Budget allocations for these schemes are expected to go up and the finance minister has been tasked with finding the extra resources needed for the social sector.
Global impact on economy
The Economic Survey is likely to provide a 360-degree picture of the economy’s revival after the Covid-19 slump and indicate the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war that has resulted in energy and food prices going up globally.
Dr Venkatramanan Anantha Nageswaran, the Chief Economic Advisor, has moulded the Economic Survey in a slightly different style from his predecessor, Dr Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian, top government sources said.
The survey is expected to bring out the international economic scenario that looms large over India’s economic prospects despite all the efforts to boost indigenous manufacturing. Recession in the US and Europe, slowdown in China, and severe economic crisis in a number of Asian, South American and African countries are important aspects that the survey is likely to shed light on in terms of impact on the economic roadmap for the coming years, they added. Keeping in mind the current complexity, Sitharaman is expected to lay down her blueprint for long-term growth of the Indian economy despite international shocks.
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The much-awaited unveiling of the new Parliament complex is not happening at this point as the President’s Address is all set to happen at the usual venue of Central Hall.
The Budget Session is scheduled to continue till April 6, with a recess from February 14 to March 12. Therefore, the government has enough time for opening of the new Parliament complex with a symbolic event during the Budget session, official sources explained. Top decision-makers are yet to take a call on this issue, they added.
War of words
Modi government’s senior ministers are confident of taking on the opposition and scoring big with the 2023 Budget. Just a day before the Budget session, LIC issued a statement saying that its holding in Adani Group constitutes less than 1 per cent of their total holdings. Similar is the position of public sector banks in terms of exposure to the Adani Group and we are ready to field all queries on the allegations of Hindenburg, they stressed.
On the BBC documentary controversy, senior BJP leaders feel it will ultimately go in their favour. These (Gujarat riots) are issues that were discussed in Parliament on several occasions, they said.
Regional issues
Regional parties are planning to take up specific issues related to their home states. The DMK, for example, is planning to hit out at the Centre for not setting up the promised AIIMS Hospital in Madurai, while the AIADMK is planning to demand protection for Tamil Nadu fishermen who face frequent attacks by the Sri Lankan navy.
“We want to ask them how long it will take to build the Madurai AIIMS and they should give time to discuss all contentious issues in detail,” DMK parliamentary party leader T R Baalu said.
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“All steps should be taken to protect the livelihood of Tamil Nadu fishermen and we demand urgent steps from the Centre,” said M Tambi Durai, AIADMK’s parliamentary party leader.
The Cauvery issue, especially the plan to build a new dam at Mekedatu, is also expected to flare up in view of the impending assembly election in Karnataka.
