Pros and Cons of the India Union Budget 2016-2017

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Union-Budget

Whenever the Union budget of India is announced, financial and economic experts invariably lay out their theories on the pros and cons. This year’s budget turned out to be no exception, while some experts have praised the long term goals proposed by the budget, others have criticised it for not having any ground breaking financial reforms.

The government has paid a lot of attention towards the development of rural areas of the country and it reflects well in the budget. The best thing about the 2016-17 budget is the fact that it has tried to identify and address the problems faced by the public living in rural areas. A special emphasis has been put on educational, agricultural and healthcare reforms in the rural areas.

The budget also bring up some raise in prices of various products. Tobacco products with the exception of beedis will be costlier as the government has raised excise duty on the same from 10% to 15%. Luxury cars and SUV’s also will become much harder to buy as their prices are going to increase.

Health reforms have a prominent place in the 2016 Union budget. The government has announced lower prices for simple dialysis instruments which is going to benefit a large chunk of the population which suffers from kidney problems. The budget also has some effective educational reforms as satisfactory amounts been allocated for the skill development of underprivileged groups of the country.

The budget indicates that the government is going to scale up the country’s nuclear power generation capabilities, as 3000 crores have been allocated for the same. The task of electrification of rural areas has been given its due importance by the government in the budget 2016 and the rural area electrification will be completed in a specified interval of time. The government also has announced that below poverty line families will be issued gas connections in the name of the female family members. This move is quite beneficial for the poor females living in the rural areas as they now don’t have to work on the traditional earthen chullahs. Introduction of gas connection into rural areas will prevent females against breathing problems and lung ailments caused due to the enormous amount of smoke produced by chullahs. The issuing of connections in the name of female members of the family will also act as a message of female empowerment in rural areas. The government has received an increased amount of praise for their decision of rural area electrification and gas connection for rural public.

While the budget has been praised by a large chunk of the population, that sees the positive side of it, there are people who have criticized the budget for the negatives they are able to see in the same. Businessman and entrepreneurs have been protesting against the non existent tax cuts. The budget has also been criticized and opposed on grounds of not having any major reforms. The government though has through the budget assured the people about the strong economic conditions of the country amid global turmoil.

While the budget does have its share of shortcomings it has its bright sides too, and both are reflected well in the budget. The government did all to prioritize the younger generation and the same has been reflected in the indian budget 2016-17. A lot of money has been earmarked for developing educational and training facilities for the betterment of younger generations. Even though the budget doesn’t seem very attractive for the moment, but it has key reforms in various sectors such as power, educational, social and healthcare which are going to benefit the country immensely in the future.

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