In hot haste Finance Minister Jaswant Singh presented the interim budget before the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
It was hardly a budget in the proper sense of the term, there being very little survey and no serious debate of the state of the economy and the justification for the proposals.
The latter were, in fact the crowning point of the concessions that were being announced, from time to time, since the last days of last year.
Strictly speaking, the entire process since then has been more political than financial both a financial follow up of the political success experienced by the ruling party in the December elections and a financial sop to ensure a similar success in the coming elections.
Last year's good monsoon has ensured a good harvest, our economy has taken a turn around, and there is a 'feel good' fragrance in the air.
Shining in the glow of the satisfaction of the articulate well-to-do sections of the society the BJP-led NDA, claiming credit for their satisfaction, is keen on making the best use of the favourable situation, as long as it lasts.
So, the next general election is being expedited, and fresh concessions are being announced, every now and then.
The interim budget too is little more than an exercise in bribing the articulate sections to ensure their electoral support in the months ahead.
The most pampered section of the society is once again the central government employees.
While they have been directly assisted by converting the DA into pay upto 50% of their basic salary, the agriculturists have been provided with easy low interest loan facilities to help them modernise their farming methods and to raise their productivity.
The armed forces are viewed by the articulate sections as the protectors and standard bearers of the country's honour.
So, Rs 25,000 crores have been sanctioned for their modernisation.
Hardly anything has been proposed for industries, heavy or small scale, or for the service sectors, like schools, hospitals, water supply, power shortage, or village roads.
The finance Minister knows very well whom to placate and how, and whom to ignore or to take for granted.
Those who matter should feel and tell the world that 'India is shining.' But, is India shining and, if so, for whom? Economists, like Shiv Visvanathan and Abhijit Sen, point out that everthing is shining for the fortunate 20% of the population, while for the remaining 80% the scenario has worsened, there had been no significant rise in their income since 1989, while their cost of living has gone up.
Just think of the victims of riots and nature's fury and those dispossessed in the name of development.
Their condition is worse than before.
Even the director of the World Bank for India admits that in "areas like infant mortality, homelessness, poverty, health, and education, India's performance is definitely not shining." In certain areas India has witnessed considerable progress that has contributed positively to a visible increase in her CDB.
But, these are essentially in development without employment.
Fewer people are now doing the work of many, and are earning more than the sum of many working there in the past.
So, the number of umemployeds are those left behind has increased, and so has socio-economic disparity.
Economists assert that our employment alasticity, i.e.
ability to generate employment, has gone down from 0.52 in the 80s to 0.16 in the late 90s.
Since 1997 the public sector has shed about 15% of the work force, i.e 4« million hands, while the private sector too has shed a million jobs.
The National sample survey organisation claims that only 43% of the rural and 36% of the urban population are gainfully employed.
No wonder, 75 lakh people applied and literally fought for 38,000 lowly paid jobs in the Indian railways, and holders of the master's and even doctor's degrees have joined Kerala's police.
The RBI's report on currency and finance, 2002-2003 takes an alarmist view of the worsening fiscal deficit facing the country.
This means that we are trying to live well by borrowing, i.e buying the future.
No wonder, this year, interest payment alone will pre-emot 48.5% of the total revenue receipt.
Naturally, little will be left for the poor after taking care of the country's defence, high profile image of the country abroad, and the interests and ambitions of the articulate unwardly mobile classes.
The much-touted IT sector has provided some form of employment to five lakh people only.
While the state run health care and school education have absolutely collapsed, and over a quarter of the population do not have access to safe drinkable water or toilet facilities, we are doing fairly well in services for the rich, like computerised railway reservation, STD and ISD phone cells, and have reduced the domestic air-fare by 15%.
The latest sops are primarily for the salaried people, who represent the class above the farmers and the workers in the country-wide unorganised sector, where they have no letter of appointment, no security net, and no annual increment of wage or provident fund.
So, starvation deaths and suicides are reported not only from Orissa, where children are sold evern now for Rs 10, but also from cybers-savvy AP and Karnataka.
The government and the well to-do are living in their dream world, but the growing socio-economic disparity is fast transforming India into a volcano hiding beneath its crater the fiery lava of unbridled violence.
The silent majority has little to feel good or proud of 'shining India.' Whither austerity measures? Paradoxically while the present State government was committed to prune the non-productive expenditure and adopt austerity measures for that purpose there has been no reduction in the wasteful expenditure during the past one year of the present regime.
In fact the government has yet to take any concrete measures to bring down the wasteful expenditure and adopt austerity measures at various levels.
The very constitution of a jumbo-sized ministry is a big drain on the poor state exchequer.
While there was a strong case to reduce the size of the ministry both to minimise expenditure on that account and improve the ministry's efficiency the present rulers are contemplating to further expand the ministry.
Already several publicmen have been provided ministerial status, salaries and perks by adjusting them as heads of various corporations.
The induction of more ministers will only put additional burden on the exchequer.There are several spheres where the expenditure can be minimised without affecting the efficiency of the administration.
The most glaring case of wasteful expenditure relates to the blatant misuse of official cars by the ministers and bureaucrats.
The State government and its various departments have during the years purchased thousands of vehicles for official use.
These vehicles are being recklessly misused by the ministers and bureaucrats.
Normally a minister is entitled to only one official car but it is observed that most of them have several official vehicles at their disposal which are being used by them, their staff and family members.
There is need to fix a ceiling on the petrol etc consumed by those allotted official cars and their use should be strictly restricted to official purposes.
The officials should be directed to use the official cars only for official work and in no case these vehicles should be allowed to be used by their family members.
Such curbs on the use of official cars will not only reduce the expenditure but will also help in improving the traffic situation in the capital cities and district towns.
There should be well laid-down norms for the allotment and use of official vehicles.
There have been instances where the trucks etc owned by some engineering departments are used for private purposes.
This must be brought to end.
There is also need to restrict the visits of ministers and bureaucrats to cities outside the State to ensure that they should travel only when actually required.
In several cases the cost of the political or personal visits of the VIPs is borne by the State.
There should be a clear distinction between official and private/political visits.
There are several departments whose annual budget is increasing year after year.
This should be reduced to the minimum level.
There is need to review the utility and working of departments like Information.
Hospitality and Protocol and Estates etc where huge amount is being spent every year, which is totally unjustified.
The State government should better set up a high level committee to suggest measures for austerity and curtailing the non-productive expenditure in various government departments.
Austerity should become a way of life for the ministers and bureaucrats.
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