 "Conspicuous by absence: Three things that were missing in Budget 24 speech")
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the Union Budget 2024-25. In her speech, a record seventh, Sitharaman made several key announcements on topics ranging from income tax to capital gains tax, employment, skilling, and housing. However, contrary to everyone's expectations, three points were not discussed.
Railways
Usually the most talked-about topic in the Indian Budget and commanding one of the largest chunks of allocations, Indian Railways did not feature in FM Sitharaman's budget speech. In the past, the budget speech served as a key mode of announcements related to this industry.
The only part of the FM's speech that mentioned the word "railways" was in the context of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act.
"Under the Act, for promoting industrial development, funds will be provided for essential infrastructure such as water, power, railways and roads in Kopparthy node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Orvakal node on Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor," she said.
Haryana and Maharashtra
In the General Elections 2024, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced a tough fight in Haryana and Maharashtra, along with Uttar Pradesh. All of these states were governed by a government led by or comprised of the BJP. However, Haryana and Maharashtra assume significance due to the approaching assembly elections.
FM Sitharaman's budget speech did not mention the names of these states even once. On the other hand, the focus was more on Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, both home to Modi 3.0's key allies, Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu.
However, the speech addressed some issues that are important in these two states, like agriculture and employment.
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Agnipath scheme/Agniveers
Under the defence sector, the Agnipath scheme has been one of the most talked-about schemes in India since it was implemented in 2022. The scheme offers short-term induction of personnel to the armed forces. Under it, both male and female candidates between ages 17.5 and 21 are recruited into the cadre below the officer's rank for four years, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.
Those appointed are then called Agniveers.
The announcement of this scheme led to widespread protests in the country, with several sections of society, including the youth, opposing it. The scheme has also been widely criticised by the BJP's allies and those in the opposition.
The scheme was also a big factor in BJP's electoral losses in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. However, it has also not found any mention in FM Sitharaman's speech.
Earlier this month, the Haryana government separately announced a 10 per cent reservation for Agniveers in some jobs.