విహార యాత్రకు వెళ్లి వస్తుండగా ప్రమాదం.. ఆరుగురు మృతి హరియాణా కైతల్లో విషాద ఘటన చోటు చేసుకుంది. స్నేహితులంతా కలిసి విహార యాత్రకు వెళ్లి వస్తున్న క్రమంలో కారు అదుపు తప్పి లోయలో పడిపోయింది. ఈ దుర్ఘటనలో కారులోని ఆరుగురు అక్కడికక్కడే ప్రాణాలు కోల్పోయారు.
యువకుల మృతితో వారి కుటుంబాల్లో విషాదం అలుముకుంది. మరణించిన వారిలో ఒకరికి మూడు నెలల క్రితమే వివాహం జరినట్లు వెల్లడించారు కుటుంబ సభ్యులు.
ఆరుగురు స్నేహితులు విహారయాత్రకు వెళ్లి వస్తుండగా.. పుండరి ప్రాంతంలో కారు అదుపు తప్పి 40 అడుగుల లోతైన కాలువలో పడిపోయింది. సమాచారం అందుకున్న పోలీసులు ఘటనాస్థలానికి చేరుకుని దర్యాప్తు ప్రారంభించారు.
ఐదు మృతదేహాలు కారులోనే ఉన్నట్లు గుర్తించామని.. మరోకటి.. 50 అడుగుల దూరంలో పడి పోయినట్లు పోలీసులు తెలిపారు. పోగ మంచులో అతివేగంగా రావటం వల్ల ప్రమాదం జరిగి ఉండవచ్చని అనుమానిస్తున్నట్లు పేర్కొన్నారు. మృతదేహాలను శవ పరీక్ష తరలించినట్లు వెల్లడించారు.
ఇదీ చదవండి: 'ఆశల పద్దు' అందరిని ఆనంద పరిచేనా?
Intro:Body:
Summary: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her Budget on Saturday. Macroeconomist Renu Kohli explains how the budget did very little on the expectations and providing relief to the people.
Hyderabad: Against widespread expectations of responding to the slowdown, the budget does very little. In the end, a budget awaited most for some relief from an unrelenting slowdown turned out a disappointment, failing to meet expectations even half way.
Businesses and households had expected the budget would do something to help boost their spending power, even though it was broadly known that the government was struggling for resources to do so.
But despite an ingenious tiptoeing through deferring subsidy payments, extraordinary resource mobilization by mega public disinvestments next year, and recourse to the FRBM escape clause that provides for deviation of the fiscal deficit by 0.5% of GDP on some specified grounds, the budget was unable to provide much of a fiscal boost. It just about managed to avoid fiscal contraction; such is the position of the government’s balance sheet.
A key expectation of income taxpayers was a relief on the lines given earlier to corporates some months ago. The budget does that by reducing the tax rates on slabs of 5-7.5 lakhs, 7.5-10 lakhs, 10-12.5 lakhs, and 12.5 -15 lakhs to a respective 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% from an existing 15%, 20%, and 30%. This however is not a free lunch as it comes with strings attached.
Specifically, individual taxpayers have the option to choose the new rates by foregoing several exemptions and deductions, chief of which are those on allowances (e.g. housing rent, leave travel, and so on), interest on housing loans, etc. With respect to aggregate demand boost, this is unlikely to have an immediate impact as taxpayers will definitely be cautious and study the final impact upon their disposable incomes before exercising a choice.
The net outcome will therefore be known only after a long time; then too, the offsetting impact may not result in much tax savings even though the FM illustrated so with some examples. This leaves this measure aside as far as a clear or visible boost is concerned.
The Finance Minister emphasized upon trust, the veneration of wealth creators (i.e. businesses) and entrepreneurs. This appears a direct response to murmurs of ‘trust deficit’ that have gained ascendancy in past months due to many reasons; inter alia, the perceptions of private businesses about structural change, unmet expectations, a lack of clarity and unease about the direction of economic policies, and so on. This is also understood to have contributed to the undermining of business confidence, affecting economic activities.
Concrete measures in this regard are the institution of a taxpayers’ charter into the statutory law, extension of faceless assessment to dialogue, strengthening of the contract act, etc. Outcomes here will only be observed over time and through change in the overall business confidence and sentiments.
The budget makes some feeble attempts at job creation. For example, the urban local bodies will now offer internship opportunities to fresh engineering graduates. They are best placed to tell us how helpful this is!
Then, under the National Infrastructure Pipeline announced last December, a national project management agency will be set up to involve numerous nongovernment stakeholders to contribute their skills. Teachers, nurses, para medical staff and caregivers will be assisted to upgrade/meet overseas standards for exploiting employment opportunities abroad. That should cheer those desiring to migrate abroad for better economic opportunities!
Apart from this, the government continues to rely on infrastructure creation to revive growth. Looking at the furious pace at which roads and highways have been built the past five years and which have pushed NHAI deep into debt, but not produced the desired or expected growth outcomes, this is uninspiring.
On the other hand, allocation to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program (MGNREGA) is reduced 13.4% whereas that under PM-Kisan remains the same as one year ago; the amount in FY20 was not even fully spent!
Current spending outlays on Umbrella Scheme for Development of Schedule Castes and Other vulnerable groups are up a respective 12% and 20% instead, pointing to specific targeting in what is a broad-based slowdown.
There was much said about agriculture, farming, livelihoods, rural development and so on but in terms of encouraging the states, which is neither here nor there. There were also the highlighting achievements between 2014 and 2019, but this is the second budget of the second term of the government, which is what really matters. Overall, there is a sense of tiredness and fatigue that seems to come across in this budget. It is true the government has run out of money but surely it hasn’t run out of ideas and solutions?
( Renu Kohli is a New Delhi based Macroeconomist. Views expressed above are her own. )
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