Comments on Budget 2004

P K Choudhury,
Managing Director, ICRA

Perhaps the biggest challenge in this year's Budget was to allocate sufficient funds for developing social infrastructure; thus, the imposition of the education cess.

But this will result in an additional resource mobilisation of just Rs 4,000-5,000 crore in a year, which is way short of the required amount.

As for agricultural growth, the Budget assumes that development of the agro-processing industry will provide the required boost.

It also attempts to correct the declining trend in public investment in agriculture through enhanced farm credit, among other measures.

While the steps proposed are laudable, the key to sustained farm growth perhaps lies with investment in productivity-enhancing activities rather than input subsidies.

Mohan Guruswamy,
Chairman, Centre for Policy Alternatives

After five long years we have had a Budget speech by someone who knows what he is talking about. For the first time in over two and half decades, an attempt was made to correct the adverse trend of central assistance to Bihar.

Bihar gets a special package of Rs 3,350 crore. It's a fairly big step and quite frankly what NDA ministers couldn't do in five years, Lalu Prasad Yadav seems to have achieved in 40 days!

By levying a 2 per cent cess for education, the human resources development (HRD) ministry has added over Rs 4,000 crore to its kitty. This means an increase in the HRD budget by about Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 10,625 crore, which effectively means an outlay of almost Rs 16,000 crore by next year.

Mahesh C Purohit,
Director, Foundation for Public Economics and Policy Research

The Budget aims at doubling agricultural credit and enhancement of micro-financing to more self-help groups.

Though agriculture will be promoted through various provisions, the sources for funding have not been specified.

The Budget proposes to provide low cost medical facility through exemptions in Customs and excises on rehabilitation equipment, ambulance, and other essential drugs.