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Combined Discussion On The Budget (General) For The Year 2016-17 And Demands For ... on 10 March, 2016

Sixteenth Loksabha an> Title: Combined discussion on the Budget (General) for the year 2016-17 and Demands for Grants in respect of Budget (General) for the year 2016-17 (Discussion not concluded).

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Motion moved:

 

“That the respective sums not exceeding the amounts on Revenue Account and Capital Account shown in the third column of the Order Paper, be granted to the President out of the Consolidated Fund of India, on account, for or towards defraying the charges during the year ending the 31st day of March, 2017 in respect of the heads of demands entered in the second column thereof against Demand Nos. 1 to 30, 32, 34 to 56, 58 to 64, 66 to 68, 70, 71 and 73 to 98.”   DR. SHASHI THAROOR (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM): Mr. Chairman, Sir, I thank you for the opportunity.

          Sir, what does the aam admi look for in a Budget? At the personal level, he would obviously like more income, lower costs. At  the broader level, he would like policies that will increase his job opportunities, reduce prices he has to pay for daily essentials and widen his life prospects.

          What does the economist look for? At the macro level, he would look for policies that will create growth and jobs, improve exports, promote economic stability, tackle inflation and still help the Government keep its fiscal deficit under control.

          What does the politician look for? He looks for sops that he can sell to the voters.This Budget, Mr. Chairman, has much to disappoint the aam aadmi, frustrate the economist and prove a mixed bag for the politician.

          Any budget must address five issues, One, fiscal consolidation, that is, the policy aimed at reducing the fiscal deficit. Two,  job creation, usually through boosting manufacturing. Three, increasing savings in order to boost investments. Four, inflation control in our country, this  is obvious. And  five, improving investor sentiment, both domestic and foreign, so we can promote growth.  I am sorry to say, Mr. Chairman, this Budget falls short on all these five criteria. 

          Yes, it is a political Budget.  The Government has at last discovered the virtues of attending to the needs of the agriculture sector and the rural poor.  But this has much more to do with the upcoming State elections than with the coherent economic vision.  This Budget falls between two stools, between sending reassuring signals to the rating agencies abroad and sending even more reassuring signals to the voters at home.  In other words, it tries to satisfy both Modi’s interest and Moody’s interest.  Nowhere is this contradiction more apparent than in the alarming unreality of some of the Government’s numbers, specially a 3.5 per cent fiscal deficit, when it is very clear from the Budget that there will be unplanned expenses and unrealised revenue. 

          The Finance Minister knows that he must fund expenditure for rural development, farmer welfare, housing for all, sanitation projects, grant of ‘one rank one pension’, recapitalisation of stressed public sector banks. He also has to eventually accommodate expenditure of 0.65 per cent of GDP for the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, and a further investment of about 2 per cent of GDP to fund massive infrastructure projects.  What about the additional expenses for implementing the National Food Security Act?  This exhaustive shopping list is certainly going to oblige the NDA Government to breach Mr. Jaitley’s commitments of a fiscal deficit of 3.5 per cent.

          More so, because the tax collection targets are going to be very difficult to meet. The  revenue expenditure balance-sheet is not encouraging.  In addition, the disinvestment targets mentioned by the Minister in previous budgets have been completely missed by the Government.  But the Finance Minister is still optimistic because he has budgeted a 12.74 per cent increase in the net tax revenue collections for next year.  These rely heavily on indirect taxation, which already grew by 34.8 per cent last year, and they rely on multiple hikes on excise duties even as oil prices fall which brings, of course, unpleasant news for every middle class and lower middle class tax-paying citizen. 

          Any economist will tell you that indirect taxes are essentially regressive.  They hurt the poor more because the poor and the rich alike, both have to pay more for the same essential services.  A rich man is buying petrol for his stretch limousine or a poor man is buying petrol for his scooter; they are paying the same price.  So the Government has been meeting its fiscal deficit targets on the backs of the aam aadmi instead of boosting the real incomes of the poor by cutting indirect taxes.

          So oil prices drop; excise duties go up.  The aam aadmi in India gets no benefits while people in the rest of the world are saving at the petrol pump.  No wonder this fiscal year, the Centre was able to rake in Rs. 54,334 crore over the estimates for the Union excise duties and it has also increased its estimate for the year by 27 per cent to Rs. 3.18 lakh crore.

          जैसे गालिब शायद लिख सकता था -

           “हजारों ख्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख्वाहिश पर दम निकले, हम चले थे सस्ता पैट्रोल लेने, लौटे टैक्स का बोझ लिये।”   पिछले साल सर्विस टैक्स 12 प्रतिशत से 14 प्रतिशत तक कर दिया था। उसके बाद आधा प्रतिशत स्वच्छ भारत सैस भी लागू किया और इस साल आधा प्रतिशत कृषि कल्याण सैस लगाया गया है। इस पर मैं आपको कुछ और शायरी सुनाऊं।

 “अलविदा कहते हुए जब मैंने इस शख्स से पूछा कि कोई निशानी तो दो, वह मुस्कराते हुए बोले, 15 प्रतिशत सर्विस टैक्स ले लो।”   On top of that, the recent Paris Commitments create an onus to encourage sustainable and eco-friendly consumption habits and yet the Minister goes and levies one per cent Infrastructure Cess on small LPG and CNG cars.  That defeats the very objective of the commitment that his colleague has made in Paris.  The tax exemption on profits for start-ups is a far cry from the much needed rationalisation of a tax on angel investors.  In fact, because more start ups are there, let us face it, most start ups  do not, actually, book profits in the first few years of their operation.  So, telling him you do not have to pay tax on profits makes no difference because they do not have profits anywhere in the beginning.  What you really need is to give angel investments, which are the bread and butter of these cash starved start-ups, give them a removal of the angel tax which would have, actually, strengthen the start-up eco system. 

That is not all, Mr. Chairman.  Corporates were hoping for tax cuts, but that never happened.  Where is the proposed time table for a roll out of the Direct Taxes Code? 

अगर आप चाहते हैं तो इस पर मैं एक और शेर सुनाऊंगा।

" कितना खौफ होता है, बजट के उस ब्रिफकेस में, पूछ उन परिंदों से जो टैक्स रिफॉर्म की आशा पर उड़ते फिरते थे। "

 

अच्छा मैं केरल से होते हुए भी एक हिंदी मुहावरा जानता हूँ कि -

" घर की मुर्गी दाल बराबर, लेकिन आज कल इस सरकार की वजह से मंहगाई इतनी बढ़ गई है कि घर की दाल भी मुर्गी बराबर हो गई है। "

 

If a middle class of four in Delhi wants to go to a restaurant, they would have to incur the following expanses – five litres of petrol on an average, given our distances and traffic, at Rs. 56.61 per litre which would cost them Rs. 283 and which includes a tax of Rs. 190.  It is 204 per cent more than the global oil price.

          Then, let us give them a nominal restaurant bill of just Rs. 1000, which would attract a tax of Rs. 303.50 paise – Service Charge of 10 per cent, VAT of 12.5 per cent, Service Tax of 14 per cent plus Swachh Bharat Cess of 0.5 per cent plus Krishi Kalyan Cess of 0.5 per cent.  That all collectively levied on 40 per cent of the bill.  In other words, for this middle class family to go to a restaurant in Delhi, a person would have to earn Rs. 2240 and, of course, pay a tax of Rs. 660 on the income. Therefore, from that income of Rs. 2240, this person would spend Rs. 1087 on the actual value of the goods consumed and Rs. 1153 or 51.5 per cent, as tax.  In other words, your tax costs more than your dinner  and even your transport. This increase has really troubled the middle class in our country.  I must also say  a word about the increase in power prices.  Power prices have also impacted the budget of every family.  In fact, in many cases the electricity bill has doubled, thanks to the Budget announcements of our Government. 

मत पूछ कि क्या हाल है मेरा इस साल के बजट के बाद, आजकल फोन की टॉर्च से घर रोशन किया करते हैं। "

 

In a bid to achieve its ambitious GDP growth figures, the Government has, therefore, burdened the Aam Admi.  That is my principal point here. But, has the Finance Minister done enough to stimulate growth in the coming year and beyond?  I am afraid, not.  It does seem that he has made a conscious decision to tone down previous years, growth aspirations.  Given the sluggish environment of investment, there is a need for both enhancing public investment in social and physical infrastructure and also undertaking innovative measures to stimulate private investment.  It is because private investment is largely not happening.  That simply is not in the Budget on either count.

          As per the Government’s optimistic estimates of growth, I must point out, Mr. Chairman that normally growth implies that production, profits, wages, jobs and exports are all growing.  That is what we understand by growth.  Here we have a peculiar situation where none of these elements is growing, production is not growing, profits are not growing, wages are not growing, jobs are not growing and exports are not growing. 

15.00 hours           So, how does still the Government project a seven per cent GDP growth?  At present, the external debt of the country is already at all time high of 31.7 lakh crore, and the Finance Minister carefully did not mention the number in his presentation.  Growth  has slowed in all the key sectors in 2015-16 in manufacturing, in construction, in mining, in industries, in electricity and in agriculture. The index of industrial production is in the red , -1.3 per cent in December.  This is as compared with 3.6 per cent in December, 2014.

          Corporate sector profitability has been weak.  The proportion of corporate debt that is owned by stressed companies has increased to 41 per cent this year from 35 per cent in 2014.  So, I only hope, Jaitley sahab that unlike the black money estimates floated by the ruling party, you are not getting your economics from Baba Ramdev. The black into white scheme of the Government has identified only Rs.3,770 crore of undisclosed foreign assets, which boils down to 30 rupees for every Indian instead of Rs.15 lakh per person promised to us.  But, of course, we have been informed by the senior leader of the BJP that this is only a jumla and we should not take this figure too seriously. 

          Now, whatever it may be  the tough truth is that the official GDP data may well be accurate but it does not reflect the actual state of the Indian economy today.  What is worse is what lies ahead, which is that the battle is with the volatile global economy, declining exports, possible increase in oil prices from the anticipated 35 dollars a barrel at which the Budget has been pitched; the risk of a poor monsoon and static domestic consumption.

          Let us face it  the monetary institutions like the World Bank and the IMF, have  already lowered their estimates for global economic growth, and they have to take into account the slowdown in China, the declining in oil and commodity prices, on-going geo-political tensions in many Regions, particularly the Middle East which will affect trade to divert funds from infrastructure and development needs. So, for us, in India, it is a long established principle that one percentage point decrease in global economic growth normally translates into a 0.42 per cent decrease in our domestic growth.  This is a rough rule of thumb.  I do not know  if the Minister has a different yardstick.  But we are facing, therefore, some of the backwash from global decline in growth. On top of that, there is a decline in exports.  For two consecutive years, our exports have gone down.  Now, what is curious, Sir, is that world trade has actually gone up by a modest three per cent. But how can we profit from that increase in world trade when our own exports have actually shown a negative growth?  So, clearly, global markets are not as ready for Indian goods and services as we would like, to believe. We  have the ‘Make in India’ slogan going around for a while but it looks like that if we do not increase domestic consumption, we are not going to push up our growth rates because foreigners are not buying our goods.

          Now, obviously, the monsoon is something that we are all praying for, that it will be good for the farmers.  But the truth of the matter is again that the El Nino effect last year took away 0.7 percentage points from our GDP growth, and this year the Government in its optimism has clearly overlooked the warnings of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change about the adverse and continuing impact of climate change on rainfall.  I certainly wish our Finance Minister luck in reversing the climate change forecast within a few months and inducing a favourable monsoon to improve the rural economy. But what happens if it does not happen?  What happens if we do not have a favourable monsoon; where do these numbers go? 

But to return to the Government’s numbers, on disinvestment the Government announced last year a target of Rs.69,500 crore but it raised only Rs.25,312 crore.  Okay, it was a massive shortfall. Despite this dose of coldwater from the markets, the Government has again announced an ambitious target of Rs.56,000 crore for the fiscal year 2016-17.  Is this credible or is it an example of what one might call, with this very faith-based Government, one might call faith-based budgeting?

Now, there are some positives, Sir.  I do not want to stand here and only say negatives about the Budget.  We welcome the increased allocations for Swachh Bharat. I may point out that so far the allocations of Swachh Bharat have been below the levels of the UPA sanitation budgets.   But now, it has gone up.  About the roads and highways, we know.  About MNREGA, the Finance Minister said that it was the highest ever allocation.  It is not.  It is still below the 2010-11 levels of the MNREGA Budget of the UPA.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, MINISTER OF CORPORATE  AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF INFORMATION  AND BROADCASTING (SHRI ARUN JAITLEY): In the UPA, the system of accounting was: Budget for Rs. 45,000 crore and  spend  Rs. 29,000 crore… (Interruptions)

DR. SHASHI THAROOR: What was actually spent, we will take the comparison.  Right now,  we are comparing Budget to Budget.

SHRI ARUN JAITLEY:  Current year, we have spent much higher.  This is the first Budget after a decade where the Revised Estimates are higher than the Budget Estimates.

DR. SHASHI THAROOR: So, when we see you actually  spending that money, we will accept your point with pleasure, Mr. Finance Minister.

          Gram Panchayat should get more money. We have been calling for that for years; we are pleased. LPG for cooking, for poor rural women is a very important point.  No one, who has been to a village hut and seen these women struggling, with a smoke from choolah, from wood fires, coal fires, cow dung fires, can  possibly disagree with the Finance Minister.  LPG is wonderful.  I only hope that the Government’s policy will  leave these poor women and their families enough money so they can have something to cook with the LPG.  That is the big anxiety we have. I also hope, of course, that the Government will find the money to fulfill all the promises that I have just summarized.

          Certainly, the urban component of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan did not exist in the last year’s Budget.  It will strengthen, I believe, drainage and sewerage systems of the cities.  I am only sorry that it took the Chennai floods to clear the haze of the eyes of the  Government and put this very valuable new idea in.

          And, as a Member of the previous Government, I could not help feeling vindicated to see the Government embracing UPA ideas that it has earlier bitterly opposed, from strengthening the Aadhaar platform to MGNREGA itself, to welcoming 100 per cent FDI in food processing.  I am very glad that the Government has seen the errors of its ways in withdrawing the proposal to tax EPF. This was an unwelcome proposal, which really overlooked the reality of why middle-class people actually withdraw their money from the Provident Fund.  They do it for major expenses ,not to create new annuities. So, I am glad that the Government has withdrawn this proposal.

          If I can look at all the lists of UPA achievements and their actions, I can certainly quote another poet:

 “नज़र को बदलो तो नज़ारे बदल जाते हैं, सोच को बदलो तो सितारे बदल जाते हैं, कश्तियाँ बदलने की ज़रूरत नहीं, दिशा को बदलो तो किनारे खुद बदल जाते हैं।”   That would be the right thing for the NDA to do, taking more of the very good ideas the UPA implemented over the last few years           Now, Mr. Jaitley has also increased the allocation for housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. But it is only 6.6 per cent  of the total estimate of Rs. 300,000 crore, which was required for the scheme, according to the Government, over the next seven years. Even more surprising, Mr. Chairman,  is that it is lower than the Rs. 24,600 crore  announced by the President.  The hon. President in his Address mentioned it. So, who is misleading the Parliament?  Is it the Finance Minister or the hon. President? One of them must be wrong, and the House needs to be told which number you are withdrawing.

          Similarly, the hon. Prime Minister has announced a generous corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore for Startup India, Standup India in Vigyan Bhavan in January.  But North Block has translated his promise of  Rs. 10,000 crore into an allocation of Rs. 1,100 crore.  So, where is the remaining corpus for innovation and entrepreneurship? Are we again hearing announcements from the Prime Minister that the Finance Minister has no intention to fulfill? 

          Many of Mr. Jaitley’s budgetary cuts are matters of grave concern.  Food Security is down by Rs. 5,000 crore; Fertilizer Subsidies are cut by Rs. 2,000 crore.  About Higher Education, we had already objected last year when for five new IITs, he had allotted Rs. 1,000 crore.  We said that by any yardstick, this is not enough. There are certain rules to be followed for much it costs to set up an IIT.  By the way, one of them is in Kerala and so, I have a strong interest in it.  He has  hacked the five IITs allotment to Rs.190  crore this year. This is honestly laughable, Mr. Chairman.  We cannot take these figures seriously.  They are not going to set up one-eighth of an IIT with Rs. 190 crore,  let alone do it for five IITs.

          In allocations to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, there is a cut; in allocation of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, there is a cut again. Nirbhaya Fund has been reduced from Rs.1,000 crore to just  Rs.500 crore.  Even  though of the 31 sanctioned One Stop Crisis Centres, only eight have become operational.

          The Minister for Women and Child Development had cited the Nirbhaya case when she talked about subjecting juveniles between 16 and 18 years of age to an adult correctional system.  I strongly objected to it at that time but she said that it was necessary to protect women and yet this Government has not done enough to set up facilities to assist victims of violence and rape.  It is, of course, much easy to shirk off responsibility by holding children accountable.  I am sure that serves a very expedient political purpose but there is no money to actually help the women even for what has been pledged by this Government in the last two years. 

Now, we have seen the merger of the Ministry of External Affairs with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.  I will not go into the substantive merits of that.  My Party has its own views and they will speak about it.  But the fact is when you combine the two Budgets of these two Ministries of last year and you see what is the combined Budget of this year, the Finance Minister has cut Rs. 420 crore.  The Prime Minister talks of the Indian diaspora.  He addressed the Indian diaspora.  He talks about how important it is to support the well-being of the Indian diaspora but the funds allotted to their well-being have been cut by the Finance Ministry.  As the Standing Committee on External Affairs has repeatedly pointed out, the Ministry of External Affairs is grossly under-funded.  Now, we see in this year’s Budget, it became the worst.  The development assistance for the SAARC countries has been cut.  The allocation for Nepal has been reduced by 28.5 per cent, even though this is a country still recovering from a devastating earthquake, a terrible natural disaster, facing nation-wide shortages.  Now, I must say this.  I have really been seeing the way in which every request of the MEA is hacked by North Block that the biggest challenge for Indian Foreign Policy is not Pakistan Sir, but it is the Finance Ministry. 

          Even the Central Plan Outlay for the Ministry of Environment and Forests, including the National Afforestation Programme, has seen a budgetary cut of 66 per cent.  They had Rs. 1,446 crore in 2015-16 and now it is down to Rs. 480 crore and that too just after the Minister has gone and made these extravagant commitments at the Climate Summit in Paris.  No additional funds have been earmarked for the pledges made by India at COP-21.  One cannot even find the faintest mention about the reserve to start fulfilling our requirements of 2.5 trillion dollars announced by the Government of India for the Paris commitments over the next 15 years.  Now, if we are going to spend 2.5 trillion over the next 15 years, you better start now, but the Finance Minister has not given even a one paisa for these commitments.

          Let us face it.   Making promises with no intention to fulfil them is not exactly unfamiliar territory for this Government.  Too many promises from the previous Budget’s have not been executed or fulfilled. 

          What happened to the Expenditure Reforms Commission which was announced in Mr. Jaitley’s first Budget speech?  We have never heard about it.  What about last year’s SETU- Self Employment and Talent Utilization? … (Interruptions)

SHRI ARUN JAITLEY: We have submitted three reforms. They are extremely valuable.  Therefore, you should keep yourself informed.

DR. SHASHI THAROOR: You have not placed them in Parliament Mr. Minister.

          So, what happened to the Self Employment and Talent Utilization or SETU and the Atal Innovation Mission or AIM which were announced with great fanfare by you last year but were not funded or even mentioned by you this year?

          Anyway, let me as an MP from Kerala also point out that despite the State Government of Kerala submitting its final logistics funds have not been found yet for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences in my State.  The promise made by, if not this Minister, another Minister - I cannot remember which  -  to declare Sabarimala as a National Pilgrimage Center with extra resources to boost tourism, remains unfulfilled.  Where is the promised corpus for rubber farmers and assistance for economically vulnerable immigrants returning from the gulf countries?  None of these commitments are mentioned in the Budget.  My own request for establishing a National Institute of Medicinal Plants in Trivandrum has been over-looked,  as has  National Centre for Ayurveda, despite the Government’s declared desire to promote Ayurveda for which it had even constituted a separate Ministry. The Court has failed to harness Kerala’s potential in traditional knowledge and Ayurvedic medicines in herbs.  But that is perhaps seen as a parochial point.  I am sure as one State has concerns, every State has concerns,  Mr. Chairman.

          The Government’s implementation rate of its previous promises is not encouraging.  Last year, Mr. Jaitley promised that six crore toilets would be built.  The actual achievement is barely ten per cent, 62 lakh toilets and not all of those have water or electricity.  The Government should have completed the mammoth task of laying pipes or water supply for more than 60 per cent of rural households that do not have piped water.         

          While Rs.5,000 crore for 2016 is a bit of an increase from last year’s allocation for water supply, it is much less than the allocation of  Rs.11,000 crore by the UPA in 2013. I know this is a leap year Budget clearly because it requires a leap of faith to trust the BJP’s numbers.

          The Finance Minister also missed an opportunity to devote more resources, in a targeted way, to something that his colleagues have trumpeted repeatedly in this House. They need to install broadband and increase internet speed in both rural and urban areas. The National Optical Fibre Network is far behind its intended coverage of two lakh and a half Gram Panchayats. They have only reached 40,000 Gram Panchayats. The only progress has been in renaming the scheme as BharatNet. We have often said this is not a game changing Government. It is a name changing Government. सारे नाम बदल दिए।

But they have also given a 300 per cent increase in the project cost which they have not funded in this Budget. Now I do not know if the Prime Minister actually intended to include rural India in his vision for digitisation. Digitisation through public wi-fi, hot spots, e-books, online medical consultation, medicine supply, mobile banking, e-courts, e-police—he mentioned all this in Parliament. Of course, 70 per cent of our rural households are operating without the internet and mobile phones that do not have internet connectivity. How can they access any of these services? How will you have the direct benefit transfers? The Minister has been proudly talking about the so called JAM trinity. I mean this may be JAM in the urban areas. But there is no butter or  JAM in the rural areas because only 27 per cent of the villages in our country have a bank within a radius of  five kilometres. And, of course, all the online services the Government wants to bring on stream. You have poor internet speed, and India is struggling today with the connection speed of 2.3 Mbps when the global average is 5 Mbps or more. How are we going to be able to deliver these services?

          Then, many of the promises are not new. Even though the Government has budgeted an increase in the allocation for Central Plan for agriculture, including this newly named Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, it is still lower than the amount of Rs.19,047 crore allotted by the UPA in the last fiscal year 2014 in our Budget. At that time, already the UPA had provided for weather-based crop insurance, agriculture insurance, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and National Horticulture Mission. Clearly, there is nothing for farmer welfare that was not already provided for earlier. In fact, the NDA reduced the UPA’s allocations last year and then increased it this year. So, they have gone down. They are now atoning for their mistake by raising the budget. Plagiarism is, of course, the sincerest flattery. Interest subsidy subvention is also there in the UPA Budget.

          Anyway, the fact is, insurance schemes are very well but they are not a credible substitute for the missing capital expenditure on agriculture which alone can help pull farmers out of distress. I might say Arun Jaitley Saheb, this is the first time in living memory--I have asked many senior colleagues who have been here longer--that a Finance Minister has not even mentioned the defence allocation in the entire current fiscal year in his speech.

          Some of the Budget’s other omissions are also interesting. The Government has raised taxes on tobacco products saying it causes cancer but not beedis. So, is it signalling that it is okay for the poor beedi smoker to die of cancer but the rich, middle-class and upper middle-class cigarette smoker must stay alive? So, we must tax him.

          And, what about social sector spending? According to the latest World Development Indicators data, public spending on health and education is just 4.7 per cent of GDP in India compared with seven per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa. People think Sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest part of the world. They are spending seven per cent on health and education. We are spending 4.7 per cent. East Asia is spending 7.2 per cent. Latin America is spending 8.5 per cent and the rich OECD countries are spending 13.3 per cent. So, it is not a question of wealth or the amounts of money you are spending. It is the percentage and what priority you are giving it.  Frankly, if you take the entire basket of least developed countries, the figure for least developed countries is 6.4 per cent and we are only spending 4.2 per cent.

          Let me take education. This year’s allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan falls beyond whatever numbers they have come up with. It is much below the UPA’s allocation of Rs.26,608 crore in our period. Public spending on education is not only inadequate but it is also under-utilised. Only 57 per cent of the estimates were released last year. So, Arun Jaitley Saheb was speaking about expenditure as opposed to Budget Estimates.

          But on education, only 57 per cent of his own estimates were spent. … (Interruptions) Only one-fourth of the amount was spent in the first few months of the year and the quality of education has been suffering. The Prime Minister said that he saw this Budget as an examination. In this case, his report card will have to say ‘must try harder’!           Enrolment in schools is not the only thing, we must have much more academic freedom. The fact is that at a time when independent thought, uninhibited deliberations and right to dissent in educational institutions are under threat, if you also starve them of money, how are we going to get better, well informed citizens of modern India to serve our nation?

          In regard to health, if you look at the fact that we need a colossal amount of money in order to achieve anything remotely like the declared objective of universal health coverage by 2030, the fact is that public health system is in a pretty bad shape. The Government has taken so long to deliberate on the National Health Policy, but the Budget for the Transport Ministry is 2.6 times the Budget of the Health Ministry. Even customs duty exemptions on 76 life-saving drugs – cancer drugs, HIV drugs – have been withdrawn by this Budget.

          Regarding the welfare measures for people with disabilities, it is particularly said that they have raised the budget, but there is no comprehensive legislation yet to guide the expenditure that they have raised in a futile manner because there is no disabilities law. It has been pending for two years in this Government. We must have a disabilities law in consonance with the international standards before we can usefully and effectively spend this money.

          Funds needed to spur infrastructure growth, as I mentioned in the beginning, are down by 12 per cent this year. This is Rs. 2.21 lakh crore this year while it was Rs. 2.51 lakh crore last year.

What about the money for addressing the problems of the banking sector? At least the Finance Minister could have offered us a roadmap on how he intends to recapitalize public sector banks with an allocation of Rs. 25,000 crore. In fact, we all know that there are so many NPAs. Mr. Chairman, it has been mentioned there are NPAs worth Rs. 3.6 lakh crore. Banks are unable to fund long-term infrastructure projects so many of which are stuck in the implementation stage. Mr. Jaitley, of course, will call it a legacy of the past, but it is his Government which failed to acknowledge the crisis in 2014 and resolve it as per the RBI’s recommendations on revitalization of distressed assets that year.

The fact is that manufacturing is down. For manufacturing to be internationally competitive, you require  policies that would reduce the cost of manufacturing, affordable interest rates, improved infrastructure, better trade facilitation, lower cost of power and, in other words, an entire ecosystem. Just having a slogan saying ‘Make in India’ will not do it. You need all of these and in any case, the budget for ‘Make in India’ has been cut by 35 per cent.

I come to job creation. 17.5 million people have found themselves unemployed under the BJP. The labour force participation rate has been going down. I have a former Labour Minister sitting in front of me. It is now as low as 47.2 per cent in rural areas and only 54 per cent in urban areas. Another 30 million will enter the workforce in the remainder term of Mr. Modi. What work will this Budget help them find? The female participation rate, by the way, is even lower at 30 per cent. Are there any targeted measures to help females work?

Wage demands of the organized sector are not being met. I have received a delegation of nurses, for example. The wage demands of our staff nurses are low even in the Seventh Pay Commission. Without satisfied nurses, how will our health care system function effectively? प्रधानमंत्री मन की बात करते हैं, वित्त मंत्री धन की बात करते हैं, लेकिन यह सरकार जन की बात कब करेगी? 

Finally, we must ensure that this Government is held to the last of its earlier commitments. The Budget has confirmed the fears of many foreign observers that this Government is not going to make any significant institutional reforms. What will be the effect of all this on the rupee? During the election campaign, Mr. Modi was withering about the decline in the value of rupee, but it has fallen 16.5 per cent on his watch. It was 58.50 when he became the Prime Minister. He talked about it crossing the Finance Minister’s age, but now it has overtaken his age. Having plummeted to the depths of 68.85, even though it is slightly better at 67.41 today, the overall trend is that it seems to be well on the way to crossing all numbers and joining the BJP’s marg darshak mandal.

          You know, Sir, Mr. Modi wrote an article in the Economic Times on the last Budget of the UPA and he wrote saying : “This Budget is piecemeal. UPA wants to play safe.” He had repeatedly mocked the UPA for not thinking big. It is all the more disappointing that this Budget has also failed to think big, tried to play it safe and approach the country’s economic challenges piecemeal.

          Jaitley ji, the joke going around is that this is a good Budget only for the Aadhaar Card holding beedi smoker in need of dialysis who lost his Degree certificate and plans to launch a loss-making Start-up in a Gram Panchayat with MGNREGA funds. For everybody else, it is a huge disappointment.

          AsGhalib has observed and this time it is really him and not my version ofGhalib :

“बूझ जाते हैं दिए कभी तेल की कमी से भी।

हर बार कसूर हवा के झोकों का नहीं होता।।”   This is what has happened to our country. कसूर किसी और का नहीं है, भाई साहब, आपकी सरकार में ही तेल की कमी है।

Jai Hind, Mr. Chairman.

     

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान (खंडवा) : सभापति महोदय,मैं माननीय वित्त मंत्री श्री अरुण जेटली जी द्वारा प्रस्तुत बजट के समर्थन में और स्वागत के लिए खड़ा हुआ हूं। मैं बजट पर बात शुरू करूं, इसके पहले अभी सदन में माननीय शशि थरूर जी ने बहुत-सी बातें कही है और उन्होंने कुछ लाइनें भी सुनायी है। मैं भी शशि थरूर जी के लिए दो लाइन सुना कर अपनी बात को आगे बढ़ाऊंगा। थरूर जी, मैं बजट के बारे में बोल रहा हूं :

“मुझे देखने से पहले साफ कर अपनी आंखों की पुतलियां ग़ालिब कहीं ढक न दे अच्छाइयों को भी नज़रों की ये गंदगी तेरी।”           माननीय सभापति महोदय,...(व्यवधान) माननीय सभापति महोदय...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति :  अब आगे बढ़ो।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: सभापति महोदय, यह गांव, गरीब और किसान का बजट है। मैंने इस सदन में अनेक बजट प्रस्तुत होते हुए देखे हैं। यह सदन इस बात से सहमत होगा कि आजादी के बाद इस देश के इतिहास में जितने बजट प्रस्तुत किये गये, उनमें यह बजट सर्वश्रेष्ठ बजट में शुमार होगा। यह बजट आर्थिक विकास के उड़ान का बजट है, देश के उड़ान का बजट है। माननीय थरूर जी अभी यहां पर कह रहे थे कि राजकोषीय उत्तरदायित्व का अभाव है। पुराने समय के सरकार से आज की सरकार की आर्थिक नीतियां विफल हैं। मैं सदन के सामने यह कहना चाहता हूं, माननीय नरेन्द्र मोदी जी के नेतृत्व में जेटली जी ने जो बजट प्रस्तुत किया है, विगत दो वर्षों में हमारे देश की जो वित्तीय स्थिति है, उसका सिंहावलोकन करना होगा। आज पूरी दुनिया मंदी की चपेट में है, विश्व की आर्थिक विकास दर जो पहले 3.4 थी, वह घट कर 3.1 प्रतिशत रह गयी है।  वहीं यूपीए के समय हिन्दुस्तान की विकास दर 6.3 प्रतिशत थी जो आज बढ़कर 7.6 प्रतिशत हो चुकी है। विश्व में देश की अर्थव्यवस्था अंगड़ाई ले रही है। मैं कहना चाहूंगा कि आज...(व्यवधान)

          सभापति महोदय, सदन में जिस तरह चल रहा है,...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति: मान जी, मान रखें अपना।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री भगवंत मान (संगरूर): क्या आप नहीं बोलते?...(व्यवधान)

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: हम कभी नहीं बोलते।...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति :मान साहब, प्लीज बैठिए।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री भगवंत मान: हमसे पूछिए हमारा दर्द।...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति :आप अपना दर्द बाद में बताइए, अभी बैठ जाइए।

…( व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति :कृपया शान्ति बनाए रखें। बजट की गंभीरता बनाए रखें।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान:  यूपीए सरकार के समय मुद्रा स्फीति 9.4 प्रतिशत थी जो अब घटकर मात्र 5.4 प्रतिशत रह गई है। यह हमारी अर्थव्यवस्था की मजबूती का प्रमाण है। हमारा विदेशी मुद्रा भंडार 350 बिलियन अमरीकी डालर आज तक के इतिहास का सबसे बड़ा विदेशी मुद्रा भंडार वर्तमान सरकार के दौर में हमारे पास स्थापित है।...(व्यवधान) मैं कहना चाहता हूं कि मोदी जी और जेटली जी ने पूरे देश से कहा है कि हम इस देश को विकास के रास्ते पर ले जाने में कोई कमी और कसर नहीं रखेंगे।...(व्यवधान)                                       इस तरह बुनेंगे हम देश के विकास के धागे कि अच्छों-अच्छों को झुकना पड़ेगा हिन्दुस्तान के आगे।

यह साधारण बात नहीं है। जिस रास्ते पर देश चल पड़ा है, आज पूरी दुनिया हिन्दुस्तान की अर्थव्यवस्था की  तारीफ कर रही है। यह बजट किसानों का बजट है, गांवों का बजट है, गरीबों का बजट है। प्रधान मंत्री फसल बीमा योजना इस देश के किसानों की सुरक्षा के लिए सबसे बड़ी फसल बीमा योजना माननीय नरेन्द्र मोदी जी लेकर आए हैं।...(व्यवधान) यूपीए के समय इस देश में जो फसल बीमा योजना लागू थी, आप भी उस बात के साक्षी हैं, सदन भी साक्षी है कि उस योजना में काफी कमियां थीं। किसान फसल का बीमा तो करता था लेकिन फसल का नुकसान होने पर उसे बीमे की राशि नहीं मिलती थी।...(व्यवधान) आज की फसल बीमा योजना जो आने वाले रबी के समय लागू होगी, प्रधान मंत्री फसल बीमा योजना में किसान से कम से कम प्रिमियम की राशि ली जाएगी। दुनिया के इतिहास में यह फसल बीमा योजना जो कम से कम प्रिमियम लेकर किसान की फसल का बीमा करेगी, मात्र रबी की फसल में एक लाख रुपये की कवरेज के लिए दो हजार रुपये प्रिमियम लिया जाएगा और शेष प्रिमियम राज्य सरकार और भारत सरकार भरेगी। कोई केपिंग नहीं है। आपकी फसल का जितना ऐवरेज मूल्य बनेगा, उतने का बीमा होगा। यूपीए के समय जो फसल बीमा योजना थी, मैं भी किसान हूं, उस समय फसल का बीमा नहीं होता था, लिए हुए कर्ज का बीमा होता था। फसल बीमा उसमें शामिल नहीं था, पहली बार फसल का बीमा होगा, इसके लिए कोई कैपिंग नहीं है। जितनी आपकी फसल होगी उतने का बीमा होगा। यूपीए के समय की फसल बीमा योजना का दोष था कि एक पार्टिकुलर एरिया, ब्लॉक या तहसील में जब फसल खराब होती थी तभी बीमे की राशि मिलती थी। वर्तमान में मोदी सरकार द्वारा लागू फसल बीमा योजना में एक ग्राम भी फसल का नुकसान हुआ है तो उसमें फसल बीमा का लाभ मिलेगा।

          सभापति महोदय, मैं भारतीय जनता पार्टी की तरफ से ओपनिंग कर रहा हूं, आप हमें बोलने दें, मेरी पार्टी ने मेरे लिए समय दिया है। ...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति : बाकी लोगों को भी बोलना है, हरेक को बोलना है।

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: मैं पार्टी के समय से अधिक समय नहीं लूंगा। प्रधानमंत्री कृषि सिंचाई योजना के तहत 28 लाख कृषि हेक्टेयर भूमि को सिंचित करने का लक्ष्य इस बजट में रखा है। यह देश के इतिहास में किसानों और खेतिहर काम करने वाले लोगों के लिए बहुत ही मजबूत कदम उठाया गया है। एआईबीपी योजना पहले से चल रही है। एआईबीपी इरिगेशन स्कीम में 89 बड़ी सिंचाई योजना या तो अधूरी पड़ी है या बंद पड़ी है उसमें लगे हुए पैसे से देश को रिर्टन नहीं मिल रहा है। इस सरकार ने तय किया है कि एआईबीपी के तहत जो सिंचाई योजनाएं अपूर्ण हैं या बंद हैं उन्हें तेजी से प्रारंभ करके अधिक से अधिक सिंचाई का लाभ इस देश को दिलाया जाएगा। वर्तमान सरकार ने कृषि कल्याण के लिए बजट को पहले से दोगुना कर दिया है। 38,984 करोड़ रुपये कृषि कल्याण के लिए बजट में प्रावधान हुआ है। इस देश में सिंचाई पर ही किसान की उन्नति निर्भर है। किसान की आय को हमने दोगुना करने का लक्ष्य तय किया है। आने वाले पांच वर्षों में हम देश के किसानों की आय को दोगुना करेंगे, इसके लिए सिंचाई के साधन उपलब्ध कराने के लिए बूंद-बूंद पानी को सहेज कर रखने के लिए नाबार्ड की ओर से 20,000 करोड़ रुपये की प्रारंभिक रकम से दीर्घावधि सिंचाई योजनाओं के लिए सिंचाई निधि योजना का निर्माण किया गया है जिसके माध्यम से आने वाले समय में सिंचाई का क्षेत्र बहुत बढ़ेगा। देश की भूमिगत जल भंडार की अभी तक चिंता नहीं हुई। उस भूमिगत जल भंडार को संरक्षित रखने के लिए, संवर्द्धित रखने के लिए ...(व्यवधान) इस बजट में 6000 करोड़ का प्रावधान रखा गया है।

माननीय सभापति : जब आप बोलेंगे उस समय बता दीजिएगा। यह रिकार्ड में नहीं जाएगा, केवल उन्हीं का जाएगा जिनको मैंने बोलने के लिए अधिकृत किया है। जो भी माननीय सदस्य बोल रहे हैं या खड़े हैं वह कार्रवाई का हिस्सा नहीं बनेगा। 

...(व्यवधान) * श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: सभापति महोदय, मैं आपके माध्यम से कहना चाहूंगा मनरेगा पूर्व से लागू योजना है  ...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति : मान साहब प्लीज, एक बार कह लिया काफी है। कोई रिकार्ड में नहीं जाएगा।

...(व्यवधान)* माननीय सभापति : आपको बाद में मौका मिलेगा, आप जो भी कह रहे हैं वह कार्रवाई का हिस्सा नहीं बनेगा। प्लीज बैठ जाइए।

...(व्यवधान) * श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान:   सभापति महोदय,लगभग पांच लाख खेत, तालाब इस देश में बनाने का निर्णय हुआ है और कुंओं का निर्माण किया जायेगा। जैविक खाद के लिए मनरेगा का पैसा दिया जायेगा, ताकि वह राष्ट्र की स्थायी सम्पत्ति बने। इसलिए 10 लाख कम्पोस्ट खाद के गड्ढों के लिए किसानों को मनरेगा का पैसा बनाये जायेंगे, ताकि हमारा देश जैविक खेती की तरफ बढ़े।

          माननीय सभापति महोदय, इस देश में किसान फसल बोता था, लेकिन अपनी फसल के लिए कौन सी खाद लेनी है, कौन से तत्वों की इस जमीन में कमी है, किस जमीन में क्या बोया जाना चाहिए, उसका उसे कोई ज्ञान नहीं था। सामान्य तौर पर वह जैसा समझता था, वैसी खाद का उपयोग करता था। उससे किसान के धन की हानि होती थी। आज मोदी जी ने देश के करोड़ों किसानों के लिए एक बहुत बड़ा कदम उठाया है, जिसके तहत 14 करोड़ किसानों के सॉयल हैल्थ कार्ड बनेंगे और उसके माध्यम से किसान में यह समझ पैदा होगी कि खेत में क्या बोया जाये और कौन सी खाद डाली जाये।

          माननीय सभापति महोदय, यह सदन और पूरा देश इस बात का साक्षी है कि यूपीए सरकार के समय इस देश में हमेशा यूरिया की किल्लत रहती थी। यूरिया के लिए लाठियां चलती थीं और कई स्थानों पर यूरिया के अभाव में लूट होती थी।  ट्रेनें लूट जाती थीं और गोलियां तक चल गयीं। यह देश का माहौल था, क्योंकि उस समय यूरिया नीम कोटेड नहीं थी। यूरिया को नीम कोटेड जानबूझकर नहीं रखा गया था, जिसके कारण किसान के खेत में यूरिया न पहुंचकर बड़े-बड़े धन्ना सेठों की कैमिकल फैक्टरियों में ब्लैक में चली जाती थी और किसान यूरिया के लिए तरसता खड़ा रहता था। एक उपाय खोजा गया और आज नीम कोटेड यूरिया किसानों को देने के कारण देश के किसी कोने में यूरिया की कमी रही या यूरिया के लिए लाठियां चलीं, यह आपको सुनने को नहीं मिलेगा। इस देश में 17 लाख मीट्रिक टन यूरिया का उत्पादन बढ़ाया गया। जो जमीनी काम होंगे, उसी से परिणाम मिलेंगे और जो अच्छा हो, उसे अच्छा कहने का मादा भी इस देश में पैदा करना पड़ेगा।

          माननीय सभापति महोदय, यह बजट गरीबों का बजट है, आम आदमी का बजट है। मैं एक बात आपके माध्यम से कहना चाहता हूं कि इस देश में प्रधान मंत्री सुरक्षा बीमा योजना लागू की गयी, जिसके तहत आजादी के बाद एक गरीब इंसान को दुर्घटना का कवरेज मात्र 12 रुपये में देने की योजना नरेन्द्र मोदी की सरकार ने शुरू की। यदि दुर्घटना में मौत होती है, तो दो लाख रुपया मिलेगा।  इसी तरह प्रधान मंत्री जीवन ज्योति बीमा योजना है। इसके तहत एक सामान्य व्यक्ति 330 रुपये एक वर्ष के लिए भरे और उसकी यदि किसी भी कारण से मृत्यु होती है, आत्महत्या को छोड़कर, चाहे बीमारी से हो, चाहे दुर्घटना से हो, तो एक सामान्य आदमी को दो लाख रुपये का कवरेज प्रधान मंत्री जीवन ज्योति बीमा योजना के माध्यम से मिल रहा है। क्या यह कोई छोटी बात है? केवल 12 रुपये में मेरे यहां के ऐसे दुर्घटनाग्रस्त लोगों को जो लाभ मिला है,  उसे देश जानता है।...(व्यवधान)

          माननीय सभापति जी, देश में कुछ मुट्ठी भर लोग भले ही अलग राह पर चले लेकिन मुझे इस बात को कहने में प्रसन्नता हो रही है कि आज देश मोदी जी की बात पर भरोसा करता है और मोदी जी की बात को मंत्र के रूप में स्वीकार करता है। मैं इसके उदाहरण आपके सामने रखना चाहता हूं। मोदी जी ने देश की जनता से आह्वान किया - आओ देशवासियो, खाते खोलें। प्रधानमंत्री जन-धन योजना में इस देश की 21 करोड़ जनता ने खाता खोला है। यह विश्व में अपने आप में कीर्तिमान है। गिनीज़ बुक में यह लिखा जा सकता है। इनमें से 15 करोड़ खाते आज भी संचालित हो रहे हैं और इन खातों में 32 हजार करोड़ रुपया गरीब जनता का जमा है।

          माननीय सभापति जी, मैं आपके माध्यम से कहना चाहता हूं कि एक व्यक्ति के आह्वान पर जमाना उठकर खड़ा होता है। मैंने आपके सामने इसका उदाहरण दिया है। माननीय प्रधानमंत्री ने जनता से आह्वान किया - एलपीजी गैस पर सम्पन्न और मध्यम वर्ग के लोग सब्सिडी ले रहे हैं, मैं आपसे गुजारिश करता हूं, अनुरोध करता हूं कि आप अपनी सब्सिडी छोड़ दें, यह किसी गरीब के काम आएगी। माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी के आह्वान पर 65 लाख लोगों ने सब्सिडी छोड़कर देश में उदाहरण स्थापित किया है। यह साधारण बात नहीं है। मेरे बचपन के समय स्वर्गीय लाल बहादुर शास्त्री देश के प्रधानमंत्री थे, उस समय देश में अनाज की कमी थी। उन्होंने देश से आह्वान किया था - देशवासियों अनाज के संकट से निपटने के लिए मैं देश से आह्वान करता हूं कि सप्ताह में एक दिन उपवास रखो। तब करोड़ों लोगों ने सोमवार के दिन एक समय का उपवास रखने की शुरुआत की थी। माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी के आह्वान पर 65 लाख लोग सब्सिडी छोड़ देते हैं, 21 करोड़ लोग जन-धन योजना में अपना खाता खोलते हैं, स्वच्छ भारत अभियान में माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी के आह्वान पर लाखों लोग झाड़ू हाथ में उठाकर सफाई के लिए निकल पड़ते हैं। मैं एक जन नेता का उदाहरण आपके सामने दे रहा हूं। दृढ़ इच्छाशक्ति है जिस पर जमाना भरोसा करता है, ऐसे प्रधानमंत्री के आह्वान पर देश में सारी चीजें घटित हो रही हैं। मैं माननीय मोदी जी के लिए कहना चाहता हूं -

मैं तो अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए-मंजिल मगर लोग साथ आते गए और कारवां बनता गया।

 

          माननीय सभापति जी, आज इस देश में आम आदमी के लिए जो कुछ किया जा रहा है, उसे आम आदमी महसूस कर रहा है, गरीब महसूस कर रहा है। एक लाख रुपए तक स्वास्थ्य बीमा योजना देश के सामान्य व्यक्ति के लिए है। यदि वह बीमार हो जाए और उसे अधिक धन की आवश्यकता है तो धन के अभाव में उसकी मौत न हो इसलिए एक लाख रुपए की स्वास्थ्य बीमा योजना की लांचिंग इस बजट के माध्यम से देश के समस्त गरीबों के लिए की गई है। यह कितना बड़ा कदम है।

       माननीय सभापति जी, इस देश में दवाओं की कीमत बहुत ज्यादा है। सामान्य मेडिकल स्टोर पर मिलने वाली दवाइयां इतनी महंगी होती हैं कि आम आदमी की खरीद की सीमा के बाहर होती हैं। देश भर में 3000 मेडिकल स्टोर खुलेंगे जहां गरीबों, शोषितों, अल्प आय लोगों को जेनरिक मेडिसन मिलेंगी। जो गोली आज स्टोर पर दस रुपए में मिलती है, वहां मात्र एक रुपए में गरीब को उपलब्ध होगी। इस तरह के 3000 स्टोर देश भर में गरीबों के लिए खोले जाने का निर्णय सरकार का गरीबों के हक में उठा हुआ मजबूत कदम है।

          माननीय सभापति जी, आज यह सरकार जिस तेजी के साथ जनता, गरीबों, किसानों, मजदूरों, महिलाओं के लिए काम कर रही है, अपने आप में बहुत बड़ी मिसाल है।

          महोदय, प्रधानमंत्री जी ने उन 65 लाख लोगों को धन्यवाद दिया जिन्होंने सब्सिडी छोड़ी है लेकिन इस वर्ष से बीपीएल परिवारों को लगभग बिना मूल्य के गैस कनेक्शन और सिलेंडर की राशि न लेते हुए सिर्फ चूल्हे की राशि लेकर डेढ़ करोड़ गरीबों को गैस दिलाने का निर्णय किया है। इस गैस की कीमत गांव की महिला समझेगी, जो गीली लकड़ी से अपने घर का खाना बनाती है। धुएं से उसकी आंखे खराब हो जाती हैं, धुएं से उसके फेफड़े खराब हो जाते हैं। उन गरीबों के लिए निशुल्क सिर्फ चूल्हे के मूल्य पर गैस दी जा रही है। तीन वर्ष में गरीबी रेखा में आने वाले पांच करोड़ लोगों को सरकार गैस कनेक्शन देने जा रही है यह गरीबों के हित में उठा हुआ बहुत बड़ा कदम है। इस घोषणा के बाद गांव-गांव में उमंग की लहर है। जनता कहती है कि प्रधानमंत्री गरीबों का प्रधानमंत्री है, प्रधानमंत्री दुखियों का प्रधानमंत्री है। प्रधानमंत्री दिल्ली के सिंहासन पर बैठकर दूर-दराज बैठे हुए गरीबों की चिंता करता है।

          प्रधानमंत्री जी के आह्वान पर स्वच्छ भारत अभियान में सरकारी स्कूलों में बेटियों के लिए चार लाख टायलेट्स बनाए गए। यह कुछ लोगों को छोटी चीज दिखाई देती है, लेकिन गांव के गरीबों की बेटियां जिनके स्कूलों में टायलेट्स नहीं थे इस वजह से वे शौच करने के भय से वे पानी नहीं पीती थीं, वे दिनभर प्यासी बैठी रहती थीं कि अगर मैं पानी पीती हूं तो मुझे शौचालय जाना पड़ेगा। पुरूष तो कहीं भी चला जाता है लेकिन महिलाओं को कठिनाई होती है इसलिए गांव की बेटियां स्कूल चलो अभियान के तहत स्कूल तो जाती थीं लेकिन वहां पानी नहीं पीती थीं। कई एनजीओज के सर्वे से यह बात सामने आई कि गांव की कन्याएं, छात्राएं जो स्कूल पढ़ने जा रही हैं, उन्हें किडनी की बीमारियां हो रही हैं। वे शौच के डर से पानी नहीं पीती हैं और कम पानी पीने की वजह से उन्हें किडनी की बीमारी हो रही है। उस गांव की बेटी की चिंता मेरे देश के प्रधानमंत्री ने यहां से की है। यह देश कैसे आगे बढ़ेगा, इसके लिए एक-एक बिंदू पर हमारे देश के प्रधानमंत्री ने चिंतन करके दिखाया है।

          महोदय, एक काम और अच्छा हुआ है कि यह सरकार आर्थिक विकास तो कर रही है, लेकिन इसके माध्यम से सामाजिक विकास भी हो रहा है। पहले रेलवे स्टेशन पर जैसी गंदगी होती थी, इस स्थिति में परिवर्तन आया है, बदलाव आया है। सफर करने वाला देश का नागरिक, एक सामान्य व्यक्ति उसमें जागरुकता आई है। वह सोचने लगा है कि मैं झाड़ू उठाकर सफाई नहीं कर पाता हूं तो कम से कम देश के लिए इतना तो कर ही सकता हूं कि मेरी तरफ से मैं गंदगी न फैलाऊं।

          देश के नागरिकों में आने वाली जागरुकता के कारण हमें देश के रेलवे स्टेशन साफ दिखायी देने लगे, उसके कारण बस स्टैंड साफ दिखायी देने लगे। सफाई का यह अहसास इस देश में रहने वाले हर इंसान को है। यह स्वच्छ भारत, महलों में रहने वाले, अट्टालिकाओं में रहने वाले लोगों को गंदगी से कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता है। वह गंदगी उनको प्रभावित नहीं करती है क्योंकि वे जब घर से चलते हैं, तो ए.सी. कार में कांच बंद करके चलते हैं। जिस मुकाम पर पहुंचते हैं, तो बहुत साफ-सुथरी जगह पर ही वे जाते हैं।  यह गंदगी इस देश के उन करोड़ों लोगों के स्वास्थ्य को प्रभावित करती थी, यह गंदगी झुग्गियों में, झोपड़ियों में, मलिन बस्तियों में रहने वाले लाखों लोगों के लिए बीमारियों का घर लेकर पहुंचती थी, यह गंदगी करोड़ों लोगों को बीमार करती थी। यह गंदगी के खिलाफ अभियान, गंदगी के खिलाफ लड़ाई है। यह स्वच्छ भारत अभियान किसी एक दल का अभियान नहीं है, यह किसी एक पार्टी का नहीं है, किसी एक राज्य का नहीं है। इस अभियान को प्रधानमंत्री जी ने देश का अभियान बनाया है, हिन्दुस्तान का अभियान बनाया है।

          दूसरों को उपदेश देना बहुत सरल है, लेकिन जब स्वच्छ भारत मिशन अभियान प्रधानमंत्री जी ने शुरू किया तो सबसे पहले अपने हाथ में झाड़ू उठाकर खुद सफाई की और बाद में उन्होंने देश के लोगों को आह्वान किया कि आओ देशवासियों! हमारे देश को स्वच्छ रखो। "स्वच्छ भारत, स्वस्थ भारत " के रूप में महात्मा गांधी जी की अवधारणा को उन्होंने स्वीकार किया। अच्छी चीज दुनिया में कहीं से भी मिलती है तो उसको ग्रहण करने में कोई बुराई नहीं है। हमारे प्रधानमंत्री जी का यह उदार दृष्टिकोण है। आज स्वच्छ भारत मिशन का जो लोगो है, जो सिम्बल है, जो चिह्न है, वह महात्मा गांधी का चश्मा है। गांधी के इस देश को हम साफ रखें, स्वच्छ रखें।

          सभापति महोदय,  मैं आपके माध्यम से यह कहना चाहता हूँ कि आज देश बहुत तेजी से उड़ान ले रहा है। श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी जी के नेतृत्व में श्री जेटली जी ने जो बजट प्रस्तुत किया है, आप गांव के किसी भी कोने में चले जाइए, मैंने अपने जीवन में इस बजट को लेकर गांव के आम आदमी को जितना प्रसन्न देखा है, मैं पांचवीं बार इस पवित्र सदन में सदस्य के रूप में आया हूँ, लेकिन इस बजट को लेकर गांव के किसानों में, गरीबों में जो खुशी का माहौल है, वह मैं पहली बार देख रहा हूँ।

          मैं कहना चाहता हूँ कि यह तो शुरुआत है, यह तो ट्रेलर है, आगे फिल्म देखना बाकी है।

“ जिन्दगी की असली उड़ान बाकी है, जिन्दगी के कई इम्तिहान बाकी है, अभी तो नापी है मुट्ठी भर जमीन हमने, अभी तो सारा आसमान बाकी है। ”             आने वाले वक्त में देश के हित में उठने वाले कदम इस देश को मजबूती की ओर ले जाने वाले होंगे। इस देश की सेना के लिए जवान अपनी जान हथेली पर लेकर दुर्गम पहाड़ियों पर इस देश की रक्षा के लिए जूझता है, वह वहाँ पर खड़ा है, इसलिए हम यहाँ पर बेखौफ होकर बैठे हैं, हमारा वह जवान सीमा पर तैनात है, इसलिए हम रात को बेफिक्र होकर चैन की नींद सोते हैं। वह वहाँ खड़ा है, इसलिए 125 करोड़ देशवासी एक आत्मविश्वास के साथ अपनी जिन्दगी जीते हैं।

          सेना के वे जवान जो सेवानिवृत्त हो गये हैं, वे वर्षों से एक ही मांग इस देश के कर्णधारों से कर रहे थे कि हमने और हमारे साथियों ने इस देश की खातिर गोलियाँ खायी हैं। जो बचकर आ गये आज वे सेवानिवृत्त हैं। 

16.00 hours           किसी का पैर टूटा है, किसी का हाथ टूटा है, कोई जख्मी है तो कोई स्वस्थ भी है। उनकी एक मांग है कि वन रैंक वन पेंशन योजना इस देश में लागू की जाए। मैं पूर्व में भी इस सदन में रहा हूं, वन रैंक वन पेंशन की बात हमेशा यहां पर माननीय सदस्य उठाते रहे, लेकिन पूर्व की यूपीए सरकार अपने जवाब में एक ही बात कहती थी कि इससे एक वर्ष में चालीस हजार करोड़ रुपये का जो बर्डन आएगा, वह बर्डन उठाने की ताकत देश की सरकार में नहीं है। दूसरे सब बर्डन उठा लिए जाएंगे, लेकिन फौजियों का वह बर्डन उठाने की ताकत इनमें नहीं थी। उनके लिए तिजोरी नहीं खुल सकती थी, उनके लिए खजाने पर ताला पड़ा था। नरेन्द्र मोदी जी ने देश के जूझने वाले, देश के लिए लड़ने वाले उस जवान की भी चिन्ता की और वन रैंक वन पेंशन योजना इस देश में लागू किया। यह तीस साल पुरानी मांग थी, कोई एक साल पुरानी नहीं है, दो साल पुरानी भी नहीं है, यह दस साल पुरानी भी नहीं है, इस तीस साल पुरानी मांग को पूरा करके सेना के प्रति अपनी श्रद्धा का प्रकटीकरण किया है। फौज के प्रति इस देश के दिल में सम्मान है, नेतृत्व के दिल में सम्मान है, 125 करोड़ लोगों के दिल में सम्मान है, यह दिखाया है सरकार ने। इसी तरह से कर्मचारियों के लिए सातवें वेतन आयोग के मामले में सरकार ने विचार किया है। युवाओं के रोजगार की बात है, अभी थरूर जी अपने भाषण में कह रहे थे कि रोजगार के अवसर प्रदान नहीं किए। वह इस समय सदन में नहीं हैं, लेकिन मैं कहना चाहता हूं कि विगत वर्ष भारत के इतिहास में एक ही वर्ष में मुद्रा योजना में एक लाख करोड़ रुपये गरीबों को बांटे गए। किसको बांटा गया? जिनको बैंक अपने ऑफिस में खड़ा नहीं होने देती थी। वह गरीब जो बैंक के दरवाजे में प्रवेश नहीं कर पाता था। यह कर्ज उन लोगों को दिया गया, जिनके बैंक में जमानतदार नहीं थे, गारन्टी लेने वाले कोई नहीं थे। न कोई जमानत लेगा और न उनको कर्ज मिलेगा, न सरकार कर्ज देगी। लोन के लिए किसी चीज को गिरवी रखो या गारन्टी लाइए।...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति : अब आप अपनी बात समाप्त कीजिए।

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान : महोदय, यह मेरी पार्टी का समय है।...(व्यवधान)

श्री तथागत सत्पथी (धेंकानाल) : महोदय, जो एक लाख करोड़ रुपये बांटे गए, वह कैसे बांटे गए, क्या लोन दिया गया?

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: महोदय, मैं अपनी पार्टी के समय में ही बोलूंगा।

माननीय सभापति : अब आप अपनी बात समाप्त कीजिए, आपको बोलते हुए 40 मिनट हो गए हैं।

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: महोदय, मैं यह कहना चाहता हूं कि बात छोटी सी है, मुद्रा योजना में 5000 रुपये का कर्ज, 10,000 रुपये का कर्ज, 15,000 रुपये का कर्ज छोटे व्यवसायी-हुनरबाज लोगों को दिया गया, जिनमें से कोई ठेले पर फल बेचता है, कोई मोची की दुकान लगाकर बैठा है, कोई टेलर की शॉप लगाकर बैठा है, कोई मैकेनिक की दुकान लगाकर बैठा है या लगाना चाहता है। दुकान लगाना चाहता है, लेकिन उसके पास पैसा नहीं है, गरीब परिवार से है, बैंक बगैर गारन्टी के पैसा नहीं देती। पहली बार एक लाख करोड़ रुपये बगैर गारन्टी के इस देश के दो करोड़ गरीबों में बंटे हैं। शेष लगभग 25 लाख रुपये के बड़े लोन गारन्टी के माध्यम से बंटे हैं। इस वर्ष फिर मुद्रा योजना में एक करोड़ 80 लाख रुपये उन्हीं गरीब वर्गों में जो रह गए हैं, उनको देने का निर्णय इस बजट में किया गया है।  जिससे लगभग तीन करोड़ लोग लाभान्वित होंगे। ये कह रहे थे कि रोजगार के अवसर नहीं हैं। मैं इनसे कहना चाहता हूं कि इन दो करोड़ लोगों को जो कर्ज मिला है, यह कोई घी पीने के लिए नहीं मिला है। ये जो तीन करोड़ लोगों को कर्ज दिया जाएगा, उन्हें अपना रोजगार चलाने के लिए दिया जाएगा। करोड़ों लोगों को मुद्रा योजना के माध्यम से कर्ज देकर मोदी सरकार ने और जेटली जी ने रोजगार के अवसर उपलब्ध कराए हैं। मैं इस काम के लिए सदन की तरफ से माननीय प्रधान मंत्री जी को और वित्त मंत्री जी को बहुत-बहुत बधाई देता हूं।

माननीय सभापति: माननीय सदस्य कृपया अब अपना भाषण समाप्त करें।

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: सभापति जी, मेरी पार्टी के लोग कह रहे हैं कि मेरी पार्टी को जितना समय दिया गया है, उतना तो दें।

माननीय सभापति: आपकी पार्टी की तरफ से और सदस्य भी बोलेंगे इसलिए मेरा आपसे आग्रह है कि अपनी बात समाप्त करें।

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान: मैं पांच मिनट में अपनी बात खत्म करूंगा। मैं यह कहना चाहता हूं कि हमारे देश में डॉ. बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर की 125वीं जयंती का जश्न मनाने की घोषणा इस सरकार ने की है। मैं उसके लिए सरकार को धन्यवाद देता हूं। डाँ बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर से जुड़े हुए चार-पांच स्थानों को स्मारकों के रूप में रखने का निर्णय भी इस सरकार ने लिया है। जैसे अलीपुर रोड पर जहां बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर रहते थे, अटल जी जब प्रधान मंत्री थे तो उन्होंने उस मकान को खरीद लिया, ताकि देशवासियों के लिए वहां डॉ. बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर का स्मारक बनाया जा सके। लेकिन यू.पी.ए. सरकार ने अपने दस साल के कार्य में उस बंगले में झाड़ू तक नहीं लगवाई। यह देश के लिए दुर्भाग्य की बात है। जिस व्यक्ति ने देश को संविधान दिया और जिस व्यक्ति की बदौलत हम यहां बैठे हुए हैं और बात करते हैं, उनकी यह उपेक्षा तत्कालीन सरकार ने की थी। वह बात सारा देश जानता है।

          इसी तरह मुम्बई में चैत्य भूमि को सरकार ने 200 करोड़ रुपए में खरीद लिया। वहां पर डॉ. बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर का शोध संस्थान बनाने का कार्य युद्ध स्तर पर चल रहा है। मेरे राज्य मध्य प्रदेश में वहां के हमारे मुख्य मंत्री श्री शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी ने डॉ. बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर जिस मिट्टी में पैदा हुए, उस स्थान को उन्होंने उनकी जन्मसथ्ली से एक तीर्थस्थली के रूप में बदल दिया है। इस तरह के काम भारतीय जनता पार्टी की सरकारें ही कर सकती हैं, अन्य सरकारों ने तो इस बारे में सोचा भी नहीं था और प्रयत्न भी नहीं किया था।

माननीय सभापति: चौहान साहब, कृपया अपनी बात अब समाप्त करें।

श्री नन्दकुमार सिंह चौहान:  मैं अंत में एक बात और कहना चाहूंगा। हमारे विपक्षी सदस्यों द्वारा लगातार यह कहा जा रहा है कि इस सरकार ने कुछ नहीं किया और कुछ नहीं कर रही है। मैं उन्हें सिर्फ इतना ही कहना चाहता हूं –                    चमन को सींचने में पत्तियां कुछ झड़ गई होंगी,                    यही इल्जाम मुझ पर लग रहा है बेवफाई का।

                   मगर कलियों को जिसने रौंद डाला अपने पैरों से,                    वही दावा कर रहे हैं इस चमन की रहनुमाई का।।

 

          आज मोदी जी के नेतृत्व में यह देश दुनिया में आर्थिक क्षेत्र में उड़ान भरने लगा है।

                  

SHRI S.R. VIJAYA KUMAR (CHENNAI CENTRAL): Mr. Chairman, Sir, I express my gratitude and sincere thanks to our beloved leader hon. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma for giving me this great opportunity to speak in this august House on the discussion on the General Budget for the year 2016-17.

          Tamil Nadu, under the dynamic leadership of hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has given utmost priority to the infrastructure sector and we welcome the proposed enhancement of outlay for the infrastructure sectors. The performance of the National Highways Authority of India in Tamil Nadu is still somewhat wanting and needs to be improved with greater coordination with the State Government and greater sensitivity to State specific issues.

16.11 hours                         (Shri Hukmdeo Narayan Yadav in the Chair)           Hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had expressed her concerns about the proposal to privatize the Road Transport Sector through a Central legislation by amending the Motor Vehicles Act. Amma has consistently opposed to encroachment of powers of State Governments by this proposed legislation. Therefore, we oppose any move by the Union Government to infringe upon the powers of the State Government.

          We welcome some of the measures proposed to ease Public-Private Partnership in infrastructure. The proposal to establish a new credit rating system for infrastructure is particularly welcome. We, however, have our reservations on the renegotiation of PPP contracts in view of the inbuilt moral hazard. This is a task which should be approached with great care.

          In the area of FDI Policy, the proposal to permit 100 per cent FDI for marketing food products produced in India appears to be a backdoor entry for FDI in retail which our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has been opposing consistently.

          We also welcome the proposal to enact a comprehensive law to compact illicit deposit taking. However, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has urged that there should be adequate consultation with States and it should also be ensured that the State Government machinery is given an adequate and appropriate role in preventing such activity.

          We welcome the announcement of providing Rs. 25,000 crore to recapitalize public sector banks and the assurance to provide further funding if required. This will enhance confidence and enable greater lending and spur economic activity. I welcome the announcement of a Committee to review the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, something that we have been calling for since some time. It must be ensured that the States are also consulted by this Committee.

          It is unfortunate that the Finance Minister has not avoided the tendency to levy cess and surcharges on various items of central taxes which are not shareable with the States. The levy of Krishi Kalyan Cess on Service Tax, the Infrastructure Cess on Excise Duty on vehicles, the doubling of the Clean Environment Cess on coal and lignite and the levy of a surcharge even under the new Tax Compliance Schemes are retrograde measures and ways by which the Centre is trying to avoid sharing its tax proceeds with States. I strongly deprecate this practice. The proposal to treat assignment of spectrum usage as a service and not as a sale of intangible goods also eats into the tax base of State Governments, while enhancing the tax base of the Government of India and so we oppose this proposal.

          However, on the whole, the tax proposals in the Budget are regressive. There are Direct Tax concessions amounting to Rs. 1,060 crore mostly due to Corporate Income Tax concessions, while indirect taxes worth Rs. 20,670 crore have been levied, which come on top of the periodic increases in central excise levies on petroleum products which have seen an overall increase in yield of more than 90 per cent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as per the Economic Survey. This is a regressive approach which cannot be supported.

          This Budget lacks flavour as it does not have any specific announcement of schemes which would have enthused different segments including the States. It also does not speak of the status of implementation of many schemes announced earlier. The people of the State of Tamil Nadu had still higher expectations which have not been met.

          The launch of the National Rural Digital Literacy Mission is a recognition of the pioneering role that our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had played in launching and implementing the free laptop scheme for school and college students studying in Government and Government aided institutions. It was intended as an effort to bridge the digital divide, which the Government of India has also now recognized.

Our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has welcomed the announcement of the scheme to cover five crore poor families with LPG connections, aimed at reducing domestic drudgery, the same objective with which the Tamil Nadu State Government, under the dynamic leadership of our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has implemented the scheme for distribution of fans, mixies and Grinders to households in the State.

Our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has urged the Government of India to ensure that the beneficiary identification under the subsidized LPG scheme is done in such a way to ensure that States like Tamil Nadu, which already have a sizeable coverage under LPG connections, are not left out since the families that still do not have such connections in the State tend to be amongst the poorest.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadi Yojana, under which 3000 new medical stores are selling generic medicines, which is also very similar to the Amma Marunthagam Scheme launched by the Tamil Nadu Government lead by our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma.

The launch of a new Health Protection Scheme to provide insurance cover for poor families which requires hospitalization is welcome. This scheme is very similar to the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme launched by hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma in Tamil Nadu in 2011. I request the Government of India to converge their new scheme with the Tamil Nadu scheme of health insurance. This will enable smoother roll out of the Central scheme in Tamil Nadu, and reduce overlap and administrative burden.

The launch of schemes to sustain and encourage education, skills and job creation is most welcome. I would urge the Government of India to consult the States in the design and implementation of these initiatives. A provision of Rs. 3700 crore for the Rashtriya Madhiyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is inadequate. The proposal to develop a National Career Service Platform into which the State Employment Exchanges will be linked is a welcome measure.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is the most successful financial inclusion programme which has gone beyond opening of bank accounts for all poor people, by becoming a platform for poverty eradication, by offering basic financial services and social security to the poor. I would like to mention here that this is only a tool in the hands of administrators and it will bear any fruit if and when this tool is used in an appropriate time to serve poor and deprived people. In Tamil Nadu – aftermath of the heavy floods – more than 34 lakh people affected by floods were provided Rs.5000 each and the cash transfer were effected directly into their bank accounts. This massive work done under record quick time is the perfect example of a true federal system where a State Government works in perfect cohesion with the Centre. The Union Government should give full credit to our hon. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma for having proved the effectiveness of this scheme to reach the needy in record quick time.

The three new insurance and pension schemes launched by the Union Government namely, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana afford insurance cover hitherto uncovered sections of society to universalize social security which will be a boon for all sections of poor people.

To reduce the burden of loan repayment on farmers, a provision of Rs. 15,000 crore has been made in the Budget Estimate 2016-17 towards interest subvention. An allocation of Rs. 5500 crore has been made under Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana. There is an allocation of 850 crore for four dairying projects – ‘Pashudhan Sanjivani’, ‘Nakul Swasthya Petre’, ‘E-Pashudhan Haat’ and National Genomic Centre for indigenous breeds which is very meagre to cater the needs of the huge volume of dairy farmers in our Industry.

Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries sectors play a very important role in the socio-economic development of the country. India continues to be the biggest milk producing country with an impressive growth rate of 6.3 per cent. Cattle rearing needs government patronage and as rightly implemented by our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma the distribution of priceless cows, Goats and Sheep to poor cattle rearers in Tamil Nadu has indeed produced remarkable success in the socio-economic development of the poor and deprived people particularly in the villages and remote areas. Implementation of Poultry Venture Capital Fund and Rural Backyard Poultry Development has led to highest ever egg production. In Poultry farming too, Tamil Nadu stands tall and is the second largest producer and exporter of eggs in the country. More than 90 per cent of poultry or poultry products exported from India originates from Tamil Nadu. At present poultry concentration is in the poultry belts such as Namakkal, Erode and Coimbatore. The poultry keeping has evinced great interest among poultry farmers. There is a good potential for export of eggs, egg products and frozen chicken meat from our State to Gulf countries, Russia etc. Further, due to the changes in consumption behaviour of the people in the State towards desi chicken and desi eggs, there is great scope for the development of backyard poultry.

A Blue Revolution is underway to ensure the integrated development and management of fisheries with a Central outlay of Rs. 3000 crore. Tamil Nadu is one of the leading States in India in fisheries development having coastal length of 1076 kilometres. The different types of aquatic resources in Tamil Nadu like marine, freshwater, brackish water, riverine stretches, cold water streams in upland area are bestowed with rich biodiversity of aquatic fauna and flora. There are 2500 species of fishes found in different aquatic environments. The fisheries in the State is one of the vital sources for food security. The Department of Fisheries in Tamil Nadu has pioneered many fishery development activities in India. The Union Government has promised to form a separate Ministry to develop and conserve the fisheries resources and to ameliorate the socio-economic status of the fishermen community and to provide protection, ensure safety and security of the fishermen who toil hard and brave both sea and deploring militant activities of neighbouring countries Sri Lanka and Pakistan. I would like the Government of the day will create a separate Ministry for fisheries and development of fishermen community in the country and focus exclusively on the subject to provide a permanent and everlasting solution for the serious life challenging problems faced by Indian fishermen community.

Our  hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma has consistently opposed Direct Benefit Transfer to replace subsidized commodities like food and fertilizer with cash payments since the availability of these critical commodities is more important than saving on the subsidies. There is a New Urea Policy-2015 with the objective of maximizing indigenous production and improving energy efficiency. Providing 100 per cent neem-coated urea has not only improved efficiency but has also helped in plugging subsidy leakages by preventing illegal diversion of subsidized urea to non-agricultural use. The highest ever urea fertilizer production was achieved in 2015. I request the Union Government to allocate and ensure the supply of urea fertilizers and other agro products at subsidized prices to Tamil Nadu and other productive States, proportionate to the yield and production. In this regard Tamil Nadu entitles more supply of subsidized urea and other fertilizers.

Allocation under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana increased to Rs.19,000 crore. This will connect remaining 65,000 eligible habitations by 2019. The stepped up outlay for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana also responds to the request made by our hon. Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi Amma to the Prime Minister for a substantially enhanced outlay for this programme, to ensure speedy completion of approved projects taken up in Tamil Nadu. I expect an early release of Central funds under this scheme.

I once again wish to convey my profound gratitude to my beloved leader Puratchi Thalaivi Amma for having given me this opportunity to speak in this august House. I also wish to convey my sincere thanks to the hon. Speaker and members of this august House for the patient hearing.  Thank you.

 

PROF. SUGATA BOSE (JADAVPUR): Hon. Chairperson, Sir, for the third time, my esteemed friend, Shri Arun Jaitley, a distinguished lawyer, has presented a dissertation on macro economic management in the form of the Union Budget.  For the third time, I rise in this august House to offer my critique, a constructive one, I hope, of his Budget proposals.

          Shri Arun Jaitley’s third Budget is better than his first two attempts.  But is it good enough for our toiling millions?  Mounting evidence of agrarian distress combined with electoral set back in Bihar has ensured that this Government does not wish to be seen anymore as ‘सूट-बूट की सरकार।’. The sarkar now wishes to appear in simple farmer’s garb.  As my friend from the BJP reiterated in ringing tones -  ‘यह किसानों का बजट है, यह गरीबों का बजट है, यह गांवों का बजट है।’  But does the Change in attire putting on farmer’s clothes signal a genuine change of heart?  To answer this question, we must closely examine the budgetary allocations.  It would appear that the shift in rhetoric has run far ahead of any real shift in economic priorities. 

          The hon. Finance Minister could not bring himself to utter the phrase ‘farmers’ suicides’ in his lengthy Budget speech.  Yet, the spectre of an agrarian crisis in Bharat has made him foreground agriculture and farmers’ welfare together with the rural sector as two of the nine pillars on which his budgetary edifice is constructed.

          There is a belated recognition that irrigation, agricultural extension services and rural roads count as infrastructure and require enhanced public investment. A Long Term Irrigation Fund with an initial corpus of Rs.20,000 crore is a small beginning.  That has to be welcomed.  It must be targeted towards those about whom Rabindranath Tagore had written: “Ora mathe mathe bij bone, paka dhan kate, ora kaaj kore”. They sow seeds in our fields; they reap the harvest, they work.  … (Interruptions)

          Shri Jaitley has resorted to a conjurer’s trick to claim a massive increase in the Ministry of Agriculture’s allocation.  If you look at the figures, at first sight it appears that he has almost doubled the allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture.  But a close look at the numbers reveals that as much as Rs.15,000 crore of this amount – the interest subsidy given to banks for extending credit to farmers – has simply been shifted from the Head of the Finance Ministry to that of the Agriculture Ministry.  If we discount for this sleight of hand, total spending on agriculture rises from paltry 0.17 per cent of GDP to 0.19 per cent of GDP.  It is not enough to make a material difference in the lives of those who work in our farms and fields.

          Shri Jaitley has congratulated himself for providing the highest ever allocation of Rs.38,500 crore for MGNREGA, a programme that had been earlier scorned by the Prime Minister.  I do not want to enter into the quibble that we had between Shri Shashi Tharoor and the hon. Finance Minister as to whether it was in fact the highest ever allocation that he had announced.  I will simply say that the Rural Employment Programme is  demand-driven and the Government is required by law to fund it.  The State Government of West Bengal led by Kumari Mamata Banerjee has efficiently administered this programme.  Yet, it is one of at least 14 States that suffer from the slow and late disbursement of MGNREGA funds by the Central Government. 

          This Government – I will praise you now – has, from the outset, been reasonably clear-eyed about the need to invest in roads and railways, ports and airports. The total projected outlay of Rs. 2,18,000 crore in 2016-17 on roads and railways is the best that can be expected if the fiscal target of 3.5 per cent of GDP is to be met. I appreciate that the Finance Minister, in his Budget Speech, frankly acknowledged that he had received two contradictory opinions about the fiscal deficit.  In my view, an excessive tightening of the fiscal belt  is neither necessary nor desirable in the current economic climate.

          I am, therefore, in favour of the announcement that he has made for a review of the FRBM Act by an Expert Committee as there is need for flexibility in the context of global volatility.

          The Finance Minister’s two earlier Budgets had grossly neglected health and education.  There is a feeble attempt made this year to rectify past mistakes by restoring spending levels on some flagship health and educational programmes.

          A mission to provide LPG connection to women members of poor households  will begin to combat the health hazards of cooking on open fires. However the launch of a new health protection schemes comes nowhere close to addressing the looming public health crisis facing our country.  There is a yawning gap  between the slogan  of healthcare for all and the  dismal state of our public hospitals and Primary Healthcare Centres.  Women and children’s health and education continue to face the cold winds of neglect.  The ICDS Budget has actually been cut to only Rs.  14,000 crore  from Rs. 15,309 crore to be spent this year. 

          Just day before yesterday, we observed Women’s Day in Parliament.  Is this the way, Mr. Chairman, to treat our Anganwadi Workers and helpers who take care of our deprived and underprivileged children?

          The Budget promises to devote a larger share of allocation under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to the quality of primary education assuming the challenge of universalisation  has been largely met.  Both continued access and quality of school education deserve attention. 

          So far as higher education is concerned, I have repeatedly stated in Parliament that the ritual of announcing  a few new IITs, IIMs and AIIMS like institutions every year, does very little to achieve excellence in the field of higher education.  It  results in spending on brick and mortar for a few years, doing nothing for the improvement of the quality of human resources.  Since 2014, I have been calling for investment in 10 of the most promising institutions of higher education  to make them truly world class.  That call seems to have been heard in the Finance Minister’s announcement that an enabling regulatory architecture will be provided to 10 public and 10 private institutions to emerge as world class teaching and research institutions.  The formulation of a detailed scheme still lies in the future, and the devil is likely to be in the details. We need to ensure that there is a good mix of Central and State institutions in the 10 public institutions that are selected as part of this scheme.

          I  hope that the hon. Finance Minister, who is sitting here, will, in his reply, give us more information on the kind of enabling regulatory structure he has in mind for the proposed world class institutions. I hope very much that, at least, one or two heritage institutions from West Bengal, a State that has led in the field of higher education in this country historically, will find their place in the final list of 10 public institutions to be selected.

          The hon. Finance Minister constantly reminds us  of the Asian Norm of a Corporate Tax Rate pegged at 25 per cent and has taken tentative steps towards that goal in this Budget.

The manifesto of the Ruling Party had proclaimed that spending on education would be raised from three per cent to six per cent of GDP.  That is the norm in much of Asia.  We still await the Finance Minister’s roadmap towards fulfilling that campaign promise.

          As a Member of the External Affairs Committee, I share Shri Shashi Tharoor’s dismay that the allocation for this key Ministry has been reduced from Rs. 15,085 crore in 2015-16 to Rs. 14,662 crore in 2016-17.  Arun Jaitley Ji must be more generous to Sushma Ji not just because she is a wonderful colleague but because it is essential for the efficient and imaginative conduct of our Foreign Policy. We cannot meet our Foreign Policy objectives by having our Prime Minister flying solo to different destinations. We need a larger and more capable Foreign Policy establishment suited for meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

The banking crisis has elicited a few new initiatives from Mr. Jaitley in this sphere of financial sector reforms.  We welcome them.  But I am sure you will also agree that there is much more to be done.  Only this morning we had a debate here about a big defaulter who has just escaped from this country.

An area where the Budget falls woefully short is in its response to the jobs emergency.  There are various nice sounding schemes that have been announced but they have not yet helped our youth to stand up.  A budgetary provision of     Rs. 1,000 crore to incentivise employers to hire unemployed persons is a pittance.  The youth of this country are becoming increasingly impatient and restive and see Mr. Modi’s promise of remunerative jobs during his campaign as nothing but a mirage.  The youth are being alienated for other reasons.  You cannot alienate them on the jobs front as well.  Healthy output growth with anaemic jobs growth will spell political doom for this Government. I say to the Government of this day that you campaigned on hope.  Do not dash the hopes of the young. 

On the taxation side, we are relieved that the Government has withdrawn its ill-advised proposal to cast covetous eyes on the life savings of our senior citizens.  I think your niyath was good.  Your intention was good.  I know that Shri Jayant Sinha has lived in America for many years.  You have a Chief Economic Advisor who has international experience.  I know there are advanced countries that require pension funds to be taken in the form of annual distributions.  In addition to having a comprehensive social security net, the Governments and employers of those countries provide a good deal of choice as to where pension contributions are invested.  India has neither choice nor a proper social security net.  That is why, for once, I agree with the Prime Minister when he responded to popular pressure and directed the Finance Ministry to roll back this particular measure.  The salaried class under today’s circumstances must have full freedom on what to do with their pensions. 

I remember being very worried when my mother withdrew her provident fund as a senior citizen to contest two parliamentary elections in the late 1990s.  I had thought then it was a very rash thing to do but what else could she do as an honest and public spirited person.  When will this Government introduce State funding for elections to root out corruption in our political system?  We are much too beholden to big business who finance political parties and political candidates.  As before, this year’s Budget relies less on direct taxes - in fact the Finance Minister has given away some of the direct taxes that he could have collected - and more on indirect taxes and the imbalance is inherently regressive.        

          Taking advantage of low global oil prices, the Government has raised revenues by indirectly taxing petroleum products instead of passing on the benefits to consumers. By all means, tax the rich merchants. By all means, introduce transparency in their transactions. But the proposed excise tax on gold jewellery may, in fact, adversely affect goldsmith workers who are poor skilled artisanal workers. So, please direct your attention to the merchants who may be avoiding the system but please also take care of many artisanal workers who rely on employment in this industry. This year’s Budget is littered with cess and surcharges.

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE                 (SHRI JAYANT SINHA): I would like to explain to the hon. Member that as far as the question on applying excise on jewellers is concerned, that applies only to jewellers whose turnover exceeds Rs.12 crore… (Interruptions) It is a far cry from the small workers, the artisans that the hon. Member is pointing out. So, it is good for rhetorical purposes but frankly wrong from the factual point of view.

PROF. SUGATA BOSE : Thank you for the response. But I do think that there is a bearing on the employment prospects of these poor and skilled workers. That is all that I am saying.

          This year’s Budget is littered with cesses and surcharges that will go straight to the Centre’s kitty and here I share the sentiment expressed by my friend from the AIADMK. It is a clever way of circumventing the Fourteenth Finance Commission’s recommendations regarding the State’s share of tax revenues, and needless to say, it violates the spirit of cooperative federalism. Already in this financial year, the Centre has collected a larger proportion of the revenues than the Finance Minister had anticipated at the beginning of this year.

          In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Arun Jaitley’s third Budget is cautious like his earlier ones even though it does attempt some course corrections, reacting to changing economic and political circumstances. The discourse remains trapped in the binary between pro-rich versus pro-poor. In his anxiety to avoid being labeled pro-rich, the hon. Finance Minister has not been bold enough to introduce some pro-market measures that may, in fact, benefit the poor beyond making them recipients of direct benefit transfers of LPG and fertilizer subsidies. The expectation that had been raised of big bang economic reforms since 2014 has finally ended with a whimper in 2016. Our farmers and our youth will demand a reckoning in 2019, if not sooner, whether the promises made in the Budget of 2016 backed by inadequate resources so far have been, in fact, redeemed or not. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

                                                                                                   

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB (CUTTACK): Sir, I stand here today to participate in the discussion on the General Budget 2016-17.

          Unlike the first two Budgets of the NDA Government, this year’s Union Budget of 2016-17 involving an expenditure of close to Rs.20 lakh crore is overtly political even as it escapes being populist. Rural and social sector emphasis suggests that it has been clearly influenced by the prevailing political climate. To be fair, the Finance Minister has brought under focus a distressed rural economy without being populist and throwing freebies.

          We are told Rs.87,765 crore investment in the countryside is earmarked in building the much required infrastructure in irrigation, rural roads, digging of ponds, and above all doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. Some quality is also being infused into the rural jobs scheme with an outlay of Rs.38,500 crore.

          With repeated monsoon failures, low wages and small raises in the MSPs, the rural sector is in deep trouble. Such realisation is not only good politics but also excellent economics since it would lead to a bottom of demand growth. I remember that just the day the Budget was placed and read out by the Finance Minister, I was asked by an English finance newspaper to note down my comments immediately which were published the next day. There, I had mentioned ‘a good turn for the better’. But while I will be deliberating on the debates today, I have some more reactions to make.

          The external environment is both uncertain and volatile. A logjam has been caused by stressed banks and stressed private sector. Demand, a central pillar of growth, has been tepid. This Budget has a much greater sense of purpose and direction. This Budget continues a greater reliance on indirect taxes as opposed to a concerted effort to expand the direct tax net.

          This Government is investing in four Ministries. I do not know, Mr. Chairman, Sir, whether you will like it or not. These are the Ministries headed by Shri Piyush Goyal, Shri Nitin Gadkari and Shri Suresh Prabhu and all these three Ministers belong to Maharashtra. … (Interruptions) Of course, the Ministry headed by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is also there. He belongs to Odisha, but he is elected from Bihar. A lot will depend on their capacity to implement.

          The Budget makes a clear statement that it is time to boost domestic demand. There is an overall slowdown in demand in the economy, less than expected private investment, low credit off-take and excess capacity in the industry. Therefore, this Budget’s focus on infrastructure and rural development needs to be complimented.  The huge budgetary allocation to both the sectors will help the stress to rural economy and propel demand in the months to come. That is the expectation.

          Now, I come to the basics. The Finance Minister says : “additional resources for vulnerable sections, rural areas, social and physical infrastructure” have been provided, but since aggregate expenditure in nominal terms is slated to rise by just 10.8 per cent between this financial year and the next, that seems difficult to believe. I would like to understand from the Finance Minister on this aspect.

          MGNREGA can be taken as an example. The number of man-days of employment provided was down to less than 40 per household as compared to the demand of 100. Many workers have not been paid. With large accumulated arrears, in 2016-17, Rs. 38,500 crore have been provided, which is not much higher than the revised estimate for the poor performance year 2015-16. If you calculate the arrears from the previous year, the allocation in all probability will fall.

          Total allocation for agriculture, cooperation and farmers’ welfare is Rs. 35,984 crore. On the surface, this seems to be a huge increase in allocation for this sector compared to revised estimate of Rs. 15,809.54 crore for 2015-16, but this is a result of a change in classification. The Budget Estimate for 2016-17 includes another Rs. 15,000 crore for interest subsidy, for short-term credit to farmers. This head earlier appeared as a part of the Demand for Grants of the Finance Ministry and its inclusion inflates the ACFW figure for 2016-17. If I am wrong, then I need to be told.

          Irrigation is the life-line of agriculture and we expected a huge jump in irrigation. It is hugely disappointing to note that there has been an insignificant increase under PMKSY, the flagship irrigation scheme of the Government of India, from Rs. 5,300 crore to Rs. 5,700 crore. This is for the whole country and for a realistic comparison, Odisha’s State Budget for Water Resources last year was more than Rs. 6,500 crore. This is supposed to be for हर खेत को पानी।

SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE (GULBARGA): Mr. Mahtab, with this meagre amount they want to complete all 89 pending projects. पीएमकेएसवाई में हर खेत को पानी के लिए 500 करोड़ रुपये ...(व्यवधान)

श्री अनुराग सिंह ठाकुर:  इसमें तीन हैड्स के लिए अलग-अलग खर्चे हैं।

श्री भर्तृहरि महताब:  मैं पढ़ रहा हूं। ...(व्यवधान)

श्री अनुराग सिंह ठाकुर :  आप क्यों गुमराह कर रहे हैं? ...(व्यवधान)

श्री भर्तृहरि महताब:  तीन हैड्स नहीं, चार हैड्स हैं।

श्री अनुराग सिंह ठाकुर:  आप चारों के बारे में बताइये। ...(व्यवधान)

श्री भर्तृहरि महताब:  हर खेत को पानी के लिए 500 करोड़ रुपये हैं, AIBP and other schemes under PMKSY in Water Resources Ministry is Rs. 1,377 crore; per drop more crop इसके लिए 2340 करोड़ रुपये हैं। शायद इस स्कीम में मध्य प्रदेश को इस बार ज्यादा जायेगा, and Integrated Watershed Management Programme, which is a continuous programme another Rs. 1,500 crore have been provided. But the crux of the matter here is that … श्री निशिकान्त दुबे  : एआईबीपी के पैटर्न में भी चेंज किया है। ...(व्यवधान)

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB : Sir, I am coming to that. Regarding irrigation, this is one of the major issue, which we thought because after the hon. President’s speech, we had high expectation on that scale, but the money that has been allocated this year and in the speech specifically it has been mentioned that :

“…Implementation of 89 irrigation projects under AIBP, which have been languishing, will be fast tracked. This will help to irrigate 80.6 lakh hectares. These projects require Rs. 17,000 crore next year and Rs. 86,500 crore in the next five years…”.

 

Here comes the commitment. It states that :

 

“…We will ensure that 23 of these projects are completed before 31st March, 2017..”.

 

SHRI TATHAGATA SATPATHY : It is impossible! SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: How much money has been provided? We would like to understand. Where is that money reflected in this Budget? Or will it be coming from NABARD where another Rs. 20,000 crore has been placed and accordingly that will be distributed for this specific programme? This is my assumption and nothing has been spelt out, but I believe that when a commitment has been made, then adequate provision also will be made accordingly.

          I will come to tribal affairs and education at a later stage, but in this PMKSY including AIBP there is a growth of around 7.87 per cent. I come to the share in Central taxes where devolution of revenue is being done, but before coming to that let me come to the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission. I will just give an instance of our State. As per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, according to our calculation, in 2015-2016, we would have got Rs. 27,000 crore.

          The Budget Estimate of 2015-16 came to Rs. 24,411.60 crore; the Revised Estimate came down to Rs. 23,573.75 crore; and the loss here is Rs. 3,427.25 crore. In 2016-17, as per the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission, Odisha would have got Rs. 31,158 crore, but the Budget Estimate of 2016-17 is Rs. 26,567 crore; and here the loss is Rs. 4,590 crore. The Finance Minister or someone like Shri Nishikant Dubey can stand up and say that this is not the actual loss. Yes, it is a notional loss, but this is what the 14th Finance Commission has recommended. Accordingly, our expectation is that this much of money would flow.

          One may say that it all depends on how much tax has been realised by the Government. As was being told by Prof. Sugata Bose earlier, it is not that the tax or the revenue is not being collected by the Government. The Government is collecting the revenue. It may not be tax; it is Cess; it is on different account that money is being collected where the State Government does not get its share. If all those things would have been calculated, Odisha would not have borne this loss. Every State, I believe, is undergoing this loss.

          I come to the share in Central taxes to Odisha. In 2015-16, the Budget Estimate was Rs. 24,411 crore; and the Budget Estimate of 2016-17 is Rs. 26,567 crore. In this mathematical calculation, one can understand that there is a growth of 8.83 per cent. You have given us the Economic Survey Report just the day before the Budget was placed on the floor. What did it signify? The Economic Survey said that there is growth, or there was growth, or there will be growth this year – 7 per cent to 7.5 per cent; and inflation is four per cent. So, this growth has to be factored into previous year and this year’s estimates. Does this synchronize? It does not. Here lies our complaint and our demand that keeping the inflation and the growth in view, our allocation, or invariably every State’s allocation – I have not calculated other States’ allocations – has to be much more.

          इसलिए हम बार-बार यही कहते रहते हैं। ओडिशा 1947, 1957, 1977 में जहां कदमताल कर रहा था आज भी यानी 2016 में वहीं कदमताल कर रहा है। हमें फारवर्ड मार्च करनी है। हमें आगे बढ़ना है और हमें आगे बढ़ने के लिए कदमताल जैसी एलोकेशन से मुक्ति देनी चाहिए।

          We are emerging States; we have developed our economy; we have brought in more investment; and we have regulated our expenditure to a very great extent. Of course, nature has been unkind to us – not now, since centuries – and we have to withstand cyclone, flood, drought, etc.           We have a large number of tribal people. Coming to the welfare of SC/ST, I will say that around 38 per cent of Tribals and Dalits live in Odisha. What is the allocation? I would request the Finance Minister to go through the allocations of last 10 years or 15 years -- nothing has changed, not a single per cent has been increased. Article 275 (1) of the Constitution is a statutory provision that the Central Government will provide this much of money. Last year, the Budget Estimate was Rs. 1,367 crore; this year, the Budget Estimate is Rs. 1400 crore. Should we be satisfied with the increase of 2.41 per cent!

17.00 hours श्री निशिकान्त दुबे: ट्राइबल्स के लिए भी दिया है।

श्री भर्तृहरि महताब: ट्राइबल्स सब-प्लान के लिए 1250 करोड़ रुपए पिछले साल थे और इस साल भी 1250 करोड़ रुपए ही रखे हैं।

 श्री निशिकान्त दुबे: बजट में तो रखा गया है।

श्री भर्तृहरि महताब: लेकिन 15 साल से वहीं रुका पड़ा है। Should we thank you for that? This is the condition. … (Interruptions) There is hardly 1.26 per cent increase. We have a Minister of Tribal Affairs who represents Odisha in this House. What type of justice you are doing to him? I would say that this is a huge disappointment. I was mentioning about the net tax revenue to the Centre that has been projected to increase by about three per cent from Rs.9.2 lakh crore in the Budget Estimate of 2015-16 to Rs. 9.48 lakh crore in the Revised Estimates of 2015-16 whereas the tax devolution to the State has gone down by about 3.5 per cent in the Revised Estimates. This is indicative of the fact that the Union Government is depriving the States of their share through levy of cess and surcharge which do not form part of a sharable pool. When compared with the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, it is seen that the share of Odisha is less by about Rs.3,500 crore, about which I had just mentioned.

          One of the most important issues which needs to be discussed is about NPAs in the banks. Our nationalised banks are bleeding. The condition is so critical that metaphorically they can be said to be in the ICU. The vision that led to bank nationalization so that banks became accessible to the poor and help transform the nation’s economy is fast falling apart. It was a great dream in 1969. About 29 State-owned banks wrote off a total of Rs.1.14 lakh crore of bad debt between financial year 2013 and 2015. Bad loans of public sector banks grew at four per cent per annum between 2004 and 2012. But in the financial year of 2013 to 2015, they rose at almost 60 per cent. In last ten years, a staggering Rs.2.5 lakh crore of public money has been lost by public sector banks. This bad loan is greater than the loss to the Exchequer from 2G scam which was Rs.1.76 lakh crore or  Coalgate Scam which was Rs.1.86 lakh crore. The worse fact is that the bad loan scam is continuing to unfold. A conservative estimate has shown that by 2018, NPAs may cross 6.5 lakh crore.

17.03 hours                      (Shri Anandrao Adsul in the Chair)   You can add another Rs.8,734 crore on account of loans disbursed on fake documents. The Standing Committee on Finance has given a detailed report to this House. It also states the laxness of the Reserve Bank of India.

          I may be permitted to just quote a few lines. Of course, the Standing Committee Reports are taken seriously, I believe, by the Ministry. The total credit off-take of public sector banks in December 2014 stood at Rs.60 lakh crore. As on September 2015, net NPA of public sector banks stood at Rs. 2 lakh and odd crore. Gross NPAs during the corresponding period stood at Rs.3,69,900 crore. Such high incidence of NPAs obviously raises a serious question on the credibility of the mechanism to deal with NPAs. It is alarming that nearly Rs.6.8 lakh crore worth of bank loans were in stressed category compared with Rs.5.91 lakh crore of the previous year. I am not going into all those details that the Committee has mentioned. But here I would just like to mention this. “The Committee are constrained to observe that the RBI does not seem to have quite succeeded as a regulator insofar as implementation and enforcement in letter and spirit of its own guidelines on stressed accounts is concerned. Mere using of guidelines by RBI does not seem to have yielded the desired result. Committee would not like the RBI to be a passive regulator when major lapses occur in banks”. These are very harsh words for a Standing Committee of Parliament to mention like this about RBI. And we expect the Government to sit down with the RBI and find a policy.

          Fearing attachment and disgrace, a poor unfortunate farmer ends his life for not being able to repay a few thousand rupees to the bank. Why cannot the Government consider reviewing Kisan Credit Card? This is a suggestion for your consideration. Kisan Credit Card has a limit and that has to be repayed every year after the crop is harvested. Many of these farmers who are committing suicide are doing so because the demand is more and in addition to availing KCC when they need more money for their crop they go to self-help groups or other moneylenders. They get that money at an exorbitant rate of interest like 32 per cent or 36 per cent.

          I am not arguing that you try to waive off that loan. My suggestion is that you increase the KCC limit. If it is Rs.1,00,000, raise it to Rs.3 lakh.  Give them a three-year period to pay that amount back. At least the interest component will come down because of subvention of different schemes and it will come down to at least one per cent or two per cent. He will be in a position to pay back that money which he has got at 26 per cent or 36 per cent and he can survive.

          At the same time, I would say that small entrepreneurs’ property is attached, everyday small people are bullied. In contrast there are the favourites who have taken thousands of crores of rupees of bank money. Without fearing attachment or punitive measures they flaunt this money and siphon it off. This is India’s grimmest irony. RBI Governor has emphasised that a corporate borrower must be made to pay for a bad business decision. These are his words. Given the mounting bad debts of banks, MoS Finance is here, Parliament should amend the law to ensure the recovery of corporate loans if a business fails.

SHRI JAYANT SINHA: Bankruptcy Code.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: To a certain extent yes, but that will not cover the whole picture.

          On December 16, 2015, a two-member bench of Supreme Court in a 71-page judgment, dismissed Reserve Bank of India’s submission as a petitioner in eight cases and ruled that information sought by Respondents has to be provided. In this significant judgement, the Supreme Court upheld the orders of the Central Information Commissioner.  This same ruling also dismissed petitions of the NABARD in two cases and one in which ICICI Bank was the petitioner.  The Supreme Court agreed with the Chief Information Commissioner’s counsel that the Right to Information is inherent in Article 19 of our Constitution and is thus a Fundamental Right of citizens.  The judgement also stated that RBI’s submission that exceptions should be carved out of the RTI Act to accommodate provisions of the RBI Act and Banking Regulation Act is not tenable. 

This is the judgement of December 2015.  I was given to understand that the Minister of Finance is carrying a file today where he has all the names of defaulters.  People say they are wilful defaulters.  Today, he was giving a reply to the deliberation in the morning relating to a ‘Woodpecker’ company which has flown off to London or Paris or somewhere else.  He has full details, names and who are the defaulters.  But the RBI has been fighting it out that until and unless the Parliament changes the law, they cannot name and shame them.  But here, I am giving an instance.  In the United Kingdom where the ‘Woodpecker’ company’s head has gone, the legal position about disclosure of information harks back to a seminal 1924 case called Tournier vs. National Provincial and Union Bank of England.  At that time, the English Court of Appeal held that under normal circumstances banks must maintain confidentiality in their relationship with clients.  Importantly, it also ruled that such confidentiality was subject to a few exceptions including when (a) disclosure is compulsory under law, and (b) when there is a duty to the public to disclose. 

I would just like to say it in my fullest command.  Is it not the time when there is a duty to reveal those names?  If the Chair permits me, I will reveal it. … (Interruptions) It is not just one Member of Parliament.  A dozen of current and former Members of Parliament are also big defaulters and they are all corporate defaulters. 

          There is an Ethics Committee and before that Ethics Committee, certain things have to be disclosed.  They are skilful defaulters and not willful defaulters (Interruptions)एक तो मैं बता सकता हूं। There is a family company, top 20 bank defaulters and the bank is IDBI Bank.  The bad debt is around Rs 16,000 crore in one bank. It is Rs. 16,000 crore in one bank and out of that 16.5 per cent is of this family-owned company. … (Interruptions) आई.डी.बी.आई. का बता दिया है, बाकी आप पता कर लें। आप अगर इतना ही कर देते तो आज आप वहां फर्स्ट रो में बैठे होते।

          मुझे एक बात पेट्रोलियम केमिकल एंड पेट्रो केमिकल इंवेस्टमेंट रीजन के बारे में कहनी है। Very recently the Prime Minister had been to Paradip to inaugurate a facility of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. It was proposed to develop a Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) at Paradip which has been sanctioned by the Government of India. The Indian Oil Corporation, as the anchor tenant has still not firmed up its plans for a petrochemical complex because of which the PCPIR has been a non-starter. Unless a cracker complex is set up in PCPIR Paradip with basic infrastructure by Government of India and IOC it would not be possible to attract the private investors. The company invested around Rs. 35,000 crore. The expectation is another Rs. 1 lakh crore or another Rs. 65,000 crore would be invested on this; that should start. Accordingly, the Budgetary provision also should be made.

          Here I would also mention this. There is a compulsory mechanism for coal mining and coal-based power plants. The Government of India collects clean energy cess of Rs. 200 per tonne of coal to finance clean environment initiatives. The cess, at current level, aggregates to Rs. 6,000 crore every year. With mining activity picking up, there is a need for compensating the coal bearing States suffering the brunt of the negative externalities of coal mining and coal-based power plants out of the cess on coal through appropriate fiscal instruments and policy measures in the Union Budget. That has not been reflected.

          There were some more issues which I thought I should flag here but I would say the fate of the GST Bill still lies in a limbo. Corporate India, small and medium enterprises, and financial markets are all awaiting the passage of the GST Bill as al of them believe that it would help create a common market for their goods and services within India. Is it not extra-ordinary that even though India has been a strong political union for the last seven decades, political parties have failed to create a common market? Political differences are an integral part of a liberal democracy. There ought to be differences but political opportunism should not turn into political obstruction.

          The Budget speaks of the weaknesses. Despite the promise of new insurance schemes it is hard to avoid the conclusion that health and education still remain black holes for this Government. The allocation for education is up but only marginally. It is very marginal. Let me not go into the details since there are other Members who want to speak.

          To conclude, I would say my last two lines. Do not take it otherwise. While the rhetoric is pro-farmer and pro-poor, inadequate resource mobilization and obsession with fiscal deficit target ensures that the Government cannot give its growth strategy a much needed human face. But at the same time I would also like to say that there has been a shift from the past two Budgets towards rural and agro economy. That will generate demand in the rural area. This generation of demand in rural area will help MSME sector to grow and that will generate employment. But by that time 2019 would have come.

          Thank you.

 

SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN (KASARGOD): Sir, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. I would like to participate in the discussion on the General Budget for the year 2016-17 presented by our hon. Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley. This is the third Budget of the NDA Government. This is also the 86th Budget of Independent India.

          Sir, Budget is not merely an account of assets and liabilities. It is something more than that. It should have a perspective as well as a short-term vision that is to make promote development and make better social atmosphere. It is reported that there is 7.5 per cent growth rate and also the fiscal deficit is 3.9 per cent; revenue deficit is 2.1 per cent and CPI is 5.4 per cent. When we take all these parameters into account, of course, anyone will have to say that this is a good Budget with regard to these figures. I think that the Finance Minister is very firm to control the fiscal deficit. I do not think that even if there is some more fiscal deficit, it would not be a sin. The main issue is not whether it is a surplus Budget or a deficit Budget. The focus of the Budget should be on the benefits to common man. On the one hand the hon. Finance Minister has increased the allocation in some sectors, while on the other hand many sectors are lagging behind in their amounts of allocation in this Budget.

          Sir, I would like to give my own views with regard to the suggestions made by the hon. Finance Minister. The Finance Minister has said in his Budget speech that there is a very huge increase in the agriculture sector which comes to about Rs. 35,984 crore. It is very good. But when we go through the Budget we could see the magic that the hon. Finance Minister has made. Out of this Rs. 35,984 crore, Rs. 15000 crore is agricultural subsidy for short-term loan taken by the farmers. It was there earlier with the Finance Ministry. Then, how can the hon. Finance Minister say that there is an addition of Rs. 15,000 in the allocation for the agricultural sector?  With this amount the total comes to about Rs. 35,984 crore. So, it amounts to misleading the House and also the people that the Government is allocating more amount and investing more in the agriculture sector. It is not true.

          Sir, the Finance Minister is committed to controlling the fiscal deficit. It is true. How is that possible? There are two methods that any Finance Minister can adopt. One is to reduce the subsidy given to the corporate sector and the other is to increase the rate of the Direct Taxes. But from experience it is very clear that the Government is reluctant to take such steps. Despite increase in the Indirect Taxes and reduction in the subsidies to the common people and reduce the corporate tax, the Government earns money from disinvestment of the Public Sector Undertakings. It means that the Finance Minister is making an attempt to control the fiscal deficit at the cost of the common people. It is really like giving benefits to the rich but not to the common people. It is true that there is global recession. It does not mean that export is increasing. Due to the stagnation in the agriculture sector, the purchasing power of the people is not increasing.

          In such a situation, any big company is reluctant to invest in infrastructure sector.  Banks who have given loans to these projects are in a crisis due to the non-remittance of the huge loans by these big companies.  As a result, the Government has to give Rs. 25,000 crore to these banks which are not able to get back the loans from the big companies.  Again, if these projects are not completed on time, these banks are going to be in trouble.  We see that Rs. 1.14 lakh crores have been written off because of the bad policy that the Government has formed.

           The Government is saying that they are making huge investments.  As far as some sectors are concerned, the crux of the policy of this Government is FDI and PPP.  Somebody has defined PPP as Problem, Problem and Problem. That is what we see as far as infrastructure is concerned. The banks become bankrupt. They are not getting the money back from the persons who had taken them.  When we go into the details of such persons, we can see that they are from the real estate or other projects.  Earlier, banks were permitted to give short term loans to individuals and institutions. The Government has changed its policy to give loans to big persons to invest in projects.  That has become the major difficulty nowadays as far as these projects are concerned.

          The Government has a very favourable atmosphere because crude oil price has declined in the international market from 110 dollars for one barrel to 30 dollars for one barrel.  But there is no decline in the price of petrol and diesel.   At the same time, they have increased excise duty seventh time.  The Government could gain at least Rs. 1 lakh crore. The Government is not ready to transfer this benefit to the common people.  Even BJP leaders and workers  thought that when there is such a change, there would be some decision to decrease the price but the Finance Minister was not ready to give or not kind enough to make any change as far as excise duty is concerned.

 The reduction in corporate tax is five per cent, that is, from 30 per cent to 25 per cent, and it would continue.  There was a reduction in the income tax of Rs. 46,000 crore for the last year.  But by increasing the excise duty, it has been compensated. It means that tax burden goes to the shoulders of the common people.   This shows how the Finance Minister showed a better growth rate.  It is a most important issue as to how he has shown this.

Economists are of different views on the growth rate itself because the Government has changed the base year from 2004-05 to 2011-12.   Anyway, I am not going to contradict the figures because we want better growth rate.

Here, I would like to ask the Finance Minister one question.  We can agree that there is 7.5 per cent of growth rate and the Consumer Price Index is 5.4 per cent.  Are you able to translate this benefit as far as the people are concerned?  Are you able to translate the fruits of the 7.5 per cent growth rate in the life of the common people especially taking into account the price rise?

I want to know from the Government whether they have achieved  better growth rate. Why have  you failed to address the issue of price rise?

Prices of crude oil has come down.   You have better and favourable atmosphere but you could not control the prices of any item.  You are blaming the earlier Government.  You say that CPI was 9.6 per cent and now it is 5.4 per cent.  The price of rice was Rs. 25.75 per kilogram and now it is Rs. 38.  The cost of sugar was at Rs. 30 per kilogram and now it is available at Rs. 40 per kilogram.  Chilly power was available at Rs. 113 per kilogram whereas now, it is available at Rs. 160. The price of onion was Rs. 19 per kilo, now it is Rs. 30; the price of shallot was Rs. 26, now it is Rs. 50; the price of garlic was Rs. 80 per kilo, now it is Rs. 200; the price of potato was Rs. 17 per kilo, now it is Rs. 35; the price of pea was Rs. 69 per kilo, now it is Rs. 190; the price of tea was Rs. 215, now it is Rs. 300; the price of milk was Rs. 23, now it is Rs. 48; the price of coconut oil was Rs. 80 per kilo, now it is more. I want to get the answer from you. If you have 7.5 per cent growth rate, then why have you failed to reach the benefit to the common people? So, there is something wrong. Either the figure is wrong or the calculation is wrong. We want to get the answer for that.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Your time is over. 

SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN :I have started just now. 

          There is a reduction in the Budget allocation towards urban development, minority sector; there is only a normal increase for health, education and social sectors; only Rs. 56 crore more has been given to the women beneficiaries; the honorarium for anganwadi teachers and helpers has not been increased.

There is a shocking decline in the allocation for Scheduled Tribes.  In relation to the proportion of their population, 8.6 per cent should have been allocated, but the actual figure is only 4.4 per cent. With regard to Schedule Tribes, it should have been 16.6 per cent, but the actual figure is only 7 per cent. So, there is a big loss as far as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are concerned.

          The Government has decided to sell the shares of the public undertakings, which comes to Rs. 56,000 crore. It really means reduction in employment of the youth and also means the looting the public sector.

          According to the noble scheme, the MNREGA passed by the Parliament, they have to give 100 days work to the rural people. Now, they are given work only for 40 days. But the Act was passed for 100 days. An allocation of Rs. 38,000 crore has been made. I really appreciate it. But at the same time, there is only a meagre increase of Rs. 2,000 crore. An amount of Rs. 8,880 crore is spent as wages. That means there is no increase at all.

The Government has given concession to higher income people. There is a loss of Rs. 1,660 crore in the direct tax revenue; but there is a gain of Rs. 20,670 crore in the indirect tax revenue. It means that you are again taxing the common people. So, the vision of the Budget is very clear as far as this Government is concerned.

In an international magazine it is reported that India is in the sixth position as far as the number of millionaires are concerned. In 2020, India would be in the fourth position in that list. But on the other side, crores and crores of people are suffering. We speak about the digital India, etc. But in the rural areas, we are not able to get even the mobile connectivity. In the rural areas, we are not getting the mobile connectivity. How is it possible to achieve digital India?

The  House has discussed the relentless service of our army men. If anybody dies, we give financial assistance. I request the Government not only to give the financial assistance but also to give employment to any member of the family because that is most important.

Let me say a few things with regard to Kerala because I come from the State of Kerala. I am very sorry to say that the Finance Minister has not at all been kind to the State of Kerala. All the Members from Kerala raised the issue of rubber. The rubber farmers there are at the receiving end. They are left with no other option but to commit suicide. That is the next stage. Earlier, the price was Rs. 280, now it is only Rs. 80. How is it possible for them to survive? We made a demand to increase the import duty, but the Government is not ready. We also have been demanding for a special package. For that also the Government is not ready. So, I would request the Government to take immediate steps towards that. The Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, and the Commerce Minister promised our people that they will give anything because Kerala is the God’s own country.  But as far as the rubber sector in Kerala is concerned, it is facing a very serious crisis and the Government should take some steps immediately to save the rubber farmers of Kerala.

          Sir, the three pillars of Kerala’s economy are cash crops and agriculture, NRIs and traditional industries. We get Rs. One lakh crore as foreign exchange from NRIs of Kerala. But the Government is not ready to give any benefits to them. So, I request the Government that they should provide them pension, insurance and create a welfare fund for them. I urge the Government to at least reduce the air fare. This has to be given.

          The cooperative sector is a model movement in the State of Kerala and the cooperative movement in Kerala is well-known throughout the country. But some of the amendments made in the Cooperative Act have made it very difficult for the cooperative sector to function effectively. It is a massive movement in Kerala. So, I request the Government to take some steps to save the cooperative sector.

          The Central Government has changed the pattern of financial share of most of the Centrally sponsored schemes. For example, in schemes like MNREGA, SSA, IAY etc. State Governments have to give more share. This puts additional burden on the States. This needs to be considered.

          Then, the allocation to public sector undertakings like KMML, BHEL, KEL, HOCL, Cochin Ship Yard, and Cochin Port needs to be increased because many of them are facing very serious financial crisis.

          I congratulate the Government for giving AIIMS to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. But what was wrong with us? What mistake have we committed? I would like to know from the Government whether the State of Kerala does not deserve an AIIMS. It is really a discrimination shown towards the State of Kerala. This needs to be looked into.

HON. CHAIRPERSON : Please conclude now.

SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN : Sir, I am concluding.

          Sir, when the Finance Minister came to present the Budget, I thought that he may take some strong measures against black money because the BJP had promised earlier to bring back the black money stashed abroad and they also said that every citizen would get Rs. 15 lakh in their account. I would like to know whether any of my BJP friends got that amount. In the Budget, there is no scheme for bringing back the black money stashed abroad. But at the same time, there is a scheme of licensing the black money. The name has changed. It says that they may disclose the accounts. I suspect that it is because elections are coming. They say that persons who are having black money may give 45 per cent. So, I would say that this is an election tax that the Government has taken. This is really against the election promise that they made.

          With these words, I conclude.                        

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO (SHIRUR): Mr. Chairman, Sir, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on the General Budget for the financial year 2016-17. I stand in this august House to speak on behalf of my party Shiv Sena and my party chief Shri Uddhav Thackeray.

          Sir, while analyzing this Budget, we need to understand the prevailing global and domestic economic environment. Globally, all major and other so-called emerging economies of the world are facing strong headwinds. At the same time, India is posting a strong GDP growth with declining inflation. On the brighter side, the fiscal and current account deficits have been in check. But there are warning signals that need to be paid attention to ensure that the Indian growth story remains sustainable. Agricultural growth has been sluggish, our banks are facing rising spate of NPAs and most severely, today the value of the American Dollar is close to touching Rs. 70. Amidst all these challenges, it was a daunting task for the hon. Finance Minister to present a Budget that not only tackles current challenges but also lays down the foundation for making the Indian economy truly resilient in turbulent times. At a macro level, the Finance Minister has managed to placate all sectors of Indian economy and citizens. He has also strived hard for keeping the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent.This is admirable especially because a major push has been given to agriculture sector, rural economy and bolstering the infrastructure.  But, at the same time, there are several fronts on which I would urge the hon. Finance Minister to have a re-look.

Through the Make in India Campaign, it can be seen that the Government and the hon. Prime Minister personally have been making all-out efforts to position India as a global manufacturing hub. But in my opinion, we need to play smart in order to realize the objective of making India into a manufacturing player in the international economic arena. The closer analysis of the Budget suggests that the Government is planning to withdraw the incentives for research and development it provided to the indigenous companies. For example, the present 200 per cent tax incentives to the in-house research and development expenditure has been reduced to 150 per cent from 1st April this year onwards. It would be further reduced to 100 per cent from 1st April 2020 onwards. Now, Indian companies, especially the SME sector, have just recently started to invest in ramping up R&D activities. The cost of hiring skilled manpower in India is consistently rising. In such a scenario, the proposed measures would have dampening effects on indigenous research and development initiatives.

I would like to draw the attention of the hon. House to the Income disclosure scheme for revealing hidden incomes. The Finance Minister has rightly created conducive environment for defaulters to pay a 45 per cent levy inclusive of penalty and seek immunity. Sir, a huge number of cases worth more than Rs. 3 lakh crore are pending before the various Income Tax tribunals. By making the disclosure procedures fair and transparent, the Finance Minister is trying his best to get money under litigation transferred to the mainstream economy. There is also a time-bound limit set in disposing of tax disputes. This would create a fear free environment in the minds of tax payers.

The evolving security and geo-political environment for India has never been this critical, especially with ever-growing threat of our hostile neighbours and also internal dissent. There is no doubt on the resolve of the Government to face these challenges head on, but a strong military requires constant strategic investments to maintain its edge.

Unfortunately, the capital expenditure outlay has been slashed to 8.5 per cent from last year's capital expenditure estimate. This pegs the allocated figure at Rs. 78,586 crore. Out of this Rs. 60,000 is already earmarked for issuing payments against purchases of the equipment already made or commitment already made. Another Rs. 6000 crore would be utilized as initial advances for the Rafale fighter aircraft. This leaves a mere Rs. 12,000 crore against new capital equipment purchases at a juncture when we are talking about increasing the level of Defence preparedness.

Now I would like to talk about one of the important issues which is really a burning issue throughout the country today.  I would like to talk about one per cent excise duty levied on gold. At a time when we are talking about giving boost to the rural and agricultural economies, such a measure restricts their investment avenues as jewellery and gold are the most convenient avenues for rural population. The gem and jewellery industry in India has already been facing unfavourable market conditions over the past few years. Additional excise duty on gold would prove detrimental to the sustainability of the industry. There is yet another aspect to this particular issue. In this House, I must state a fact that the traders and labourers engaged in small-scale jewellery business are not well-versed with book keeping and accounting regulations.

SHRI JAYANT SINHA: I would just like to explain that this is only applicable to jewelers whose turn over last year is less than Rs. 12 crore.  So the question is, हमारे कस्बों में ऐसे कितने ज्वैलर्स हैं, जिनका टर्न ओवर 12 करोड़ से ज्यादा है?

श्री आधलराव पाटील शिवाजीराव:बहुत सारे हैं।

श्री जयंत सिन्हा : 12 करोड़ से ज्यादा वाले कहां हैं? ...(व्यवधान)

श्री आधलराव पाटील शिवाजीराव:फार्मेलिटी काफी ज्यादा है। ...(व्यवधान) पूरे इंडिया का मार्केट बंद है, करीब 15-16 हजार करोड़ रुपये का नुकसान पूरे महाराष्ट्र और इंडस्ट्री में हुआ है। ...(व्यवधान) I must state the fact that the cost and efforts required to comply with the new guidelines would pose different set of challenges before small scale jewellery business. Moreover, they fear intrusion and harassment by Central Excise authorities once this policy comes into effect. It should be noted that the gem and jewellery industry is known to employ a significant number of workers in the skilled and semi-skilled category. Livelihood of millions is dependent on this sector. This measure would not only affect the workers but also greatly impact the consumers who look at gold as an investment and security asset. It is pertinent to note that the then Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukharjee tried to impose the similar 1 per cent Central Excise duty on unbranded gold jewellery in the year 2012. But jewellers went on strike for 12 days as a mark of protest. That time, the decision to levy 1 per cent extra Excise duty was strongly opposed by the BJP including the present hon. Prime Minister and Mr. Yashwant Sinha ji.  I was present in this House when he delivered the speech.  We supported his speech at that time.  As a result of which, the then UPA Government rolled back that decision.  But it is disappointing to see that the present day Government is making the same mistake and contradicting its own stand on this issue.

Another fundamental policy pertaining to MPs and the MPLADS funding is what I would like to stress here.  Chairman, Sir, all esteemed Members of this house would agree when I say that the inadequate funding under the MPLADS Scheme poses a grave challenge in meeting the needs of a vast constituency. I represent more than 25 lakh or 26 lakh voters, spread over 6000 square kilometres. An MLA in my State Maharashtra gets Rs. 2 crore every year to spend in his assembly constituency where he has only one constituency.  I represent the area which is six times larger than his constituency.  In Kerala, an MLA gets Rs. 6 crore.  That is very important.  I would like to request the hon. Finance Minister to look into it because it is a very important issue. Besides that, MLA in each State gets a lot of access to various schemes under the State Governments whereas an MP has a very limited to scope to satisfy the voters of his constituency.  That is why, it is very important.  You either cancel the MPLADS Fund or increase it to Rs. 10 crore to 12 crore minimum or even Rs. 25 crore. 12 करोड़ रुपया होगा तो भी चलेगा। ...(व्यवधान)

          There is another Scheme called Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.  The Scheme has raised people's expectations to a great level but corresponding budgetary and administrative measures are still not in place. The Government should support the SAGY.  This is a very very important Yojana.   

          Continuing on the theme of Make-in-India and boosting the .manufacturing sector, the automobile industry was awaiting this budget with a lot of hopes. I come from Pune District where India’s largest automobile hub exists, that is Shirur. Most of the world’s player and Indian automobile players are in my constituency.  I do not want to name the company but all major Indian and international companies are there.   Yet, in this scenario, an infrastructure cess on small petrol cars (one per cent), small diesel cars (2.5 per cent) and higher engine capacity SUVs and big sedans (four per cent) will impact automobile manufacturers at a time when they are already facing difficult market conditions.  It looks like that the Government wants to exert brakes on the growth story of Indian automobiles and auto component manufacturers.

          Hon. Chairperson, Sir, the Budget has rightly put an emphasis on reviving the agricultural and rural sector by introducing a string of measures such as a time-bound programme for electrifying 18,000 villages; fast-tracking 89 irrigation schemes to cover an additional 28.5 million hectares; allocating an unprecedented Rs.2.8 lakh crore to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as directed by the 14th Finance Commission; a first-time allocation of Rs.6,000 crore for groundwater management; setting up a long-term irrigation fund of Rs.20,000 crore; rehabilitating 5,00,000 ponds and dug wells under MGNREGS; raising the allocation for rural roads under PMGSY-II to Rs.19,000 crore.  I have been asking the Government for many years to raise this amount, which has been finally raised, and it is a welcome step by the Government.

While all these measures are truly appreciable, emphasis on public health in rural areas also needs to be adequately given.  The agricultural practice of sugar production is closely linked to farmers, labourers and co-operative factories that have a bearing on 65 per cent of our population.  The sugar industry is facing innumerable challenges such as volatile prices, shortage of labour, high transport prices.  Yet, there has been no mention of any relief measures towards this important sector. This is very important for our State, Maharashtra because majority of the sugar industries are in Maharashtra.

          Another major development in the Indian economy over the last two to three years has been the growth of e-commerce and traditional start-ups.  The Indian entrepreneurial talent in tech sectors has always made its mark at the domestic and global scale for many years.  While the hon. Finance Minister has offered some perks to such start-ups, (for example, 100 per cent of profits can be claimed as deduction for tax purposes for three years) the definition of start-ups needs to be clearly defined.  Does a start-up that is using technology to deliver just a tiffin qualify as a start-up?  What kind of innovation are we trying to encourage in this country?  We are all aware that the prevailing business models of our popular e-commerce companies are an imitation of similar companies in the US and other Western countries.  I understand that a new company would be qualified as an “Eligible Start-up” by an Inter-Ministerial Board.  We would like to know the criteria that would be applied for granting such a certification.  Ultimately, the benefits of extending such a tax incentive should be the creation of new technologies; innovative products that help make India a technological powerhouse.

          Every Budget sees an additional imposition of excise duty or taxes on so-called sin products such as alcohol and tobacco.  This is primarily done to discourage people from consuming unhealthy products.  The 2016 Budget has followed suit and increased the excise duty on tobacco-related products by 10 to 15 per cent. While such measures cannot and should not be disputed, a similar measure should have been introduced on the consumption of bidis.  Around 11 per cent of tobacco consumed is in the form of legal cigarettes and tobacco products, while 89 per cent is in the form of other tobacco products made illegally.  Bidi and other unregulated forms of tobacco contribute only 12 per cent of excise tax in spite of clinching evidence that increasing taxation reduces tobacco consumption.  It is important to note that consumption of Bidis is the highest amongst rural and poor population and its consumption leads to oral cancer and lung cancer.  This has an enormous socio-economic impact for the rural population who have limited access to quality healthcare. I would request the hon. Finance Minister to address this discrepancy.

          Sir, once again, I would extend my heartiest congratulations to the hon. Finance Minister and the hon. Prime Minister for addressing the necessities of all the sectors of economy in the best possible ways.

          With these words, I support this Budget on behalf of my party Shiv Sena.  Thank you.

                                                                                     

SHRI JAYADEV GALLA (GUNTUR): Thank you, hon. Chairperson, for giving me this opportunity to speak on the General discussion on the Budget for 2016-17.

          As I rise to support the General Budget of the Government of India for 2016-17 presented by the hon. Finance Minister, it is with a sense of both optimism for the country as a whole and with a sense of disappointment for my State of Andhra Pradesh, a new State with an old name, and many challenges.

          Sir, this is a pro-poor, pro-farmer, pro-women, pro-youth and pro-worker Budget with unprecedented focus on the rural sector and investments for the growth of the future of India.

          Before  getting to my views on the  Budget, in general, I would like to first take up the issues facing my State because in case, I do not have the time to complete, I want to make sure that these points are made and are heard in this House.

          Sir, the agitation for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, though decades old, was at its peak for almost ten years prior to the actual bifurcation which took place in 2014, when the Parliament passed the A.P. Reorganization Act, 2014 in the most undemocratic, unscientific, and unfair manner. The State suffered a great deal due the uncertainty during this decade.

I am sorry to say that even two years later, we are still suffering from uncertainty. Like the farmers of the country who live on unpredictable income, we are also living with unclear and unpredictable financial  assistance from the Government of  India.  We still do not know how much we we get nor when we will get it.

Many promises were made by the leaders of both the Congress Party and the BJP, which are yet to be fulfilled. Even the promises made in the Act  itself are yet to be fulfilled. While we appreciate the constant assurances that are being given, it is not enough in order for us to plan our finances in a responsible manner.  The people of Andhra Pradesh continue to be in a state of suspense and uncertainty. As per  the 14th Finance Commission analysis, Andhra Pradesh is the only large State in the country with Budget deficit at the end of the Award period. And, the promise of filling the Budget deficit is yet to be realized; we are getting it piecemeal! Sir,I would like to remind this House that Andhra Pradesh is not a non-performing State unlike other States, which are deficit States.  We are a performing State. But by the acts of this very Parliament, we are put into this financial crisis. So,it is for this very Parliament to rectify the situation. The people of Andhra Pradesh have been waiting patiently,but this patience is  evaporating to put it mildly. The real response is much more vociferous than I am able to state in this House today. I wish to reiterate for brevity that in my last two years Budget speeches, we are asking you this as investment rather than expenditure. If we continue to be in financial crisis, it would be at the cost of the nation. If you invest in us, we will quickly turnaround and become a growth engine of the country which we are very capable of becoming.

Our people are our greatest strength and source. They are educated, confident, skilled, entrepreneurial, and proving their capabilities not only in the country but also overseas.

So, with a little support from the Centre, we can certainly create miracles. We need priority on funding our Budget deficit in full; we need priority on Polavaram, which was declared as National Project and is the lifeline of farmers of Andhra Pradesh; and  we need clarity on funding support for the new Capital that we are building in Amravati Our Chief Minister is known for his golden touch, discipline, and effective leadership, and anyone in India who knows him, would never contest the plans and programs that he has set for Andhra Pradesh. With the existing financial crunch, if Andhra Pradesh is able to achieve the second best State in ease of doing business as per the World Bank and able to achieve double digit GDP growth, one can imagine what kind of miracles we can do with a little help from the Union Government.

As per the 14th Finance Commission analysis, Andhra Pradesh is the only large State in the country with a Budget deficit even after five years. Andhra Pradesh’s  revenue deficit in 2014-15, the first year after bifurcation, was Rs.16,200 crore. As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, this was to be given to Andrha Pradesh as a Revenue Deficit Grant.So far we have received only Rs. 2,303 crore. There is no indication of when we will receive the balance Rs.13,897 crore due to us.

18.00 hours We demand a clarification on this.  All the people of the united State from all regions have invested heavily to develop the Capital city of Hyderabad and the lion’s share of revenue was coming from this city which we have lost.  We are in the process of building a new Greenfield Capital, Amravati on the banks of river Krishna.  It will be a matter of pride not only for the people of Andhra Pradesh but for the whole country.  Our Chief Minister Shri Nara Chandrababu Naidu garu’s vision is to have a smart, green, blue, efficient, vibrant, diverse, inclusive, livable and happy people’s capital. 

          The hon. Prime Minister during the election campaign promised the people of Andhra Pradesh to support us in the building up of world class Capital and has pointed us in the direction of many fantastic new Capitals around the world that have been built recently.  It will take Rs. 3 to 5 lakh crore to achieve the vision of both our Chief Minister and our Prime Minister.  Our estimate is that it will require Rs. 15,000 crore in the next three years just for the basic infrastructure and the Government complex. We demand that the hon. Finance Minister to release Rs. 4,000 crore this year to get started on this most important project.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members , I have a long list of speakers to speak on the General Budget. If the House agrees, the time for the discussion may be extended by two hours.

SEVERAL HON. MEMBERS: Sir, we agree with you.

HON. CHAIRPERSON : Those who want to lay their written speeches on the Table, they can do so.  It will be treated as a part of the proceedings. 

SHRI JAYADEV GALLA: I was talking about the building of our new Capital Amravati.  We demand that the hon. Finance Minister release Rs. 4,000 crore this year to get started on this most important project, for which more than five crore people are having aspirations and hopes.

          The Polavaram project is a multi-purpose irrigation project which has been accorded national project status by the Central Government.

18.02 hours                       (Shri K.H. Muniyappa in the Chair)           It is part of the National River Linking Project and is designed to contribute to the over-coming deficit of water in the country.  As per the A.P. Re-organisation Act, the Centre is to provide hundred per cent funds for the cost of the project.  The Union Budget 2016-17 allocations for the project are identical to the 2015 allocation and it is a standard Rs. 100 crore despite an estimated cost of Rs. 20,000 crore.  Polavaram has been the dream of the people of Andhra Pradesh for nearly seven decades.  It will provide irrigation facilities to about 2.9 lakh hectares.  It will provide drinking water to the people of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh and also generate 960 megawatts of clean hydro-power.  Once the project is completed, it will save nearly 3,000 TMC of Godavari water which will otherwise flow into the Bay of Bengal.

          I am happy to note that the hon. Finance Minister has set a target of irrigating 28.5 lakh hectares and has earmarked Rs. 20,000 crore for NABARD for this purpose.  We demand the hon. Finance Minister to provide Rs. 3,500 crore this year for Polavaram and also request the reimbursement of Rs. 2,000 crore which has already been spent. 

          Recently, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has completed the Pattiseema project and for the first time in the country, I can proudly say that our CM has been able to successfully link the Godavari and Krishna rivers to provide water to the drought prone region of Rayalaseema.

          Assistance of Rs. 24,350 crore from 2014-15 to 2018-19 for development of seven districts of Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh districts has been assured.  However, the Government of India has released only Rs. 700 crore (Rs. 350 crore in 2014-15 and Rs. 350 crore in 2015-16).  We requested Rs. 200 crore to each district to be released in this Budget.  However, the plea of Andhra Pradesh for allocation of annual development grant for the seven backward districts of the State has been ignored in this Budget.  We demand that this is allocated in this Budget.

          On the incentives for industrial development as per the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, the Government of India has very kindly provided 15 per cent additional accelerated depreciation and 15 per cent additional investment allowance.  This is not adequate to attract substantial investments.  We need the promised industrial incentives in line with Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which is excise duty, income tax and service tax exemptions for the next 15 years.  We also requested the Government of India to provide Rs. 1,500 crore in the Budget to develop industrial estates in Andhra Pradesh to make the ‘Make in India’ vision a huge success.  This also does not find place in the Budget. 

          What do we say on the issue of special category status for Andhra Pradesh?  We should be treated separately and given grants as per the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act.  Normal grants cannot be shown as a special financial package.  The State of Andhra Pradesh is starringo at a revenue shortfall and this could have a huge impact on our sustained development.  Also the Government of India has been requested to provide externally financed project assistance as grant to the extent of 90 per cent with the State contributing the remaining on par with special category status States.      

   

          The AP Re-organisation Act, 2014 also mentions setting up of a National Institute of Disaster Management in Andhra Pradesh, a State which gets ravaged by natural disasters. With almost 1000 kilometres of coastline and Hudhud types of cyclone affecting us regularly, we need this institution.

          The 2015-16 Budget carried an allotment of Rs.919 crore for this, which was revised to Rs.650 crore. However, 2016-17 Budget has no mention of this allotment. We demand a clarification.

          The farmers of the new capital area have come forward to the call of the CM of Andhra Pradesh in a novel scheme of land pooling wherein the farmers, who voluntarily surrendered land, will be given developed land in lieu of cash compensation. It is a case of win-win for the farmers and the State. The Government of AP has requested for exempting the proceeds of first sale of the developed plot in the hands of farmers from capital gain tax as land compensation on acquisition is exempted from capital gains tax already. The hon. Prime Minister during the Bhoomi puja last year had declared at Amaravati that all possible assistance will be given to AP. Unfortunately, the request of AP for the benefit of farmers, who sacrificed their land for the people’s Capital, has not been acceded to. I demand that this exemption be given with clear procedures laid out.

          Second one is giving income tax exemption for donations to build Amaravati. Building a new Greenfield capital city is a Herculean task. The CM has taken up the issue of income tax exemption to donation given for the construction of Amaravati. There is no mention about it in the Budget. We are part of the NDA alliance, and still we could not get this simple assistance which is a city specific and donors are one time individuals.

          Third is income tax exemption to donations for Smart Village and Smart  Ward. The hon. CM of AP has requested for exempting donations given to Smart Village and Smart Ward from income tax. The hon. Prime Minister has been a great advocate of rural India and smart towns. The request for an exemption for this important project of the Prime Minister has not been dealt in the Budget despite the Government of AP flagging it several times with the Finance Ministry. Any donations for charity or good cause are limited. Each segment of the needy will compete for the pie. The Government of India will not lose any revenue as the pool of money to be donated for good causes is limited and will not expand because there is an exemption. Hence, I request the hon. Finance Minister to agree with us for an exemption as it benefits all citizens in rural and urban India.

          Fourth one is central excise duty exemption for pre-fab items for housing for poor. The hon. CM has requested for exempting prefabricated building materials used in construction of housing for poor. This request has been made in line with the objectives of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. We are now left with just four years and many millions of houses have to be constructed within the available financial resources to meet this objective. Unfortunately, the Budget is silent on this. Exemption will not only help AP but all others in achieving the targets regarding housing.

Prefab structures can be mass produced economically and speedily to meet the requirements. Our visionary Chief Minister has requested but the issues have not been adequately examined by the Finance Ministry. I request the matter to be re-examined and exemption to be given. If need be, a sunset clause of March 2020 may be inserted to see that the exemption is for a limited period. As of now, there is no production of prefab structures but now the technologies are available. The Finance Ministry need not worry about any revenue loss as at present there is no production of such goods in large number. The exemption will create a new sunrise industry of prefab building materials and provide employment in the organized sector as well.

          Sir, to be frank, I am very happy with the announcement made by the Finance Minister in paragraph 111 of his Budget that he will constitute a Committee to review the FRMB Act. I am happy because AP is one State in the entire country reeling under severe financial crunch after its bifurcation. The CM of AP has been requesting for increasing the FRMB limit from three per cent to seven per cent keeping in view the dire financial situation in our State. I had raised this very issue in this very House exactly a year ago, on 12th March, 2015. Now, our fiscal deficit is 2.9 per cent and we cannot go beyond three per cent as per the FRBM Act.

          Now that we have not got any help either from the 14th Finance Commission or the Budget to come out of the fiscal deficit - and moreover, Andhra Pradesh would be the only large State in 2019-20 with revenue deficit - there is no other go for the Andhra Pradesh Government, but to request the Union Government to permit it to cross the three per cent limit and give it elbowroom to borrow up to seven per cent of GSDP so that it can, at least, address some of the important areas of its economy. So, I request the Finance Minister to give enhancing FRBM limit as one of the terms of reference to the Committee.

The main thrust of the Budget is that it maintained fiscal deficit in spite of global economic slowdown. The Government has been able to increase its revenue. The Finance Minister has brought down direct taxes by Rs. 1,000 crore. Of course, if you look at the overall scenario, it has gone up to Rs. 19,000 crore. It is a good sign that incomes are going up, direct taxes on income are coming down which benefits the lower income categories. In the current economic scenario, with all the needs of the country, the Government spending on infrastructure, education, healthcare, social sector, rural development, agriculture, skill development are all investments for the future. If we need to maintain our fiscal deficit and continue to spend on these sectors, the revenue generation is equally important and this Budget has done that. It has raised revenue, maintains fiscal deficit and has increased spending on social sector. The rural economy, because of increasing distress that the farmers are under, has been given a huge push. This Government is sensitive to understand the plight of farmers and increased the spending on agriculture, rural economy at an unprecedented level. All farmers, regardless of which State they are from, will benefit from this.

The rich have also been taxed which indicates that the Finance Minister has shown social justice. Sir, we are all one family - Vasudaivaka Kutumbakam. And, in a family those who are doing well have to contribute more to the welfare of other members of the family. Anyone who is impacted by this should feel that they are contributing, rather than feeling the weight of their wallet.

The important role of any Government is to create opportunities for fostering human capabilities that are equal and empowering. And, fundamental to this are: Health, Education and Livelihood. While the JAM was spoken as a magic Trinity, but the real trinity to my mind is Health, Education and Livelihood and in the rural context this will be Health, Education, Agriculture and Livelihood or HEAL. So, JAM Trinity and 'HEAL' touch only can cure Bharat. And, it is for everybody to see this very thrust in the Budget.

Sir, the President has outlined three fundamental tenets to achieve the Government's goal of Sab ka Saath Sabka Vikas. Following his footsteps, the Finance Minister has built his Budget on nine distinct pillars to transform the country. The pillars start from agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural development, social sector to tax reforms. But, due to time constraint, I wish to touch upon only some of these pillars.

Sir, I first touch upon first two pillars of agriculture and rural Development. As I said in the beginning that back-to-back drought years really made the Government to focus on agriculture and rural development so that farming does not entirely depend on monsoon. Finance Minister has set a target of irrigating 28.5 lakh hectares this year. Allocation of Rs. 17,000 crore has been made this year for irrigation, but the total requirement is Rs. 86,500 crore in the next five years. Of course, there is a dedicated fund of Rs. 20,000 crore in NABARD. It is a very ambitious target which has never been achieved in the past. I am confident that we will definitely achieve this.

Secondly, I welcome enhancing agriculture credit target to Rs. 9,00,000 crores. Here, the problem is not with regard to loan, but the problem is with regard to rate of interest. Now, the rate of interest is seven per cent and the Government is giving three per cent interest subvention if farmer pays the loan regularly. With vagaries of nature like drought and floods, farmers are not able to pay their loans regularly. So, there is a genuine demand from farmers to make the interest four per cent. So, I urge the Government to look into this genuine demand and reduce the interest on farm loans to four per cent  irrespective of repayment conditions.

Thirdly, I come to the recently launched Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojna. The objective is to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases. Under this new scheme, farmers will have to pay a uniform premium of two per cent for all kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for all rabi crops and for commercial and horticultural crops, farmers will have to pay a premium of five per cent. The remaining share of the premium, as in previous schemes, will continue to be borne equally by the Centre and the respective state Governments. The Scheme shall be implemented on an area approach basis. It means that a village is proposed to be taken as a unit. But my suggestion for consideration of the Finance Minster is to take every acre of farm land as unit so that every farmer is benefited and this is what is precisely the objective of this Scheme and this is the demand of the farmers.

Our CM of Andhra Pradesh has also taken various measures for farmers and the most courageous decision is to waive-off farm loans and he has implemented it successfully. The State has also taken an initiative called Polam Pilustondi or farm is calling. It aims to integrate technology and agriculture to make it profitable and sustainable.

It is welcome that the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has also been introduced on a pilot basis in some districts on some social sector schemes. The Budget is also proposed to bring in fertilizer under this. But I only urge the Finance Minister to study the way it is being implemented with regard to food security in the two Union Territories of Chandigarh and Puducherry where people are finding it difficult since they are not getting quality food grains with money that they are getting through DBT.

I also welcome 100 per cent FDI in food processing sector. It is a progressive decision. I am saying that it is progressive because Rs. 44,000 crore worth of fruits, vegetables and grains are wasted in the country every year and it is one of the contributors of food inflation. As per the recently released Report by FICCI-KPMG, we are losing 30 per cent of farm products due to lack of cold storage facilities.

Coming to AP, which is one of the leading producers of horticulture products with more than 9,300 units, we are losing more than Rs. 5,600 crore annually due to lack of processing facilities. So, there is a need for post-harvest infrastructure in the country to achieve 20 per cent growth from the existing 8.4 per cent and there is also a need to increase India's share in world food production from 2.75 per cent to 5 per cent. I am confident that with FDI in food processing we can achieve this.

 Sir, to conclude, the hon. former Finance Minister has correctly said in 2008 that if ploughmen keep their hands folded, even sages claiming renunciation cannot find salvation. This Budget, by Mr. Arun Jaitley ji sincerely attempted to unfold those very hands, which are folded for the last decade or so.

With these observations, I once again support the Budget. Thank you, Sir.  

 

*SHRI P.K. BIJU (ALATHUR): I express my views and concerns on the budget 2016 presented by honorable Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitely.

          At the outset, I am sorry to say that the tone and tenor of the Budget 2016 is pro-rich and is detrimental to the poor in India. It is devoid of any vision and a blatant attack to on the poor and marginalized and will further worsen the problems of unemployment and inequality. It is clear that many of the schemes are mere policy documents with little budgetary implications.

          Through the announcement of budget, the Government is pretending pro-poor. But what is the reality? Like all Union budgets, the budget 2016 also is long on promises but hides the real dynamics. While, social sectors such as education, health care, drinking water, SC/ST, Women and Child development are neglected fully or partially, corporates are blessed with a tax reduction on a platter. While the rich and corporates were given a tax reduction of whopping rupees 1000 crore, the government plans to net an extra rupees 19000 crore in indirect taxes which are contributed by all. This reveals a regressive intent. Direct taxes are paid by the well-off, who constitute only 4 percent of the Indian population. The hike in the indirect taxes will have cascading effects on the poor. It is a political gimmick to hide the fact that a decline in the share of direct taxes is an indication of a sordid scheme of the government.

          Please have a look at the recent Economic Survey 2016. It has clearly indicated that taxes on the rich have to be raised and their subsidies cut. But apart from some tinkering, the overall reduction in direct taxes indicates that the rich are not likely to bear any major increase in taxation. Based on the declaration of rupees 19 lakh crore Budget expenditure, the Finance Minister claims that the budget is pro-farmer and pro-other marginalized sections of the society. The budget has been tagged as farmer and agriculture friendly. But as far as the farmers are concerned, much may have been promised, but nothing was delivered by the Government till now. Majority of the farmers have not received the higher compensation declared last year for crop loss.

          The Finance Minister announced proudly that in 2015-16 the plan expenditure have not been cut to attain the fiscal deficit target. But how this good performance was made possible and at whose expense? This was made possible due to the decline in the petroleum goods prices and the non-passing of that decrease to the public by raising excise duties.  When the present government came to power at the Centre, the international price of crude oil was 108.56 dollars a barrel. Recently the price was 38 dollars. The price has fallen to third, but only a small part of that fall was passed on to people. The government and companies cannot take the burden of rising crude oil price. But when the price slumps, the government and companies compete to reap the benefits. Even during the term of the previous government, this promise was broken on some occasions. The criticism that companies and the government are making use of lower price was raised even then. Now it has become more clear and huge. The signal from the duty hike in six weeks during October-November 2015 is this: additional excise duty imposed now is 30 paise for a liter of petrol and Rs.1.17 for a liter of diesel. In November, duty on a liter of petrol and diesel  was increased by Rs.1.60 and 30 paise respectively. Through this, the government has pocketed 1.87 lakh core and an additional 1 lakh crore earned from cutting the subsidies. But it has never been passed to any priority sector such as agriculture, education and Health.

          The budget which boasts of a farmer’s budget is escaping from the sordid realities of the Indian agrarian sector. The government is showing a blind eye towards the average of 52 a day farmer suicide in 2015. As per the economic survey 2016, around 48.9 per cent of the population is solely dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. It is the biggest contributor of country’s GDP with 17 percent of the total. But the growth of the agriculture is only a staggering 2.2 percent. The nomenclature of Agriculture also includes livestock, forestry and fishery. Considering this fact, the actual growth of the agriculture would be farfetched from the current growth. It is a shame on the government that except sugarcane, all crops have been showing a negative growth. Growth of rice is -1.6% wheat is -7.6% pulses is -10.8% ground nut is -32.2% and only sugar shows a positive growth with 2.7%.

          Simply mentioning agriculture numerous time in the budget and hollow promises of doubling their income by 2022 provides no succor to a sector that is languishing in neglect and apathy. The overall hike of 94% in the agriculture sector is highly misleading. This is largely due to the interest subsidy to the farmers on short term credit. The budget shows an estimated Rupees 15000 crore for interest subvention that has been added this year in Department of Agriculture and Cooperation raising the overall spending. Interest subvention was never part of the agriculture ministry’s budget and the budget has included it in this year to inflate the allocation and fooling the public. The budget also claims the rural credit a boost from a target of rupees 8.5 trillion in 2015-2016 to 9 trillion next year. But the actual beneficiaries are not farmers but the corporates.  In 2015, the government has merged the direct and indirect agriculture in to one under the priority sector lending. Direct agriculture refers to individual famers or groups directly engaged in agriculture and allied activities. The indirect sector is mainly engaged by the corporates. Now the banks can meet their entire agriculture lending taget-18 percent of their net loans by lending it to corporates. The budget is chanting farmer frequently and helping the corporates by taking name of the poor. The announcement of online market national agriculture marketplace and organic farming is merely a policy announcement and not to be included in the budget.

          What is the larger picture? Agriculture land declined to 181.98 million hectare in 2011-12 from 182.44 million hectare in 2007-08. 85% of all landholdings in the country belongs to small and marginal farmers. Census 2011 data reveal a shrinking farmer population in country, 42% farmers wants to quit agriculture if given an alternative. Reasons are many including the policy of cutting in budgetary allotment from irrigation, subsides for fertilizers to inadequate credit facilities. The farmers, who are the back bone of our economy, are rendered speechless on the kind of treatment they received from the NDA government. The amount allocated for micro-irrigation projects is a paltry sum. Allocation of rupees 8.5 lakh crore as agriculture loan was another promise in the last year budget. It is a fact that around 94% of the existing farm credit corpus goes directly to agro-based industries and not to the farmers.  I wonder how many promises made by PM in this speeches have been implemented and have seen results.

          The Minimum Support Price, which is supposed to insure the farmer from price fluctuations, should raise the bar in order to protect the small and marginal farmers.  India faces serious problems of hunger and under-nutrition. According to National Sample Survey data, average calorie and protein intake have been steadily declining over the past few decades. In rural areas, the average calories intake per person per day declined from 2,221 kcal in 1983 to 2,020 kcal in 2009-10. Over the same period, the average protein intake per person per day declined from 62 gm to 55gm. One sees a similar pattern in urban India; the average calorie and protein intake declined from 2,089 kcal and 57 gm in 1983 respectively to 1,946 kcal and 53.5 gm in 2009-10. The vast majority of the population remains seriously undernourished. A key mechanism to address the problem of hunger and under nutrition has been the Public Distribution System (PDS). The recent WTO ministerial conferences have threatened the possibility of subsidies given in the procurement process of food grains which is the life line of PDS. This will further shrink the food basket of the poor in India.

          Controlling of food price is another major important issue the government has failed miserably. Let us look at the prices here. Food prices have climbed up steadily in the past one year destroying the family budgets. Price of Dal and onion have already reached a boiling point. Till about a month back, it was onions at Rupees 50-plus a kg, Now, arhar and urad dal at  Rupees 150 and more is the major talking point. Prices of dal have zoomed up by more than 100% across the country. Not only dal and onion, the price of vegetable and rice have also exploded.  The rise in vegetable price has come as a double-shocker for the common man. Tomatoes are selling at Rs.60 a kilo, with ladyfinger at Rs.50 a kg and brinjal at Rs.40 kg.   Like never happened in the history of independent India, prices of necessary food articles are sky rocketing during the period of current government. One major cause of increase in the prices of vegetables and pulses is the rise in the prices of the raw materials required in the production starting from seeds, to fertilizers, pesticides, and labour costs. Subsidies to the small and marginal farmers are cut or abysmally low. As a result, the cost of the end product also increases. Both food and fertilizer subsidies have been cut by Rupees 5000 crores and Rs. 2000 crores respectively.

          The expenditure on Tribal Sub Plan, which is supposed to be 8.6 percent of the total plan expenditure, is only 4.4 per cent – a shortfall of Rs. 24,000 crores. Allocations for Minority welfare have fallen in real terms. The allocation for the ICDS has been slashed by Rupees 1500 crores despite the direction of the Supreme Court for its universalization, which would have required an additional Rs. 10,000 crores. Similarly, in the case of the SC-Plan, the expenditure is pegged at 7 percent of the total when it should be 16.6 percent- a shortfall of Rs. 52,470 crores. The common man was expecting “ACHHE DIN” under the Government. But unfortunately it turned out to be the biggest joke of the century.

          The lofty claim of highest ever allocation for MNREGA is patently false because it was higher in the year 2010-11.  Maintaining 2010-11 levels in real terms would have required an expenditure of over Rs.65,000 crores in 2016-17. What is even more shocking is a concealment of the fact that in 2015-16, despite it being a drought year and the promise of doubling the number of days of work from 100 to 200, the actual level of expenditure was so low as to generate only an average of 38 days of work. But, see the other side of the picture. India is a country for the corporate ruled by the corporate. Twenty nine state –owned banks wrote off a total of Rs.1.14 lakh crore of bad debts between financial years 2013 and 2015, much more than they had done in the preceding  nine years. Whose bad debts  to the tune of Rs. 100 crore  or more had been written off? The government has no answer. Obviously, it is not of the common man of our country. While the government is allowing the defaulters of rupees 9000 crore loans, the liquor baron Vijay Mallya to escape the country, they are putting the poor farmer in prison for defaulting of their agriculture loans of meager amount. Last year, the government was subjected to tearing criticism for the mention of revenue forgone to the tune of 5.85 lakh crore rupees, in which majority are the corporates. So this time, in order to avoid criticisms, the budget 2016 has taken an easy route. Instead of the direct references of the revenue forgone of Rs.6.11 lakh crore of the current year, its mention is scattered across the budget document to escape attention.

          The biggest danger lies in the efforts of the Government to subvert the federal ethos and principles of our Constitution. The replacement of planning commission with Niti Ayog, which  has only advisory role to finance ministry, is the first step in that direction. The government is aiming for taking away the federal powers of the states by abolishing of Planning Commission. The budget has also proposed merging of plan and non-plan fund without taking in account of its gigantic and cascading impacts on the farmers, poor and weaker sections of the society. Further, this will have unprecedented consequences in the form of imbalances and inequity in distribution of resources within the states and among the states of our country.

          According to the estimates of Kerala, there are over 13 lakh people associated with agriculture sector in the state. And around 75 lakh people are associated with the plantation sector.  The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnerships (RCEP) free trade agreement with India and other 15 nations, the agriculture and plantation sectors in Kerala are staring at an uncertain future as they fear that once the pact is singed it will sound a death knell for these sectors. Kerala will be one of states worst-affected by the RCEP agreement due to the agro-climatic conditions as well as crop mix. There will be a direct impact on rubber and spices and an indirect impact on coconut. Currently, the fall in price of rubber from rupees 260 per KG to rupees 100 has created an unprecedented economic situation in Kerala. Declaration of minimum Support Price for cash crops is the only way out to save the farmers from committing suicides. The demand for increase in import duty for rubber is long pending  demand of Kerala. Many other demands of Kerala are yet to be fulfilled, such as increasing the amount of financial assistance to IAY programme. The IIT in Palakkadu had been declared three years back but no steps have been taken to construct building to materialize that dream. The hiking of service tax by 4% will have a blow to states with tourist destinations such as Kerala. The demand of Kerala for AIIMS was also turned down by the budget 2016.

          To conclude my speech, what the budget is lacking is the doctrine of implementation and future road map for the common man. The declaration to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent in the coming year is a classic case. The government has already committed to disburse the 7th Pay Commission salaries to the employees which involve around Rupees 1 lakh crores. But there is no mention in the budget document that how this task will be accomplished and it is a good example of lack of fiscal prudence of the government. The only clear indication is the more and more privatization and corporatization of the sectors where the privatization is already done and finding more and more avenues for the private capital.

         

*श्रीमती रंजनबेन भट्ट (बडोदरा)ःहमारे देश में बहुत बड़ी जनसंख्या गांवों मे निवास करती है और सच्चाई यही है कि गांवों में रहने वाले अधिकांश लोग गरीबी रेखा के नीचे अपना जीवन-यापन कर रहे हैं। साथ ही, आये दिन यह सुनने में आता है कि किसी किसान ने गरीबी से तंग आकर आत्महत्या कर ली। इन्हीं सभी बातों से द्रवित होकर हमारे वित्तमंत्री श्री अरुण जेटली जी ने गांव, गरीब और किसानोन्मुखी बजट सदन में प्रस्तुत किया। इसकी प्रशंसा चहुंमुखी होनी चाहिए और इसके लिए वे बधाई के पात्र हैं। असली भारत तो गांवों में बसता है और जब तक गांवों का विकास नहीं होगा, तब तक देश का पूरी तरह विकास नहीं हो सकता। हमारे प्रधानमंत्री माननीय श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी जी भी गांवों से जुड़े हुए हैं और उन्हें गांव की हर पेशानी की अच्छी तरह जानकारी है कि जब तक गांवों का सर्वांगीण विकास नहीं होगा तब तक महात्मा गांधी और बाबासाहेब अम्बेडकर का सपना पूरा नहीं होगा। मेरे विचार से माननीय प्रधानमंत्री और वित्त मंत्री जी ने उनके सपनों को साकार करने के लिए ही गांवों, गरीबों, किसानों, युवाओं और महिलाओं के विकास के लिए यह कदम उठाया है।

          बजट में सरकार ने गांवों में इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर सुधारने पर ज़ोर दिया है। प्रधानमंत्री सड़क योजना के लिए 19 हज़ार करोड़ रूपए रखे गये हैं। राष्ट्रीय पेयजल कार्यक्रम के लिए 5 हज़ार करोड़ रूपए की राशि दी गयी है। हम सभी जानते हैं कि गांवों में साफ पानी की किल्लत है और उपलब्धता को देखते हुए सरकार ने यह आयोजन किया है। पंचायतों का कायाकल्प करने के लिए सरकार प्रति पंचायत 80 लाख रूपए का अतिरिव्त मद देने जा रही है। गांवों का विकास करने के लिए 87,765 करोड़ यानि 8200 करोड़ रूपए अधिक दिये गये हैं। इसमें मनरेगा को 38,500 करोड़ मिलेंगे, जिसमें 3800 करोड़ रूपए की बढ़ोत्तरी हुई है।

          माननीय वित्तमंत्री जी ने अपने इस बजट में हाइवे और इंफ्रास्ट्रकचर पर ज़ोर दिया है ताकि देश की इकोनॉमी को रफ्तार मिल सके। रोड हाइवे बढ़ने से कनेक्टिविटी बढ़ेगी और रोज़गार के अवसर भी सुलभ होंगे। इससे पहले भी हमारी सरकार जब माननीय अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी हमारे प्रधानमंत्री थे, उस वव्त भी हाइवे बनाने पर ज़ोर दिया गया था और अब तक सरकार की उन कोशिशों को सराहा जाता है। हमारे वित्तमंत्री ने स्वयं कहा है कि अगले वित्त वर्ष में 10 हज़ार किलोमीटर हाइवे बनाये जायेंगे।

          हमारी सरकार ने गरीबी को दूर करने के लिए भी कदम उठाया है, जब गांवों का विकास होगा और युवाओं को काम मिलेगा तो निश्चित रूप से गरीबों की गरीबी कम होगी। इसके अतिरिव्त गरीबों को सस्ते मकान और एक लाख रूपए तक की नःशुल्क स्वास्थ्य सुविधा देने जा रही है। महिलाओं को चूल्हे के धुएं से मुव्ति दिलाने के लिए उन्हें रसोई गैस कनेकशन देने का निर्णय लिया है।

          हमारी सरकार ने कृषि पर विशेष ध्यान दिया है। वित्तमंत्री जी ने कृषि का बजट दो गुना किया है और रिकॉर्ड 9 लाख करोड़ रूपए का कर्ज देने का निर्णय किया है। हमारी सरकार ने कृषि कल्याण क्षेत्र के अलावा 20 हज़ार करोड़ रूपए का सिंचाई फंड तैयार किया है। हमारे वित्तमंत्री ने यह स्वीकार किया है कि जिस तरह से सूखा पड़ा है, उसे देखते हुए कृषि और गांवों पर फोकस करना इकोनॉमी की जरूरत है। हमारी सरकार ने किसानों के लिए कृषि एवं किसान कल्याण योजना तैयार की है, जिससे किसानों को लाभ मिल सकेगा। हमारी सरकार ने किसानों की मुआवजा राशि में भी बढ़ोतरी की है। सबसे बड़ी बात तो यह है कि हमारी सरकार ने किसानों की आय 5 वर्षों में दो गुनी करने का निर्णय लिया है, जिसके लिए हमारे वित्तमंत्री जी प्रशंसा के पात्र हैं। हमारे वित्तमंत्री जी ने दालों के उत्पादन के लिए 500 करोड़ रूपए धनराशि आवंटित की है। साथ ही, प्रधानमंत्री फसल बीमा योजना का भी काफी लाभ किसानों को मिलने वाला है।

          किसानों की खेती की सिंचाई के लिए भी 17000 करोड़ रूपये धनराशि आवंटित की गई है। इसके अतिरिव्त, नाबार्ड, मनरेगा जैसी योजनाओं के द्वारा कुंआ, तालाब आदि की व्यवस्था की गई है। भूजल संसाधन तथा पशुधन स्वास्थ्य योजना के जरिए किसानों को लाभ पहुंचाने का उल्लेख बजट में किया गया है।

          हमारे माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी जी ने लाल किले से दिये अपने पहले भाषण में हर गांव को बिजली देने की बात कही थी। इस लक्ष्य को हासिल करने के लिए हमारी सरकार ने एक मई 2018 तक हर घर में बिजली का लक्ष्य तय किया है। इसके तहत दीनदयाल उपाध्याय ग्राम ज्योति व एकीकृत विद्युत स्कीम के जरिए 8,500 करोड़ रूपए धनराशि आवंटित की गई  है।  हमारी सरकार ने खुले में शौच की परंपरा से दूर हो चुके गांवों को पुरस्कार देने का फैसला किया है।

          हमारी सरकार की सबसे महत्वाकांक्षी योजना "स्वास्थ्य भारत मिशन" के लिए 11,300 करोड़ रूपए आवंटित किये गये हैं, जो ग्रामीण व शहरी इलाकों मे खर्च करने की योजना है।

          उच्च शिक्षा की ओर भी हमारे वित्तमंत्री जी ने ध्यान रखा है और अगले वर्ष 62 नवोदय स्कूल खोलने का जिक्र किया है। इसके अतिरिव्त, एयरपोर्टों का विकास, गांव और शहरों का कायाकल्प परमिट राज्य समाप्त करना, विदेशी निवेश नीति में बदलाव जैसे अनेकों कार्यों को करने का उल्लेख माननीय मंत्री जी ने अपने बजट भाषण में किया है।

          स्वास्थ्य सेवा की दृष्टि से सस्ती दवाओं का स्टोर खोलना, डायलिसिस सेवा सस्ती करना एक प्रशंसनीय कार्य है, जिनका मैं तहेदिल से स्वागत करती हॅं। ऐसा नहीं है कि यह बजट समाज के कुछ ही लोगों के हित में है बल्कि यह बजट गरीब, मध्यमवर्गीय एवं उद्योगपति सभी के लिए हितकारी है। विश्वव्यापी मंदी के बावजूद हमारे वित्तमंत्री श्री अरुण जेटली जी ने ऐसा बजट संसद में प्रस्तुत किया है, जो ग्रामीण और शहरी क्षेत्र के विकास को गति प्रदान करेगा, जिससे बुनियादी सेवाएं मजबूत होंगी और रोज़गार बढ़ेगा। माननीय वित्तमंत्री जी ने अनेक साहसी कदम उठाये हैं, जिनके कारण अर्थव्यवस्था को मजबूती मिलेगी। उन्होंने अर्थ क्षेत्र के सभी पहलुओं पर ध्यान केंद्रित कर बुनियादी सुविधाओं को मजबूत बनाने का प्रयास किया है। माननीय वित्तमंत्री जी ने मेक इन इंडिया, स्टार्ट अप इंडिया और डिजिटल इंडिया को बढ़ावा देने के लिए नियमों को शिथिल करने में भी कोई हिचक नहीं दिखाई। जिसके कारण उद्यमियों को व्यवसाय करने में आसानी होगी, वहीं लोगों को रोज़गार भी उपलब्ध होगा। माननीय वित्तमंत्री जी ने सब्सिडी को डायरेक्ट बेनिफिट ट्रांसफर के तहत लाकर सराहनीय कार्य किया है। जन-धन योजना, आधार कार्ड, मोबाइल, ट्रिनिटी जैसी अन्य योजनाओं से ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में बैंकिंग और अन्य वित्तीय सेवाओं को अधिक बढ़ावा मिलेगा। ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में बैंकों के खुलने व पोस्ट ऑफिस में ए.टी.एम. की सुविधा देने से लोगों में बचत की लालसा जागृत होगी।

          माननीय वित्तमंत्री द्वारा इस कठिन समय में इतना उत्तम बजट प्रस्तुत करने पर अपनी ओर से हार्दिक बधाई देती हूं और बजट का समर्थन करती हॅं।

*श्रीमती ज्योति धुर्वे (बैतूल)ःसर्वप्रथम मैं आदरणीय वित्त मंत्री जी को वर्ष 2016-17 का बजट प्रस्तुत करने के लिए धन्यवाद देती हॅं।

          वित्त मंत्री जी ने वव्त की आवश्यकता, ग्लोबल इकोनॉमी की स्थिति और उसका घरेलू इकोनॉमी पर पड़ने वाले असर को देखते हुए एक संतुलित बजट पेश किया है। इस बजट में हालांकि कुछ कठोर कदम भी उठाये गये हैं, लेकिन मुझे आशा है कि इससे देश की इकोनॉमी को मजबूती जरूर मिलेगी।

          हालांकि सबसे अहम बात जो मुझे इस बजट में लगी कि इस बजट में गांवों, ग्रामीण इलाकों का ध्यान रखा गया है। इस बजट में छोटी-छोटी टैक्सपेयर इकाइयों को भी सम्मिलित किया गया है। टैक्स के लिहाज से गरीब किसानों को राहत देने की कोशिश की गयी है। इस वर्ष जो टैक्स स्लेब बजट में बनाया गया है, उससे वित्तीय घाटे का लक्ष्य हासिल करने में जरूर सफलता मिलेगी। जहां कई तरह के टैक्स लगाये गये हैं, वहीं राहत देने की कोशिश भी की गयी है। आवश्यकता है, इस बजट को खरा उतारने की।

          जहां यह बजट ग्रामीण और बुनियादी क्षेत्र पर केंद्रित है, तो यह सही दिशा है। इन दो क्षेत्रों में योजनाबद्ध ढंग से निवेश मिलने और रोज़गारों के सृजन होने से ही आर्थिक वृद्धि को प्रोत्साहन मिलेगा।

          इस बजट के माध्यम से बुनियादी ढांचा और निवेश, वित्तीय क्षेत्र में सुधार, कारोबार सुगमता और वित्तीय मजबूती आवश्यक है।

          वर्तमान में सरनी कमोडिटीज के फायदे कैसे लिए जाएं, रूपए में स्थिरता कैसे लाई जाए, एक्सपौर्ट में बढ़ोतरी कैसे की जाए, निवेश कैसे बढ़ाया जाये, रोज़गार कैसे पैदा करें, ये सब बुनियादी चुनौतियां हैं। इन पर खरा उतरने की आवश्यकता है।

          इन बिंदुओं पर इस बजट में विचार करने की आवश्यकता हैः-

1.    रोज़गार खत्म कर रहे देशी-विदेशी उद्योगों पर शिकंजा कसने की आवश्यकता है।

2.    ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में रोज़गार के अवसर बढ़ाये जाये।

3.    नये रोज़गार खोलने के पहले यह भी विचार किया जाना चाहिए कि नई फैक्ट्री या व्यापार  खोलने से पूर्व में स्थापित फैक्ट्री या व्यापार उद्योग में कोई बेरोज़गार तो नहीं हो रहा।

4.    कपड़ों के आयात पर यदि टैक्स बढ़ाया जाए तो हमारे उद्योगों में बढ़ोतरी होगी, क्योंकि घरेलू छोटे उद्योग इससे गिरेंगे नहीं।

5.    सृजित नये उद्योगों को बढ़ावा देना अच्छा है, लेकिन पुराने उद्योगों को बंद होने से बचाना होगा। पुराने उद्योगों को बढ़ावा मिले, इस पर विचार अवश्य ही किया जाये। इसी के साथ जनता के कल्याण और जीवन बदलाव के लिए आर्थिक सुधारों और नीतिगत पहल जारी रखी जाए।

6.    वर्ष 2015-16 में अर्थव्यवस्था की 7.6 प्रतिशत की तेज वृद्धि हुई है।

7.    मंद वैश्विक अर्थव्यवस्था में भारत की  दैदीप्यमान प्रकाश स्तंभ के रूप में आई.एम.एफ. द्वारा सराहना की गयी है।

8.    प्रतिकूल वैश्विक परिस्थितियों और लगातार दो वर्ष में मानसून की 13 प्रतिशत की कमी के बावजूद महतर वृद्धि प्राप्त की गयी है।

9.    विदेश विनिमय आरक्षित निधि अभूतपूर्व रूप से 350 बिलियन अमेरिकी डॉलर के उच्च स्तर तक पहॅंची है।

10.  वर्ष 2015-16 में 14वें वित्त आयोग के अवार्ड के परिणामस्वरूप राज्यों को 55 प्रतिशत अधिक अंतरण।

11.  2016-17 की चुनौतियां वैश्विक मंदी का जोखिम एवं 7वें वेतन आयोग की सिफारिशों और एक रैंक-एक पेंशन के कारण अतिरिव्त राजकोषीय बोझ।

12.  अर्थव्यवस्था का लोगों के जीवन में प्रभाव, घरेलू मांगों को बढ़ावा देना।

13.  फार्म और ग्रामीण क्षेत्र, सामाजिक क्षेत्र, अवसंरचना क्षेत्र, रोजगार सृजन और बैंकों का पुनः पूंजीकरण जैसे प्राथमिकता प्राप्त क्षेत्रों में व्यय बढ़ाने पर ध्यान दिया जाना।

14.  प्रधानमंत्री फसल बीमा योजना, नई स्वास्थ्य बीमा योजना, बी.पी.एल. परिवारों को गैस कनेक्शन सुविधा, चालू सुधार कार्यक्रम जारी रखना और वस्तु और  सेवा कर विधेयक संशोधन अक्षमता तथा दिवालियापन कानून पारित किया जाना सुनिश्चित करना।

15.  पी.पी.पी. परियोजनाओं एवं लोक उपयोगिता संविदाओं में विवाद समाधान एवं कानूनी ढांचे प्रदान करना, बैंकिंग क्षेत्र सुधार और साधारण बीमा कंपनियों की पब्लिक सूची प्रारंभ करना।

16.  कृषि और किसान कल्याण में 35,984 करोड़ रूपए प्रदान करना।

17.  छोटे करदाताओं को राहत देना।

18.  स्टार्ट-अप के लिए 2016 से 2019 तक स्थापित हुए एकको को  5 वर्षों में से 3 वर्ष के लिए 100 प्रतिशत लाभ कटौती  दी जाएगी।

19.  पेंशन प्राप्त समाज की ओर बढ़ना, सस्ते आवास निर्माण को बढ़ावा देना।

20.  कृषि, ग्रामीण अर्थव्यवस्था तथा स्वच्छ पर्यावरण हेतु संसाधन जुटाना।

21.  स्वास्थ्य के लिए कुल आवंटन 39,533, करोड़, सस्ती दवाओं की 3000 नई दुकानें, स्मार्ट सिटी मिशन को प्राथमिकता दी गयी है।

22.  सड़क योजना में प्रतिदिन निर्माण की रफ्तार को और बढ़ाना एवं प्रधानमंत्री ग्राम सड़क योजना एवं केंद्र की सड़क निर्माण से ग्रामीण इलाकों का विकास एवं राज्यों की भागीदारी सुनिश्चित की गयी है।

23.  मनरेगा से ग्रामीणों के रोज़गार एवं ग्रामीण इलाकों का विकास करना।

24.  शिक्षा में आवंटन की राशि पिछले समय से ज्यादा बजट का प्रावधान किया गया है।

25.  अनुसूचित जाति एवं जनजाति के विकास में भी आवंटन की राशि बढ़ायी गयी है।

          बजट वर्ष 2016-17 में जहां एक ओर कृषि, सामाजिक क्षेत्र अवसंरचना और रोज़गार सृजन में निवेश को दर्शाता है, वहीं इसमें महत्वपूर्ण रूप से निवेश बढ़ाने की प्रतिबद्धता को भी दर्शाता है। आशा है, इससे राजकोषीय सुदृढ़ीकरण को भी बल मिलेगा।

                                 

*SHRI M. UDHAYAKUMAR (DINDIGUL):        I am thankful to our chief minister of Tamil Nadu Puratchi  Thalaivi Manbumigu Ithaya Deivam Amma for giving me the opportunity to express my views on the Union Budget 2016-17 presented by our Honorable Finance Minister. 

          Our Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, commented  that the Union Budget for 2016-17 lacks flavor as it does not have any specific announcements of schemes which would have enthused different segments including the States. It also does not speak of the status of implementation of many schemes announced last year and the year before. The people of the State of Tamil Nadu had still higher expectations, which have not been met. I second the same statement expressed by our leader.

          There were Direct Tax concessions amounting to Rs. 1060 Crores mostly due to Corporate Income Tax concessions, while indirect taxes worth Rs.20, 670 Crores had been levied. These taxes come on top of the periodic increases in central excise levies on petroleum products which had seen an overall increase in yield of more than 90 per cent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as per the Economic Survey. This is a regressive approach which cannot be supported.

I welcome the following announcements in the budget.

.      Infrastructure and agriculture cess to be levied.   

       .  Excise duty raised from 10 to 15 per cent on tobacco products other than      beedi.   

       . 1 per cent service charge on purchase of luxury cars over Rs.10 lakh and in-   cash purchase of goods and services over Rs. 2 lakh.

       .  Government paying EPF contribution of 8.3% for all new employees for        first three years.

       .  Service tax exempted for construction of houses less than 60 sq. m        .  Rs. 38,500 Crores for Mahatma Gandhi MGNREGA for 2016-17.

       .  Swachh Bharat Abhiyan allocated Rs. 11300 Crores.

       .  Hub to support SC/ST entrepreneurs.

       .  Total allocation for agriculture and farmer welfare at Rs. 35984 Crores        .  28.5 lakh hectare of land will be brought under irrigation.

       .  5 lakh acres to be brought under organic farming over a three period        .  Rs. 60,000 crores for recharging of ground water as there is urgent need      to focus on drought hit areas cluster development for water   conservation.

       .  Dedicated irrigation fund in NABARD of Rs. 20,000 crore.

          In the budget, the Finance Minister said that the General Insurance Company will be listed in stock market. Since the multinational companies are unable to create and increase the customer base they wanted to purchase the public sector insurance company to increase their customer base. If it goes in that way even then this government will promote multinational company’s products in public money.

          All hopes for tax slabs were in vain. They have sprinkled water on the hopes of middle class Government employees. Tax on EPF is not at all justifiable, because the money is saved by the employees for their future purpose. I request the Finance Minister to consider on these issues.

          We have no doubt that this budget emphasizes on agriculture and industry sectors but the most important Education sector is neglected once again.

          Infrastructure push is quite positive along with the visible thrust on farming, rural development and bringing the Agricultural Produce Marketing Corporation (APMC) markets to an e-platform. We  welcome the continuity of the MNREGA and Aadhaar schemes.

          The expected doubling of farmers’ income by 2020 is a good move and focus on development of roads and railways and the proposed new National Highway projects are commendable.

          The budget allocation of Rs. 35,984 crores for agriculture will indirectly fuel demand for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and have a trickle-down effect.

          Social sector schemes like cooking gas to rural women, crop insurance, interest subvention on agriculture loans and medical insurance to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families will go a long way in increasing the standard and comfort of living of rural people.

          Overall, subject to reading fine prints, the government seems to have taken steps in the right earnest towards balanced growth of rural and corporate India. Focus on skill development along with an additional one crore or 10 million people to be skilled is a realistic target.

                                           

*SHRIMATI V. SATHYABAMA (TIRUPPUR): I express my gratitude and sincere thanks to our beloved Leader Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA for giving me this great opportunity to express my views on the Discussion on the General Budget 2016-17.

          The Finance Minister has proudly announced that the growth of Economy accelerated to7.6% in 2015-16 and India is being hailed as a ‘bright spot’ amidst a slowing global economy by IMF. Robust growth has been achieved despite unfavorable global conditions and two consecutive years shortfall in monsoon. Foreign exchange reserves have touched highest ever at 350 billion US dollars. But whether these accolades can bring in desired results in uplifting the poor and deprived people in the country is a big question.

          The Union Minister has also said about the challenges faced by the Country due to the risks of further global slowdown and turbulence and additional fiscal burden due to 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations  and OROP. This will raise unwanted doubts in the minds of the People in Service about the implementations of the 7th Pay Commission and OROP.

          The Government need to focus on priority sectors and I hope the “Transform India” have a positive impact on economy and the lives of the people. Boasting on domestic demand, farm and rural sector, social sector, infrastructure sector employment generation and ensuring macroeconomic stability are to be focused.

          Agriculture is the backbone of our Country. The Union Government, in the process of building a corporate and Digital India, should not break the backbone of the nation and farmers. The rural economy contributes around 50per cent of Indian Gross Domestic Product and is already showing a sign of strain as government cuts the once-generous subsidies that shielded farmers and villagers. Agriculturists’ income dropped nearly 50 percent due to drought. They borrowed loan from banks for seeds and fertilizer, but now they don’t know how to repay the loan. The well-being of farmers is vital to the nation’s prosperity.

          Allocation for agriculture and farmers’ welfare is Rs. 35,984 crore, which should have been much more. A dedicated Long Term Irrigation Fund will be created in NABARD with an initial corpus of about Rs. 20,000 crore.  Programme for sustainable management of ground water resources with an estimated cost of Rs.6,000 crore will be implemented through multilateral funding. But this will be not enough to bring 28.5 lakh hectares under irrigation. It is a welcome effort if 5 lakh farm ponds and dug wells in rain fed areas and 10 lakh compost pits for production of organic manure are taken up under MGNREGA.

          Soil Health Card scheme will cover all 14 crore farm holdings by March 2017.  2,000 model retail outlets of Fertilizer companies will be provided with soil and seed testing facilities during the next three years to reduce the burden of loan repayment on farmers.  A provision of Rs. 15,000 crore has been made in the BE 2016-17 towards interest subvention and the allocation Rs. 5,500 crore for Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana and Rs.850 crore for  four dairying projects are inadequate. At this juncture, I would like to request the Union Government to allocate the funds for Tamil Nadu as requested by our Hon’ble Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA for providing financial support to lakhs of farmers in Tamil Nadu affected due to the damages and devastations caused due to floods.

          Hon’ble Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA has urged the Union Government for the interlinking of peninsular rivers and for the nationalization of rivers to facilitate economic development in the country. The Government has notified the special committee for interlinking of rivers, as requested by our beloved Leader Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA. All the inter-state rivers should be nationalized so that water resources of the country are optimally utilized.

          The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA had sought the assistance of the Union Government for implementation of the Athikadavu-Avinashi  Flood Canal Scheme at an estimated cost of Rs. 1862 crores which may also be sanctioned on a priority basis.

          As per the announcement of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA in  the Tamil Nadu State Assembly on 10.09.2011, the “Chief Minster’s Uzhavar Pathukappu Thittam -2011” is being implemented in the State of Tamil Nadu. The Governments has to provide and ensure the best market price to farmers and I am sure the unified National Agriculture Market is working towards setting up a common e-market platform to connect 585 regulated wholesale markets, thereby making India One food zone, One Country, One Market. This will immensely benefit our farmers in getting fair and remunerative prices. Allocation of Rs.87,765 crore for rural sector is welcome. The Union Government has expressed that Rs. 2.87 lakh crore will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission and every block under drought and rural distress will be  taken up as an intensive Block under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission. This cannot be achieved without the active participation of State Governments and respective local self Governments.

          Allocation of Rs.38,500 crore for MGNREGS is really inadequate comparing to the volume of people participating in this mega-rural employment assurance scheme.  I am happy to know that 300 Rurban Clusters will be developed under Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission and 100% village electrification by 1st may, 2018.

          Implementation of Poultry Venture Capital Fund and Rural Backyard Poultry Development has led to highest ever egg production. In Poultry farming too, Tamil Nadu stands tall and is the second largest producer and exporter of eggs in the country.  More than 90 per cent of poultry or poultry products exported from India originates from Tamil Nadu. At present, poultry concentration is in the poultry belts such as Namakkal, Erode, Tiruppur and Coimbatore. The poultry keeping has evinced great interest among poultry farmers. There is a good potential for export of eggs, egg products and frozen chicken meat from our State to Gulf countries, Russia, etc.   Further, due to the changes in consumption behavior of the people in the state towards desi chicken and desi eggs, there is great scope for the development of backyard poultry.

          The social sector including health care need more focus and the State Governments need to be supported adequately by the Centre. Allocation of Rs.1,51,581 crore for social sector including education and health care –Rs.2,000 crore allocated for initial cost of providing LPG connections to BPL families are welcome. I wholeheartedly welcome the Government's announcements regarding District Level Committees under the chairmanship of senior most Lok Sabha MP from the district for monitoring and implementation of designated Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.  Priority allocation from Centrally sponsored schemes to be made to reward villages that have become free from open defection will really encourage people living in villages to construct toilets in all the houses as well as community toilets in every village.

          The launch of National Rural Digital Literacy Mission is a recognition of the pioneering role that Our Hon’ble Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA  had played in launching and implementing the free laptop scheme for school and college students studying in Government and Government aided institutions. It was intended as an effort to bridge the digital divide, which he Government of India has also now recognized. The introduction of new Digital Literacy Mission Schemes for rural India to cover around 6 crore additional household within the next 3 years is good for the rural people. The Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan with an allocation of Rs.655 crore is welcome.

          The Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadi Yojana under which 3000 new medical stores selling generic medicines are to be set up is also very similar to the Amma Marunthagam Scheme launched by the Tamil Nadu Government led by Our Hon’ble Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA. The launch of a new Health Protection Scheme to provide insurance cover for poor families which require hospitalization is welcome. New health protection scheme will provide health cover up to Rs.1 lakh per family. For senior citizens, an additional top-up package up to Rs.30,000 and the introduction of ‘National Dialysis Services Programme’ under National Health Mission through PPP mode needs appreciation and needs to be implemented through State Governments only.

          There is an allocation of Rs. 100 crore each for celebrating the Birth Centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and the 350th  Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.  In the same way, Rs. 200 crores should be allocated toTamil Nadu State for celebrating the Birth Centenary (1917-2017) of “ Bharat Ratna “ Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. M.G. Ramachandran, founder of AIADMK Party who was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 3 consecutive terms from 1977 to 1987.

          Our Hon’ble Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA has consistently opposed Direct Benefit Transfer to replace subsidized commodities like food and fertilizer with cash payments since the availability of these critical commodities is more important than saving on the subsidies. The New Urea Policy-2015 has an objective of maximizing indigenous production and improving energy efficiency. Providing 100% neem-coated urea has not only improved efficiency but has also helped in plugging subsidy leakages by preventing illegal diversion of subsidized urea to non-agricultural use. The highest ever urea fertilizer production was achieved in 2015.

          I would like the Union Government will allocate and ensure the supply of Urea, Fertilizers and other agro products at subsidized prices to Tamil Nadu and other productive States, proportionate to the yield and production. In this regard, Tamil Nadu is entitled to more supply of subsidized Urea and other fertilizers.

          Allocation under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has been increased to Rs.19,000 crore which will connect remaining 65,000 eligible habitations by 2019. The stepped up outlay for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana also responds to the request made by Our Hon’ble Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi AMMA to the Prime Minister for a substantially enhanced outlay for this programme so as to ensure speedy completion of approved projects in Tamil Nadu. I expect an early release of Central funds under this scheme.

          “Stand Up India Scheme” to facilitate at least two projects per bank branch will benefit at least 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs. National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub to proposed to be set up in partnership with industry associations.

          As a Member of Parliament from Tiruppur Constituency, I would like to request the Hon’ble Finance Minister to allocate financial support to common effluent treatment plants so as to keep the competitive edge in the global garments market. The common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) invented the unique zero liquid discharge technology and revived the Tiruppur garment export business to a level of Rs.21,000 crore. I once again request the Hon’ble Union Minister to release Rs.200 crore as a special grant which had been already allocated under the 13th Finance Commission .  I also request for service tax exemption to CETPs as the services is provided only to their own members.

          I wish to record that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has assured action on Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. The FTA is a long–standing demand from Tiruppur garment industry whose target is to double their export in three years. Nearly 35% of total ready-made garment exported from India valued $8.56% billion in first six months of 2015-15 went to the EU. Tiruppur exporters had also pitched for agreement with Australia and Canada.  For Canada, garment exports from India have been in the range of Rs.1,400 crore for four fiscals now. The exporters project that national garment exports will touch Rs.2.28 lakh crore by 2019-20 from the Rs. 1.12 lakh crore in 2015-16 if the trade deals with the three exporting destinations are singed. This demand need a positive response from the Government.

             

SHRIMATI KAVITHA KALVAKUNTLA (NIZAMABAD): Sir, thank you for the opportunity.

          We understand that Budget is a very complex exercise and to comment on the Budget is also not very easy. So, simply to simplify it, I would like to lay down my analysis in three parts -- the good, the bad and the ugly. Since I am an optimist, I will start with the good part.

          The proposal to do away with the distinction of public expenditure into both Plan and non-Plan from next Budget is a welcome move, but we just hope that you will take the States into consideration so that the transition of accounting can happen easily. Particularly, the allocation of Rs. 38,500 crore for MGNREGA is a wonderful move. Since the international market is not very stable, we need to right now increase the domestic demand and that is what the allocation for the MGNREGA aims at. So, I believe that this will serve the purpose and help the poor a little more.

A similar move is to increase the allocation of PMGSY to Rs. 19,000 crore, which is also a good move. My favourite is the increase or actually doubling the amount in the Mid Day Meal Scheme from Rs. 3,377 crore to Rs. 8,578 crore. However, the States have to cough up more for the matching contributions. So, that is a dampener, but nevertheless, the increase in the Mid Day Meal Scheme is an interesting thing.

The exponential jump in the allocation for New and Renewable Energy from Rs. 262 crore to Rs. 5,035 crore is very good. I am sure that the country will go on a green path with this move. Infrastructure is the need of the hour and you have given a very generous Rs. 2,21,246 crore, which should again help the country.

The Mudra Bank has performed very well in the last year. It has helped nearly 2,80,00,000 people who were almost the first generation entrepreneurs from very small and marginalized communities. So, I hope that the Mudra Bank also gets much more allocation and support from you this year so that it can help more people.

          Another very interesting proposal that you have taken up in the last Budget was to take out Rs. 9,000 crore from EPF and PPF unclaimed amount and to form a Senior Citizens Fund, which added a very humane touch to the Budget. I truly appreciate it from my heart.

          Another good scheme to plug the subsidies is the PAHAL Scheme where you have actually networked around 15 crore consumers and who are now directly getting benefit for their LPG subsidy.    

          You have been kind enough to give another Rs.2000 crore. You have said that you will increase it from Rs.2000 crore to more, if needed because this is in respect of the health of the rural women. Apart from this, for the development of backward areas, you had given Rs.450 crore for Telangana. You have promised much more. I hope, this year will see the release of the rest of the amount. I congratulate you and the junior Minister for keeping up all the macro economic parameters, as you had promised last year.

          सर, फूलों की बात हो गयी, अब कांटों की भी बात करनी पड़ेगी। There are five heads which I would like to discuss. One is that there is a confused policy and the Government continuously keeps sending mixed signals to everybody. There is this jugglery of the heads which we see in terms of allocation. There is also poorly monitored subsidy like fertilizer subsidy. There is zero focus on improving the facilities in the mega cities. There are incremental advances. We have not seen any bold decisions. I shall substantiate my arguments.

          About confused policy, why do I say this? Why did people give you such a historic mandate? It is because you promised stability, accountability, clarity in policy, predictability in policy and an efficient delivery. But after two years and three Budgets, what do we see? We see only jugglery, publicity, naare-bazi,hyper-nationality and not in touch with reality. Unfortunately, in short, I would say that what this Government presently suffers from is a policy psychosis. If the earlier UPA Government was suffering from policy paralysis, this Government today somehow suffers from a policy psychosis. I would certainly substantiate why I call it a policy psychosis. What do I mean by policy psychosis? My stated policy is something and my action on ground is something else. I will give you an instance. You claim that you are a biggest advocate of cooperative federalism. My friend Shri Jayadev just mentioned that from the last two years, States like Telangana and Andhra have been requesting the Central Government, as a part of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations, to relax the borrowing limits of the States by .5 per cent. You have not done that. Now you have sent the FRBM Act completely for a review by the Committee. दो साल से कमेटी के पीछे वह जा रहा है। States are not having that leverage or help from you. You have also said हम ए.पी. रिऑर्गनाइजेशन एक्ट को एज इट इज फॉलो करेंगे। Whatever needed will be done. But in the case of Telangana you did not announce incentives. That is why, I say that your stated policy is something and your action on ground is something else.

          Let us take the instance of taxation. Let us talk about the much talked about issue of Vodafone. When the issue had taken place in the previous Government, you had always criticised the UPA Government. You have said that there is policy paralysis. But now, after two years, in your Government, the issue has not resolved. To add to much more confusion, your tax person sends the notice again to the Vodafone. The Minister and the Government simply brushes it off by saying यह तो रेगुलर में हो गया, रुटीन में हो गया। रेगुलर में या रुटीन में हो सकता है, but you take a call. You have a great mandate. You explain to the people that you want to nail Vodafone and this is what you want to do. Or you say that you want to bail them out and this is what you want to do. Unless and until you do not spell it out, things would not be clear. When you enjoy such a great support, I believe that you should take some great action. That is why, I call it a policy psychosis.

          And procrastination was never your forte. यह तो उनका काम था, आप प्लीज उसका टैग लेकर मत चलिए। There is one other important thing. We speak very high of start-ups –Start-up India, Stand-up India and Digital India. प्रधानमंत्री जी ने बहुत अच्छे तरीके से उसे इनागुरेट भी किया था। You have set up a corpus of Rs.10,000 crore, which, of course, Shri Mahtabji disagrees with that. We are a pioneering country in the world to levy a six per cent equalisation tax on the internet advertising cost. यह किस पर इफेक्ट करेगा? इंटरनेट एडर्टीजमेंट कौन करता है? स्टार्ट अप वाला ही ज्यादा करता है। आप एक तरफ कह रहे हैं कि स्टार्ट अप को मैं सपोर्ट करूंगा और दूसरी तरफ ऐसा हो रहा है। You are the pioneering country in the world. None of the countries in the world is willing to do this. But you have done it. आपकी स्टेटेड पॉलिसी कुछ है और आपका एक्शन कुछ है। इसलिए मैं बोलती हूं there is a policy psychosis in this Government. आज हमारा देश मैन्यूफैक्चरिंग सेक्टर में बहुत बुरे हालत से गुजर रही है। Only one sector has been performing very well and that is the auto manufacturing sector. You have decided to tax them. None of the auto manufacturing people are happy. Your stated policy is one. You say that you will support manufacturing sector but you tax the auto manufacturing sector. That is where I say that there is a policy psychosis.

          About falling rupee, this was a major promise by the NDA Government. Before coming to power, you said हम जब पावर में आएंगे तो डॉलर 40 रुपए तक कर देंगे, लेकिन अभी तो ऐसा लग रहा है, it will almost hit a century. क्योंकि हम तो आम आदमी हैं, फाइनेंस के बारे में ज्यादा समझते नहीं हैं। In the past three Budgets, we do not see any concrete action proposed to take care of this issue. When a person in a village looks at the TV screen, उन्हें समझ में आता है कि डॉलर के मुकाबले रुपए की क्या वेल्यू हो गई है, वह 67,-68 रुपए तक हो गया है। तो उन्हें थोड़ा डर सा लगता है। उसके बारे में आपने तीन बजट्स में कभी भी एड्रैस ही नहीं किया। I would want you to address that issue.

          About One Rank One Pension, this was your stated policy. इलेक्शन से पहले आपने कहा था कि हम सत्ता में आएंगे तो वन रैंक वन पेंशन तत्काल इम्प्लीमेंट कर देंगे, लेकिन दो साल से ऐसा नहीं हुआ। You have clubbed it with the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission. जब फौज की बात आती है, आपने कहा है तो कितना है, अधिकतम् 12,000 करोड़ रुपए है, चाहे 12,000 करोड़ रुपए हो या 24,000 करोड़ रुपए हो। If it is for the honour of our countrymen, it is for the honour of our military मुझे लगता है कि हमें दिल से सोचना चाहिए, दिमाग से नहीं। Kindly implement the One Rank One Pension.

I also spoke about the jugglery. This has been discussed in detail by the senior leader of the CPI. You claim that you have given for agriculture Rs.87,500 crore. Out of this, you have taken out Rs.15,000 crore from the interest subsidy head and added it in the agriculture Budget. You are saying that you have increased it. तो यह ऐसा हो गया कि पैसा एक जेब से निकाला और दूसरी जेब में डाला, फिर आपने कहा कि एक रुपया ज्यादा है, लेकिन ऐसा नहीं है। आपने किसानों को गुमराह करने वाली जगलरी की, you are one of the finest minds in Indian politics today. आपसे सही मायनो में ऐसी उम्मीद नहीं थी। फसल बीमा योजना के बारे में बहुत बात की है। सारे राज्यों ने मांग की है कि फसल बीमा योजना एक काप्रीहेंसिव योजना होनी चाहिए और किसान एक यूनिट की तरह होना चाहिए। Now from the block level, you have come to village as a unit. You say that you will cover only one crop and not two crops. So, it is actually of not much use. You also talk about doubling farm income by 2022. सन् 2022 तक अगर हमें किसान की इनकम बढ़ानी है तो हमारे एग्रीकल्चर को 12 प्रतिशत वार्षिक के हिसाब से ग्रो करना पड़ेगा। लेकिन आज क्या हालत है, we grow in agriculture only under one per cent. There are lots of issues. I understand that. Is this a realistic estimate? I want to know about it. क्या यह एक और स्लोगन बनकर नहीं रह जाएगा, क्योंकि इसमें जब 2022 की बात करते हैं तो मुझे लगता है कि काफी लोग इसमें अमीर होंगे, इंश्योरेंस वाले, ट्रेक्टर वाले, बाइक्स वाले अमीर होंगे, लेकिन किसान तो वहीं का वहीं रह जाएगा। Unless you have a laid out plan as to how do you want to achieve this, it looks as though it will remain as a slogan only.

          I also spoke about subsidy and particularly fertilizer subsidy. You gave out Rs.72,438 crore as subsidy in 2015-16. In 2016-17, you are anticipating to give away Rs.70,000 crore as subsidy for the fertilizer companies. मैं सदन को अवगत कराना चाहती हूं कि दिसम्बर 2015 में we have tabled a C&AG Report, which slammed the attitude of the fertilizer companies. उस रिपोर्ट में साफ-साफ कहा गया है कि जो सब्सिडी कम्पनीज लेती हैं, चाहे प्राइवेट हो या इफ्को हो, this does not trickle down to the farmer. If it does not trickle down to the farmer, इन्हें इतनी सब्सिडी क्यों देनी है? ये सारी चीजें देखकर मुझे ऐसा लगता है कि आपने किसान को विजयी नहीं किया, आपने जवान को विजयी नहीं किया, लेकिन आपने उद्योगपतियों का हाथ थाम लिया है। इसे आप असत्य साबित कर दें, I want it to be proven wrong.

          Secondly, any responsible and uniform thinking Government would focus on rural as well as urban areas. In India, we have only few mega cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad and maybe a few more to add. There was nothing ever said about these cities, apart from the smart city plan. This will not suffice and this will not be enough to take care of these cities. There should be some plan and particularly Delhi, being the Capital of our country दिल्ली जो हमारी शान है, दिल्ली पर आपका स्पेशल फोकस होना चाहिए। क्योंकि जब कभी हम विदेश जाते हैं people ask as to why the Delhi is so bad. Why is the pollution so up? Why is there always traffic jams in Delhi? Just out of interest for the national Capital I have gone through the records and I came to know that Delhi’s share in Central taxes remained at Rs.325 crore starting from 2001 till date. I would request that since Delhi is the National Capital, notwithstanding politics there should be some handholding for Delhi and the rest of the metro cities. We have just witnessed floods in Chennai. थोड़ी हल्की सी बारिश हो जाती है तो मुम्बई में भी ट्रैफिक जाम होता है, हैदराबाद की तो हालत खराब ही हो जाती है, चेन्नई का भी यही हाल है, so, we should be prepared. I sincerely request that a Disaster Response Fund should be established to take care of at least these mega cities.

          सर, आपने अपने दो बजट में, पिछले बजट में और इस बजट में आपने फूलों की और काँटों की काफी सारी बात की। आपने कहा कि अनेक काँटों को झेलते हुए और आसमानी और सुल्तानियों की परेशानियों को भी सहकर कई नए फूलों को खिलाने की मैंने कोशिश की। मुझे इस कोशिश शब्द से बहुत ऐतराज है। Koshish is for people who have to make a lot of effort to try. But you have huge support, you have a great mandate. आपको तो बोल्ड डिसिजन लेना चाहिए। मुझे तो लगता है कि हौंसलों को यह मत दिखाओ कि तुम्हारी तकलीफ कितनी बड़ी है, तकलीफ को यह दिखाओ कि तुम्हारा हौंसला कितना बड़ा है। आपको इतना मैन्डेट मिला है तो अपोजिशन को आप दिखाओ कि आप पावर में हो।Do something. … (Interruptions)  Yes, of course I will tell you. क्या करना है, इस बारे में भी मैं निश्चित रूप से बोलूँगी, लेकिन लोगों ने वोट आपको दिया है, जिम्मेदारी आपको सौंपी है। मैं सिर्फ दो ही मुद्दे उठाऊँगी, जिनमें बोल्ड डिसिजन लेने की जरूरत है। First example is monetary policy. इन्डियन फाइनेंशियल कोड आपको लाना था। You promised it in the last budget, लेकिन अभी तक वह कमेटी में है।

          महोदय, देश के बारे में दो और महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दे हैं। फाइनेंस के बारे में, पूरे फाइनेंशियल रिफार्म्स के बारे में चर्चा काफी होती है, लेकिन हर एक पेपर मुझे समझ में नहीं आता है। I am a first-time Member. हर एक पेपर कमेटी में ही फँस जाता है और दो साल गुजर गए, तीन बजट निकल गए, कुछ भी बोल्ड डिसिजन इसके बारे में नहीं हुआ है।Bringing back the black money, everybody says this is a political thing. But nothing substantial has been done about it. One thing I have to say. If you do not take a bold move, things can turn ugly. And that brings me to the ugly part of my list in the budget. सिर्फ दो ही चीजें हैं, जो मुझे इस बजट में बहुत बुरी लगीं। एक तो रेवेन्यू फोरगोन जो है, आपने उसको बदल दिया, उसको री-ब्रांड किया, आपने कहा कि यह अब से रेवेन्यू इम्पैक्ट कहलाएगा। आपने उसको नया नाम दे दिया। But you have given away Rs.6,11,128 crore as a subsidy or tax incentives.  इससे मुझे कोई ऐतराज नहीं है, क्योंकि पिछली बार भी कहा गया कि डायमंड इंडस्ट्री को कितना देते हो तो आपने कहा कि नहीं, मुझे रोजगार बढ़ाना है। इसमें एक रैशनल नहीं है। I will just read out. Diamond and gold industry gets Rs.61,126 crore whereas carpet industry, which also employs 30 lakh people, only gets Rs.41 crore from your government. Petroleum products get Rs.41,128 crore.  For drugs and pharma industry, my Hyderabad is very big in pharma and in fact that is the only industry which has done very well in terms of export earning, you gave only Rs. 1,179 crore. Is there a rationale for this? या तो इम्प्लॉयमेंट या तो एक्स्पोर्ट अर्निंग्स, कुछ न कुछ रैशनल तो इसमें होना चाहिए।

SHRI ARUN JAITLEY: Last time also this was referred. Let me just put this controversy  to rest. What is the concession which you are talking about for diamond and gold? Diamonds are not produced in this country. They are imported into India and our core competence is to cut them and polish them. That is the principal trade. Technically speaking, when diamond comes in only for polishing, because it is entering the territory of India customs duty is payable. But here it only comes for value addition, polishing. So, it goes back. That exemption from customs duty on the value of diamond - because that diamond is not used in India, it goes out - is only a theoretical entry. What is India’s contribution is only the polishing and cutting of that diamond. If we say that just because you send diamond and gold to India we will charge custom duty on the whole value, these 40,000 or two lakh people that you say will all their jobs because nobody will send it to India. 

          It is only a technical entry.  As far as carpet is concerned, carpet is manufactured in India.  It does not come from outside.  The thread does not come from outside India.  Diamonds come from outside the country.  There is a temporary import which takes place, and then after cutting and polishing, it goes back.  That is how the difference is there.  So, the notional entry of Rs 60,000 should not persuade your argument to a misunderstanding that it is a bonanza given.  If you start charging them custom duty on the whole value, nobody will send a single diamond to India for cutting and polishing and the whole of Surat will be unemployed.

श्रीमती कविता कलवकुंतला: मैं ऐसा नहीं कह रही हूँ कि सूरत का या किसी का कम करो, मैं तो सिर्फ इतना कह रही हूँ कि इसका रैशनल क्या है, इसका पैरामीटर क्या है। जैसे आपने कहा कि यह बुक एंट्री है, लेकिन अगर pharma industry is earning so much from exports, why don’t you give more benefit? 

SHRI ARUN JAITLEY: Surat has a very large number of Telugu workers also.

SHRIMATI KAVITHA KALVAKUNTLA: Sir, I know Telangana people are there in Surat and the interesting thing कि  अगर 25 लाख डायमंड में सूरत में काम करते हैं तो 25 लाख टैक्सटाइल में भी काम करते हैं। I am just trying to understand.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Please conclude now.

SHRIMATI  KAVITHA KALVAKUNTLA: Sir, I have just one issue.  The second and the last thing in my list, which I feel is the ugliest of all, is the Non-Performing Assets.  Have we taken any good action?  We have not.  हमने तो ऐसा किया है कि हमारी आँख के सामने, हमारी नाक के नीचे से जो एन.पी.ए. करने वाले होते हैं, वे तो भाग ही गए। तो आजकल ऐसा बोला जा रहा है, पहले अंग्रेज़ हमें बोलते थे कि हिन्दुस्तान तो सपेरों का देश है। तो हमारे जितने भी लुटेरे हैं, सब लंदन में जाकर छिप जाते हैं। तो अभी वे कहने लगे हैं कि हिन्दुस्तान सपेरों का नहीं, लुटेरों का देश है। ऐसी हालत और नौबत आने नहीं दीजिए क्योंकि पिछले दो महीने से चर्चा चल रही थी इस पर्टिकुलर एन.पी.ए. के बारे में, I don’t want to take his name because he is a Member also.  लेकिन यह हो रहा था, But that did not definitely send a strong and good message about your Government.  So, these are the good, bad and ugly aspects of our Union Government. मुझे लास्ट में एक ही छोटी सी पंक्ति सुनाकर कंप्लीट करना है। किसी ने आपको, आपकी सरकार को एडवाइस भेजी है।

          “भोर किया था वादा, अब तक हुआ नहीं है आधा।

सांझ हो गई अब तो जाग, जनता पूछ रही है कहाँ रहे हो भाग।

समय है अभी भी संभल सकते हो, विश्वसनीय रह सकते हो, नहीं किया जो अब भी काम फिर न होगा मौका, करने को राम-राम।”                        *SHRI K. PARASURAMAN (THANJAVUR):  I place some of my suggestions on the General Budget 2016-17 on behalf of our Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma.

          On the day of submission of this budget, it had created a large amount of expectations amongst all people especially middle and poor class people.  We had a thrust of expectations that at least the present budget should be a tool of controlling the food inflation in the country.  But I had witnessed on the day of submission of this Union Budget 2016-17 that at the time when the Hon’ble Minister of Finance started the speech, the National Stock Market became hot and busy particularly the prices of manufacturing sectors moved upward. Accordingly, we can understand that this budget is a boon for commercial sectors, big companies and corporate sector but not for the common people.

          India is currently the fastest growing economy in the world, but the growth is not translating itself into jobs and welfare benefits for the people of the country at the desired level. Sustaining growth momentum, while managing myriad fiscal and macro-economic challenges and meeting the considerably heightened expectations of the people of the country was the complex task before the Finance Minister.

          Unlike in past years, Plan expenditure has actually been increased in the Revised Estimates for 2015-16. This would hopefully ensure that the releases to State Governments for scheme expenditure would be speeded up before the end of the current fiscal year. I am happy to note that the Finance Minister has accepted the suggestion that I have repeatedly made to do away with the Plan and Non-Plan distinction with effect from 2017-18 onwards and focus instead on the revenue and capital outlays. This is a much needed reform.

          We are aware that Agriculture contributes nearly 1/6to our national GDP and majority of the people are involved in the various farming activities.  You would accept  that this  field  should  be  developed according the rapid increase of population.  There is biggest challenge in front us to get self-sufficiency in agricultural production in the coming years. In this regard, I welcome the proposal of the government for doubling farm incomes in five years which is a laudable objective, but it should be done in real terms. To make agriculture profitable and to double the income through agriculture, it is pertinent to encourage both public and private investment in agro technology development and creation and modernization of existing agri-business infrastructure.

          In this connection, I would like to remind Hon’ble Minister about his announcement made in last year's General budget. It was informed that the government will establish institutions like Indian Agricultural Research Institute with an initial sum of  Rs.100 crore as well as an amount of Rs. 100 crore for setting up of Agri Tech Infrastructure Fund for the advanced development of agriculture.

          So, I request hon’ble Minister to inform about the present status of Agri Tech Infrastructure Fund and kindly develop such kind of research institute along with additional allocation for the Agri Tech Fund in all states.  Because the objective of doubling agricultural profit as well as production could be achieved only through input of advanced technology and new system of crop cultivation.  The research institute should also take action to discover the vanished traditional crop varieties once were under cultivation in the country, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu. I am sure that the vanished traditional crop varieties would be a boon to the Indian agriculture during the period in which the climate change is biggest threat to the community.

          As far as the post harvest infrastructure is concerned, we cannot deny that the country is still lacking in the development of post harvest infrastructure which in turn leads to wastage of agricultural products particularly in godowns of Food Corporation of India. At this moment, I would like to bring to the notice of the government that under the dynamic leadership of our Hon'ble Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, various steps have been taken in the state of Tamil Nadu to develop post harvest infrastructure.

          In order to reduce post harvest losses, construction of 88 modern storage godowns with capacity ranging from 2,000 MT to 10,000 MT and 70 cold storage units each with the capacity of 25 MT have been taken up in the last four years in Tamil Nadu. In view of this, I urge the government to increase the annual allocation for the upgradation and establishment of scientific godowns under FCI in the places where agricultural production has been earned at large amount every year.

          I welcome the importance given by the government for expanding the area under irrigation. However, my concern is that focusing allocations under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana towards uncompleted projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) would repeat the old error of skewing the fund allocations towards States which have a number of major and medium irrigation schemes pending completion, while depriving States like Tamil Nadu of funds, as they have already virtually exhausted the surface water irrigation potential.

          The expansion of the Soil Health Programme and the Soil Card Scheme by the Government of India would be more beneficial to enhance the quality of soil across the country. I am very happy that it is recognition of the efforts launched by our Hon'ble Puratchi Thalaivi Amma who pioneered the Soil Health Card programme in the state of Tamil Nadu. The country has now been harvesting the impact of excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides along with various kinds of inorganic inputs. Besides affecting the quality of soil converting into barren quality, excess use of chemical inputs leads to various kinds of diseases.  Therefore, the government should not only develop soil health programme but also give more importance to prevalent usage of organic fertilizers across the country.

          The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is a welcome initiative but the budget allocation of  Rs.5, 500 crores appears grossly inadequate. The stepped up outlay for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana is a result of continuous request made by our hon'ble Puratchi Thalaivi Amma to the Prime Minister for a substantially enhanced outlay for this programme to ensure speedy completion of approved projects taken up in Tamil Nadu.  In this regard, I thank the government and urge for an early release of Central funds under this scheme.

          The launch of the National Rural Digital Literacy Mission is a recognition of the pioneering role that our hon'ble Chief Minister had played in launching and implementing the free laptop scheme for school and college students studying in Government and Government-aided institutions. It was intended as an effort to bridge the digital divide, which the Government of India has also now recognized. I welcome the announcement of the scheme to cover 5 crore poor families with LPG connections, aimed at reducing domestic drudgery.  It is the same objective with which the government of Tamil Nadu has implemented the scheme for distribution of Fans, Mixies and Grinders to households in the State. I urge the Government to ensure that the beneficiary identification under the subsidized LPG scheme is done in such a way to ensure that States like Tamil Nadu which already have a sizeable coverage under LPG connections are not left out, since the families that still do not have such connections in the State tend to be amongst the poorest.

          I also welcome the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadi Yojana under which 3000 new medical stores selling generic medicines are to be set up and it is very similar to the Amma Marunthagam Scheme launched by hon'ble Puratchi Thalaivi Amma in the state of Tamil Nadu. But at the same time, I would like to register my objection on the decision of the Central Government in fixing additional excise duty for the import of essential medicines especially cancer medicines.  The government had recently listed several important medicines under the list to be imposed excise duty. This step may lead to the excessive cost of those medicines as well as encourage emergence of fake and sub-standard quality of medicines in the country. Therefore, the government should abolish the import excise duty on life saving drugs.

          The launch of a new Health Protection Scheme to provide insurance cover for poor families which require hospitalization is welcome. This scheme is very similar to the Chief  Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme which is under implementation in Tamil Nadu since 2011. I earnestly request the Government of India to converge their new scheme with the Tamil Nadu scheme of health insurance.  This will not only enable smoother roll out of the Central scheme in Tamil Nadu, but also reduce overlap and administrative burden.

          I welcome the launch of several schemes to sustain the impetus in the education, skills and job creation area. I would urge the Government of India to consult the States in the design and implementation of these initiatives.  The provision for the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) at Rs.3,700 crores is very inadequate.

          The proposal to develop a National Career Service Platform into which the State Employment Exchanges will also be linked is a welcome measure. As far as the proposal to draft a new model Shops and Establishments Act is concerned, I would request that State Governments and other stakeholders should be consulted before a draft is finalized.

          The performance of National Highways Authority of India in Tamil Nadu is still somewhat wanting and needs to be improved with greater co-ordination with the State Government and greater sensitivity to state specific issues. I am concerned about the proposal to privatize the Road Transport Sector through a Central legislation by amending the Motor Vehicles Act.  Encroachment of powers of State Governments by this proposed legislation is not acceptable.

          In the area of FDI policy, the proposal to permit 100 per cent FDI for marketing food products produced in India appears to be a backdoor entry for FDI.

I welcome the announcement of providing Rs. 25, 000 crores to recapitalize public sector banks and the assurance to provide further funding if required.  This will enhance confidence and enable greater lending and spur economic activity. But at the same time, the government should take actions to protect nationalized banks from bad loans.

          It is unfortunate that the Finance Minister has not eschewed the tendency to levy cess and surcharges on various items of central taxes which are not shareable with the States. The levy of Krishi Kalyan cess on Service Tax, the infrastructure cess on Excise Duty on vehicles, the doubling of the Clean Environment Cess on coal and lignite and the levy of a surcharge even under the new tax compliance schemes are retrograde measures and ways by which the Centre is trying to avoid sharing its tax proceeds with States. I strongly deprecate this practice.

          Already, the government of Tamil Nadu has been unfairly treated by the Fourteenth Finance commission with a drastic cut in the horizontal share from 4.969 percent to 4.023 percent of the general shareable tax pool and from 5.047 percent to 4.104 percent of the service tax pool.  The criteria adopted by the commission are neither fair nor progressive as efficiency and fiscal discipline have been totally ignored to the detriment of well administered states like Tamil Nadu which are known for their prudent fiscal management.

          The proposal to treat assignment of spectrum usage as a service and not as a sale of intangible goods also eats into the tax base of State Governments, while enhancing the base of the Government of India. However, on the whole, the tax proposals in the Budget are regressive.  There are Direct Tax concessions amounting to Rs. 1060 crores mostly due to Corporate Income Tax concessions, while indirect taxes worth Rs. 20,670 crores have been levied, which come on top of the periodic increases in central excise levies on petroleum products which have seen an overall increase in yield of more than 90 per cent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year as per the Economic Survey. This is a regressive approach which cannot be supported.

          I feel it is my prime responsibility to list out some of long pending demands of my constituency for the kind consideration and early sanction of the Central Government.

1.    I request the Government to initiate necessary action for establishment of a new kenderiya vidhyalaya school in Pillaiyarpatti at Thanjavur District. The district administration have been provided ten areas of land, temporary building at free of cost will be provided till a permanent school and 50% percent residential accommodation for the staff as per the norms. 

2.    It is a matter of great worry that there is no IT Park in Thanjavur District. Approximately 50 thousand engineering graduates passing out every year run the risk of not getting a job at all. I urge upon the Hon'ble Union Minister to immediately set up IT Park in Thanjavur.

3.    I request our Hon’ble Minister to take the necessary steps to start a sea transport link service from Chennai to Nagapattinam or Karaikal by using small ships and ferry boats.

4.    Thanjavur district is one of the top three districts of Tamil Nadu which produce larger quantity of coconut products. The headquarters or its centre could be established in any one of the top three districts of Tamil Nadu where we have the largest cultivation of coconuts. As the farmers of Thanjavur district do not know about the schemes of the Board, they are deprived of the benefit of Coconut Development Board. I request our Hon’ble Minister kindly establish the centre of the Board in Thanjavur immediately.

5.    Folk artists entertain people but they live in a sorry state of affairs.  Only when the standard of their lives are improved, these folk art forms can survive the test of time. Poverty-stricken folk artists are forced to find alternate jobs to earn their livelihood. There is a sense of fear that their pathetic living condition would affect the folk art forms leading to their extinction. I urge upon the Hon. Member for Culture to set up a Central Welfare Board for folk artists so that they can live with dignity and take forward various folk art forms to posterity.

6.    A stadium at a cost of Rs. 6 crore has been constructed at Vaduvoor village of Needamangalam Union of Thiruvarur district. I humbly request the Union Government to allocate an additional fund of Rs.2.5 crore approximately for timely completion of this project.

7.    Post Office in Needamangalam at Thiruvarur district is functioning in a rented building for the last 40 years. Since, there is availability of land, a new and own building should be constructed. Post Office in Orathanadu at Thanjavur district is functioning in a rented building for the last 60 years. Since, there is availability of land a new and own building should be constructed for Orathanadu Post Office.

8.    I request that Hon’ble Minister for Culture for allocation of funds for carrying out of 22 restoration work.  2 have been sanctioned already and the rest of 20 regarding Sri Brihadeswarar Temple-conservation work of Lower Moat wall of Sivaganga Temple Little Fort, Thanjavur to be undertaken at the earliest. I once again request to allocate the funds for that purpose on priority basis.

9.    I request the Hon’ble Minister of Urban Development to allocate sufficient fund this year regarding provision of centralized parking in Thanjavur and upgradation of Moat of Thanjavur Big Temple in Tamil Nadu.

10.  The Tamil university functions as a high-level research institution in Tamil language, Literature and Culture and imparts education and research simultaneously. I request the Hon’ble Minister of state to forward a proposal for kind perusal and request yours goodself to sanction a special grant of Rs.17.63crores towards the protection and improvement of eco-environment of the Tamil University campus.

11.  I request the Union Government to allocate funds for extension of the world famous Thanjavur Saraswathi Mahal Library which is more than 300 years old.

12.  Thanjavur is the granary of Tamil Nadu which is located in the Cauvery delta region.  The Big Temple is one of the UNESCO Heritage site located in my Thanjavur constituency.  Regularly, more than five hundred people are visiting the temple every day. So many public representations have been received requesting the Subway or Over Bridge in front of the Big Temple to avoid crowd in traffic. I request the Union Government to allocate funds to construct the subway or over bridge in front of Big Temple.

13.  Farmers are the backbone of our country. Heavy rains, drought, fog and diseases affect the standing crops before harvest and as a result of this, the farmers face hardships. I urge that Union Government to spread awareness among the farmers about the crop insurance schemes so that their livelihood will be protected.

14.  I urge the Union Government to set up storage house with the facility of dryer with stockings of agricultural produce in the delta regions including the Thanjavur constituency and such store houses would be more fruitful during rainy seasons with highest preservation of agricultural produce.

15.  Hon’ble Minister for Civil Aviation may be aware that the Airport at Thanjavur was operating the service previously. I urge the Ministry of Defence to take necessary action for re-functioning of airport.

16.  I request the Hon’ble Minister that the GA Canal Project of Rs. 2610 crore is under the consideration of the Government. I request to kindly sanction and initiate the work immediately. Due to this project, 2 lakhs farmers will be benefitted. If you sanction the projects, farmers will remember you and heartfelt forever.

17.  I urge the Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport that adequate fund should also be released for Thanjavur to Pattukottai and Pattukottai to Karaikudi National Highway Road.

18.  I request the Hon’ble Minister for Human Resource Development for issuing orders for construction of additional classrooms along with auditorium both in Serfoji Arts College, Thanjavur district and Rajagopalaswamy Government Arts of College, Mannargudi, Thiruvarur district.

19.  The Southern Cultural Center is located in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu and it is working ceaselessly for the welfare of artists of all spheres. Union Government should allot funds for repairing the buildings at this centre which are in dilapidated condition besides constructing a compound wall. The old aged artists should be given old age pension through the assistance of the central government.

20.  Adequate funds should also be released for constructing an auditorium for the Thiruvaiyaru Music College in Thanjavur district.

21.  Vaduvoor Lake in Needamangalam Union of Thiruvarur District is in the control of Department of Forests. Thousands of birds from different part of the countries come to this lake. More than thousand farmers are benefitted through this lake every year. Union Government has announced this place as a bird sanctuary. Watch towers in this place needs renovation and more watch towers should be set up for the benefit of thousands of tourists who visit this sanctuary. Union Government should allocate funds for de-silting work in this lake which can benefit more than 2000 farmers of this area.

22.  The Punnai Nallur Mariamman temple is a Hindu temple located at Thanjavur in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple of goddess Mariamman is one of the famous temples around Thanjavur district. The goddess cures her devotees of all physical ailments. A charismatic yet considerate form is seen here. Mud replicas of the different parts of the human body are placed in the temple as an offering and pleading the mother for cure. In the month of ‘Purattasi’ (September-October) the Floating Festival (Theppam) takes place in the holy tank located at the temple.  Brahmotsavam takes place in the months of ‘Adi-Avani’ (August). Navarathri, Mahasivarathiri are the famous festivals celebrated here.  I urge Union Government to dredge the surrounding areas and to allot sufficient funds to make it as a tourist destination.

23.  As the National Highways Road covering Thanjavur to Kumbakonam to Vikravandi work will be delayed due to tender, I request the Hon’ble Minister kindly issue the tender to start the work immediately as it is very essential.

24.  The Thanjavur city already have the basic foundation for any grand super specialty medical research and outreach institution in the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital which has churned out hundreds of medical professionals to serve the public in the past 50 years. Importantly, qualified and experienced medical professionals might find it easier to base themselves in Thanjavur where professional experience sharing could add to their advantage. Continuing medical education and virtual medical facilities have taken deep roots here. I request the Government to please consider the suggestion and recommendations made by the committee for setting up of AIIMS at Sengippatti-Thanjavur of my constituency.

25.  There are 419 High and Higher Secondary Schools functioning in Thanjavur district. Out of 419, approximately one third of the students are willing to join polytechnic college, as the courses will have more practical and these are more application oriented. I therefore urge upon the Hon'ble Human Resources Development Minister for establishment of New Central Polytechnic College in Thanjavur immediately for the students who want to join jobs quickly after 10th standard.

26.  Thanjavur is the granary of South India.  In Thanjavur, coconut, banana, groundnut, black gram and green gram are grown in large scale besides rice production. Thanjavur and its adjoining five districts of Tamil Nadu are wholly dependent on agriculture and agro-based industries. As the economy of these districts is primarily dependent on agriculture, the need for an agricultural university becomes important. I urge upon the Hon. Union Minister of Agriculture to immediately set up Central Agricultural Univeristy in Thanjavur.

          In short, even though several shortcomings are seen in this Budget, I accept that some areas like agriculture, crop insurance have been given priorities by the government. However, I am also happy that I use the opportunity to list out some of pending projects relating to my Thanjavur Constituency and I once again urge the government to give importance for early completion of these projects with adequate fund allocation.

   

*SHRI  RAMESHWAR TELI (DIBRUGARH): I support the Union Budget, 2016-2017 presented by Hon. Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitleyji.  The Budget which is growth oriented and pro-poor is undoubtedly a historic one.  Allocation of funds for various schemes will benefit every section of society.  The all inclusive, balanced and growth oriented Union Budget with its focus on both rural and agricultural sector on one hand and infrastructure on the other, will change the lives of our people to a great extent, which is indeed a commendable effort on the part of the Government.  To ensure development of rural economy and for the upliftment of the poor and the downtrodden, Government has taken a slew of measures.  These measures will definitely boost the economy of the poor.  The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna which will bring 2.85 million hectares of land under irrigation is a laudable step that would not only increase the productivity of the farmers but at the same time it will also give much needed succour  to the farmers.  To subsidize farm loan repayment, a provision has been made for interest subvention, which is a welcome step.  An increase of 11% in the budgetary allocation made for the rural job schemes MGNREGA, rural electrification under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna with an allocation of Rs. 8,500 crore which will electrify 18,500 villages by 2018, allocation of funds amounting to Rs. 2000 crore for providing LPG connections to the women members of poor households, schemes to train one crore youth over the next three years under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to give a push for job creation, Prime Ministers’ Fasal Bima Yojna are some of the ambitious schemes announced by the Finance Minister that will certainly go a long way in ameliorating the conditions of the poor and the needy.  I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Hon. Finance Minister for presenting a pro-poor and a people friendly Budget. Thank you.

 

*SHRI P. KUMAR (TIRUCHIRAPPALLI):  The Budget presents a total receipts of Rs. 19,78,060 crore for 2016-17, which was Rs. 17,85,391 crore in the RE for the current year.  This includes a revenue receipts of Rs.13,77,022 crore for the next year, compared to Rs. 12,06,084 crore for this year. The Hon. Finance Minister presented a Revenue Expenditure of  Rs.17,31,037 crore and compared to the Revenue Receipts, there is a shortfall of Rs.3,54,015, which is the deficit.  Comparing the total expenditure figure of Rs.19,78,060 crore, with the Revenue Receipts, recoveries of loans and other receipts, there is a Fiscal deficit of Rs. 5,33,904 crore, which comes to 3.5% of GDP.

There is a welcome measure in the Budget, in the sense that there is an increase in the Revised Estimates for the current year in the Plan Expenditure, which was not the case in the earlier years. Since there is an increase in Plan Expenditure, we, from the State of Tamil Nadu, expect that adequate additional allocations will be made to the State Governments during the current year itself.

The Finance Minister also made a departure from the past practice. He put an end to the distinction of  Plan and Non-Plan expenditures from 2017-18, which was one of the suggestions made by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Amma.

The Budget at a Glance presented by the Hon. Finance Minister testifies that out of one rupee of the Centre, the States get only 37 paise, which includes “share of taxes and duties, Plan and Non-Plan assistance”. The rest 63% is apportioned by the Centre, in one form or the other. With this meager share of 37%, the States are to manage its plans and programmes.

Coming to the fiscal deficit figure of 3.5%, I have to mention that the Centre finds other ways and means to mop up additional resources, to keep this figure down. To say one example, the Centre resorted to increasing the excise duty on petrol and diesel, several times during the last year.  Whenever there was a reduction in the international price of crude, the Centre did not pass it on to the consumers, but it adjusted it by increasing the duties.  By this, the Centre got huge revenues for adjusting it in the fiscal deficit figures.

I would like to reiterate the point that any increase in the petroleum products leads to cascading effect on prices of other essential commodities and also an increase in inflation. The Government has to ponder over this and take necessary corrective steps so that the common men are not burdened.

The Government tom-toms that there is an increased devolution to States by 55%, as a result of the 14th Finance Commission’s recommendations. But as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, our State has been badly hit by the reduced allocation due to the 14th Finance Commission’s recommendations. The criteria fixed for net allocation to States go contrary to the wishes of the States like Tamil Nadu and progressive and people-friendly States should not be allowed to suffer due to such criteria.

For the social sector, there is an allocation of Rs.2,000 crore for providing LPG connections to the BPL families. While I welcome this, I request the Government to ensure that States like Tamil Nadu are not left out, which are already implementing this scheme very efficiently, as demanded by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Here, I would like to seek a clarification from the Hon. Minister regarding extending PNG pipelines to the southern States, which is a cheaper and a cleaner fuel. If  PNG is extended, the Centre could even get rid of the subsidies connected with LPG. I want to know the status of the plan to extend the PNG pipelines to southern States.

Connected with this, is the issue of laying of gas pipeline project by GAIL. The present alignment of laying of gas pipeline in Tamil Nadu goes through seven districts viz. Tirupur, Erode, Coimbatore, Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. This would cause irreparable damage to the agricultural and residential properties.  This project would adversely impact lakhs of mango, jackfruit and coconut trees which are grown in those areas.  I would also like to draw the attention of the Government to the provisions of Section 7(i) of Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962, which states that no pipeline shall be laid under lands which were used for residential purposes. Moreover, this alignment could as well be shifted to areas along the National Highway, as is being done in the State of Kerala.  This demand was explained by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in the letter addressed to the Prime Minister of India on 8th Februray 2016.  Hence, I request the Centre to intervene in the matter and shift the alignment to the areas alongside National Highway.

In education sector, the Finance Minister proposes to open 62 more Navodaya Vidyalayas. Though I welcome this initiative, I would like to suggest to the Minister to recommend to the Ministry-concerned to open at least one Kendriya Vidyalaya in each district of the country.

Though the Hon. Finance Minister increased the focus in quality of education in SSA, the funds under SSA have been decreased by the Centre unilaterally. The funds of SSA are shared between the Centre and the States in 65:35 ratio.  The Human Resource Ministry of the Govt. of India was supposed to give 65% as Centre’s share to the States. But it had granted only 50% as Centre’s share to Tamil Nadu, last year, citing the enhanced devolution of tax resources to States as per recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.

But, it is pertinent to point out that State Government of Tamil Nadu, under the able leadership of the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Dr. Amma, is working towards ensuring access to free education for children and it is a pioneer in formulating various programmes for effective implementation of RTE Act.

Moreover, it is needless to say that the expenditure on SSA is met from out of the education cess. It is a known fact that the revenue from cess and surcharges are entirely appropriated by the Centre and not shared with the States.  That being the case, it is unfair and unjustified to reduce the Centre’s share of funding for SSA. When the Hon'ble HRD Minister assured the House that the sharing pattern will not be changed, this sudden change of sharing pattern jeopardizes the implementation of SSA in Tamil Nadu.

So, I request the Government  to clarify the position why the sharing pattern was changed, especially in view of the fact that SSA is being funded from education cess.

Coming to the aspect of ‘cess’ in this Budget, the Hon. Finance Minister has imposed and increased ‘cess’ and ‘surcharge’ on various Central Taxes, knowing fully well that they are not shareable with the States.  He imposed a levy of Krishi Kalyan Cess on Service Tax, infrastructure cess on excise duty on vehicles, doubling of Clean Environment Cess.  By imposing such cess and surcharges, the Centre is avoiding  sharing them with the States, and apportions the entire money with itself.  Hon. Chief Minister expressed her opposition to this move, through a letter to the Hon. Prime Minister, in this regard.

For the rural sector, there is an increased allocation and we welcome it– be it Grants-in-aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities, be it allocation to MGNREGS.

In the case of relief to income tax payers, he belied the expectations of the middle class, which is a major chunk of people who contribute to Centre’s revenue from income tax. Middle class income tax payers expected something more from the Finance Minister, especially when in this year, the Government will be implementing the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, which will lead to increase in the pay structures of Central and State Government employees.

On the whole, the Budget has not inspired and motivated many segments of our country and it belied the higher expectations of the people and it totally lacked flavour.

     

श्री जयंत सिन्हा: सभापति महोदय, बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद। मैं दो मुख्य बिन्दुओं पर इंटरवैन्शन करना चाहता हूँ। आज जो चर्चा हुई है, बहुत अच्छी चर्चा हुई है। बहुत अच्छा वक्ताओं ने बोला है और कभी कभी तो लग रहा था कि हम लोग सदन में नहीं हैं, कोई मुशायरा में हैं, इतनी बढ़िया बढ़िया यहाँ लोगों ने शायरी पेश की है।

श्री राजेश रंजन (मधेपुरा) : इससे कुछ सीखिए न।

श्री जयंत सिन्हा : हम तो सीखते ही रहते हैं। यही तो काम है, हम सब लोगों को सीखते रहना चाहिए। इसलिए मैं दो मुख्य बिन्दुओं पर बोलना चाहूँगा। पर उसके पहले मैं इस बजट के बारे में यह भी कहना चाहता हूँ कि आपको मालूम है कि हमारे देश के इतिहास में बजट आते हैं और बजट जाते हैं। कुछ बजट हिट हो जाते हैं और मुझे दुख से कहना पड़ेगा कि यूपीए सरकार के जो बजट आए, वे फ्लॉप भी हो गए। ...(व्यवधान) लेकिन माननीय वित्त मंत्री जी ने जो तीन बजट पेश किए हैं, वे सब तो हिट रहे ही हैं, पर मुझे यह कहना पड़ेगा कि यह बजट सुपरहिट हुआ है। यह मैं खुद नहीं कह रहा हूँ। ...(व्यवधान) आज कई माननीय सांसदों ने कहा है, मीडिया में कहा जा रहा है, हर गाँव में, हर कस्बे में, समाज में चर्चा है कि जो बजट पेश किया गया है, यह एक सुपरहिट बजट है। अगर यह सुपरहिट बजट है तो वह इसलिए है क्योंकि इस बजट में एक संतुलन है और हर बजट में एक संतुलन बनाना पड़ता है, एक बैलैन्स बनाना पड़ता है। जब बजट अच्छे तरीके से संतुलन को कर दे तो लोग उसे सुपरहिट मानते हैं। इस बजट में हम लोगों ने किस प्रकार का संतुलन किया है, जब वह मैं आपको समझाऊँगा तो मैं पहले इसके मुख्य बिन्दु पर आऊँगा कि इस बजट के पीछे विचारधारा क्या थी, सोच क्या थी, उसके बारे में भी बताऊँगा। संतुलन क्यों? संतुलन, क्योंकि हम लोगों ने आज और कल का संतुलन किया है। यानी शॉर्ट टर्म और लांग टर्म दोनों को बैलैन्स किया है। हमने अगर संतुलन किया है तो समाज में, व्यापार में और उद्योग में जो संतुलन करना होता है, वह हम लोगों ने संतुलन किया है। साथ-साथ हम लोगों ने राजनीति और अर्थशास्त्रियों के बीच में भी एक संतुलन, एक बैलेन्स बनाया है। अगर आप लोग दो मिनट दें तो मैं जो अर्थशास्त्री हैं, जो इकोनोमिस्ट्स हैं, उनके मैं जरा आपको कोट पढ़कर सुनाना चाहता हूं। एक अर्थशास्त्री हैं, उन्होंने कहा है कि   “This is a serious, sober Budget that preserves India’s most treasured asset in a turbulent world – macro-economic stability.”     एक और कहते हैं:

“Our first cheer goes to the Government for showing admirable restraint by sticking to the fiscal consolidation path. Our second cheer goes to the comprehensive set of measures announced in the Budget which are likely to support a more balanced growth trajectory.”             This was in a newspaper by a very well known columnist. All of you know him well. His first line in his column is:

“In the face of threatening global financial squalls the Budget provides credibility, a steady course for steering the economy and welcome improvements in tax administration.”   इसलिए यह बजट जो था, यह सुपरहिट था, क्योंकि हम लोगों ने बेलैंस किया। आज आप लोगों ने सुना, हमारी पार्टी की तरफ से माननीय सदस्य जी ने किस प्रकार से उल्लेख किया कि सब लोग, चाहे वे गरीब हों या किसान हों, महिला हों या युवा हों, उनको इस बजट से कितना लाभ मिला है, परन्तु यह होते हुए भी अर्थशास्त्री भी इस बजट की प्रशंसा कर रहे हैं। यह मैं कहूंगा कि एक अद्भुत संतुलन हम लोगों ने बनाया है और इसलिए इस बजट को सुपरहिट कहा जा रहा है।

          अब मैं आता हूं, आपको समझाने की कोशिश करता हूं कि इस बजट के पीछे दो महत्वपूर्ण जो बिन्दु हैं, वे क्या हैं। एक तो यह है कि हम लोगों ने फिस्कल मैनेजमेंट क्या किया, कैसे किया, उसके बारे में मैं अभी विस्तार से थोड़ा समझाऊंगा, वित्त मंत्री जी भी इसके बारे में जरूर बोलेंगे, परन्तु अभी जो माननीय सांसद ने कहा है कि पब्लिक सैक्टर बैंक्स में आप लोगों ने क्या किया है। ...(व्यवधान)

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Is it that you want to clarify on some important points?

… (Interruptions)

SHRI JAYANT SINHA: I want to address only the important points that have been raised so far. … (Interruptions)

          पहली बात तो यह है कि एन.पी.एज़. पर क्या किया गया है, पब्लिक सैक्टर बैंक्स के लिए क्या किया गया है। The hon. Member had said we needed to take some bold actions in this regard. I wanted to reassure her and other hon. Members that indeed we have done so.

          I want to touch upon the fiscal management briefly. After that, I would let hon. Members continue.

          Let me speak about the bold steps we have taken as far as the public sector banks are concerned. When we inherited the economy in May, 2014, it was already clear that we had a set of stressed assets that were arising from the large number of stalled projects that had accumulated during the UPA Government’s time. These projects were stalled because of a number of policy failures and policy paralyses that the UPA had demonstrated. In a way, they were also representative and illustrative of an environment of crony capitalism that existed during the UPA time. So, when we started to look at the set of stalled projects, we recognised at that point that we needed to take action in three different ways.

          First, we needed to address the underlying stress in many of these industries which had arisen due to policy paralysis and we did that. Secondly, we needed to make sure that we understood exactly where these stressed assets were and what the extent of those stressed assets was at a systemic level was so that we did not create any challenges with respect to systemic stability. Thirdly, we had to equip the banks to be able to go through the resolution process and deal with these stressed assets. This required considerable amount of bold policy action which we demonstrated in many of the industries which were facing stress.

          As we have explained over and over again, for example if you look at the power sector where the discoms were running huge losses we had to put in place the UDAY Programme so that we could deal with the losses in the power sector in various States so that we could start to heal the power sector as well. The power sector was also dealing with problems with coal allocation and problems in terms of power transmission between North and South. We addressed all these problems at a policy level.

          When you look at the steel industry, the market was being flooded by low cost imports from around the world. We immediately acted on that through safeguard duties and further acted on it through the imposition of a minimum import price. So, we did that as far as steel is concerned.

          Similarly, in the textile industry, we amended the Textile Upgradation Scheme and made it possible for a capital subsidy to be available for our textile industries so that stress would be relieved in that industry as well.

          As far as the road sector is concerned, there were a host of reasons why there were no bidders for many of the tenders we were putting out and a number of stalled projects existed in the road sector. We had to address that through swift and decisive policy action which we have done. All hon. Members know that the speed of execution and speed of awarding road projects has gone up dramatically. It is evident in front of the entire world. Everybody accepts that.

          We addressed that through policy action. That was the first set of things that we did to ensure that the lot of the stress that was coming on to the banks because of policy failures, because of inaction on behalf of the UPA Government was addressed as quickly as possible. That is a very decisive set of action we undertook as far as policy making is concerned.

          The second very important thing that we had to do was to really understand the extent of stressed assets across the systems. As the hon. Members know well that there are many banks which are lending individually to many companies and the extent of stressed assets across the system was not possible to understand until we built a data base, which the RBI then did to be able to understand exactly what the stressed assets were across the entire system, both public sector banks and the private sector banks. So, we did that. We conducted the Asset Quality Review. Government along with RBI and the banks worked very closely to understand in the last six to nine months what the stressed assets were across each bank, across each sector and across the entire system as well. We completed the Asset Quality Review in the last two or three months so that we could understand how these assets had grown, where they were and in which industry they were. We have completed that. We know where the stressed assets are. We have transparency and recognition around that. We know that the number is around eight lakh crores. The good news is that we have seen that this number has now stabilising and we now put in place appropriate policies for the banks themselves to recognise and classify these stressed assets. That was the second very important thing we did as far as the banks are concerned.

          The third very important thing, you have seen results of this in the newspapers every day, that we have done is we have equipped the banks through the data base, through the joint lending forum, through the Corporate Debt Restructuring process and a new process that was introduced by the RBI which is the Strategic Debt Restructuring process to swiftly take action as far as the resolution of these NPAs are concerned. I would like to let the hon. Members know that if you open the newspapers today and you look at the companies that are monetising and selling their assets now. You look at the resolution process. There are 29 of these that are going on where promoters themselves are being replaced. You can see that the tools with which we have equipped the banks, the resolution process that is underway right now is actually bearing results. In fact, it is an unprecedented change in creditor rights that they can move forward with these promoters and force them to resolve these stressed assets. It is an unprecedented change. It has never happened before.

          Sir, as far as wilful defaulters are concerned, Mr. Chairperson, Sir, I would like to tell you that we have taken swift action on wilful defaulters. The hon. Finance Minister spoke earlier today about how we are taking action there. But today there are 7,686 wilful defaulters that are recognised in the system. We have filed suits for 6816 wilful defaulters. There FIRs filed for 1669 and SARFAESI action that has been undertaken for 584 of those. So, if you look at the total amount, out of rupees eight lakh crores for which wilful defaulters have been identified and action has been taken, it is Rs. 66190 crore. So, as far as wilful defaulters are concerned, we have taken very swift action and as the hon. Minister said that nobody will be spared. The full force of the law will be applied against wilful defaulters. Once they are notified, in any case, they are shut out of the financial system. It is not possible for them to borrow again and effectively as far as their businesses are concerned and their own individual career as business people are concerned, once you have the label of a wilful defaulter, the doors are closed on you as far as borrowing from India’s financial system is concerned.  It is a very painful conclusion to their business activities. These are very harsh, profound and important measures that we have taken as far as stressed assets are concerned. Hon. Members should be reassured that these actions are unprecedented in India’s economic history and they represent bold and decisive action as far as the banks are concerned.

          Sir, I will conclude by saying that in this Budget on this particular issue we also recognise, as the hon. Finance Minister has said, that rather than having too many weak banks, we are better off with the process of consolidation where we have fewer stronger banks, banks that cannot be played off by promoters, banks that will be able to take action against wilful defaulters and banks that will have the technology and the lending practices and enough talent so that this problem does not occur again. So, we have dealt with it tactically in terms of really getting a handle on stressed assets but more importantly, for India and for the hon. Members to know, we have dealt with it systemically and structurally as well in terms of tools that are available to the banks.  Of course, bankruptcy code and other measures which we will take through DRT and SARFAESI are yet to come.  Those will further strengthen our banks.  Between making our banks stronger and giving them the tools, we are structurally dealing with this problem where NPAs have been a periodic problem as far as India is concerned.  Hopefully, we will not have these problems to this extent again. 

With this, I will conclude my first intervention about public sector banks which is an issue raised by many hon. Members.

          I will now come to the second point of fiscal management. Even though I am a first time Member of Parliament, I have sat through the debates as an observer watching what happens when we discuss the Budget.  I now had an opportunity to sit through the debates when we talk about the Budget.

          The part that I think we do not spend enough time in this House and in this country is, to understand the actual realistic fiscal position that we confront as a country. And a part of what we had to do, the balance that we had to strike in this Budget, is to deal with the fiscal realities as it is but at the same time, responding to the challenges and stresses that we were seeing in the economy.  But that balance and understanding the actual fiscal position are very important for hon. Members as well as for the country to understand.

          Here are the simple facts.  If you look at this fiscal year, our total expenditure is Rs. 17.8 lakh crore.  It is projected to go upto Rs. 20 lakh crore next year. Our total revenues, both tax and non tax, are Rs. 12.5 lakh crore.  Therefore, we are running a deficit of Rs. 5.35 lakh crore this year.  We are running a deficit. हम लोग घाटे में जा रहे हैं। हमारी सरकार घाटे में जा रही है। अगर हमारी कमाई साढ़े 12 लाख करोड़ है, अगर सरकार की कमाई साढ़े 12 लाख करोड़ है तो हमारे खर्चे 17, 18 लाख करोड़ हैं। यानी हमारा जो घाटा है, वह करीब साढ़े 5 लाख करोड़ का है। अगर यह घाटा सरकार को पूरा करना है, ये खर्चे जो हमें करने हैं, सभी माननीय सदस्य कहते हैं कि आप और खर्चे करिए, देश में जनता कहती है कि आप और खर्चे करिए। सब लोगों को यह समझना चाहिए और जिम्मेदारी से समझना चाहिए कि जो हम लोग ऋण ले रहे हैं, इस ऋण को हमारे बच्चों को और उनके बच्चों को इस ऋण का भुगतान करना पड़ेगा। हम लोगों को पूरी जिम्मेदारी से खर्चे अगर करने हैं, अगर फिसकल मैनेजमेंट करना है, तो हमें जिम्मेदारी से करना है।  हम लोगों ने कहा कि फिसकल डेफिसिट को सीमित रखें, 3.5 पर्सेंट पर रखें। हम लोगों ने इसे इसलिए किया क्योंकि हम आज और कल का संतुलन बनाना चाहते हैं। अगर हम लोग और भी ऋण देते चले जाएं, अगली पीढ़ियों को और भी ऋण देते चले जाएं, और भी घाटा देते चले जाएं तो यह जिम्मेदारी का काम नहीं होगा। इस जिम्मेदारी को हम लोगों ने समझा है और संभाला भी है। इसका परिणाम क्या हुआ? मैं माननीय सदस्यों को बताना चाहता हूं कि जो खर्च है, जो ब्याज हम देते हैं, Before the Budget was announced, hon. Members, there is a borrowing rate for the Government of India. जब हम बाजार में ऋण लेते थे, तो हमें ब्याज देना पड़ता था जो 8 प्रतिशत के आसपास था, 8 पर्सेंट का ब्याज था, क्योंकि लोगों को लगा कि इतना ऋण बढ़ता जा रहा है और यह जो 8 पर्सेंट पर ऋण लेते हैं, जो 5.35 लाख करोड़ का हम लोगों का ऋण है, यह हमें 8 पर्सेंट ब्याज पर फिर भरना पड़ता। पर क्योंकि हम लोगों ने यह संतुलन बनाया, घाटे को कम किया, 5.35 लाख करोड़ अगले साल भी रहेगा, 3.5 पर्सेंट फिसकल डेफिसिट रहेगा।

          महोदय, मैं माननीय सदस्यों को बताना चाहता हूं, मैं आपके माध्यम से और इस सदन के माध्यम से देश को बताना चाहता हूं कि जो 8 पर्सेंट पर, जो हम लोग 7.876 पर्सेंट ब्याज पर ले रहे थे, आज के समय वह 7.64 पर्सेंट हो गया है। यह बहुत कम हो गया है, क्योंकि यह संतुलन हम लोगों ने आज और कल में बनाया है। यह भी माननीय सदस्यों को समझना चाहिए कि इस प्रकार से फिसकल मैनेजमेंट हम लोगों ने किया है। जो लोग राज्यों की बात कह रहे थे कि हम राज्य में और खर्च करना चाहते हैं, उनको भी यह समझना चाहिए, आप लोगों का भी घाटे में बजट चलता है, आपको भी बाजार से ऋण लेना पड़ता है। अगर हम यह फिसकल डेफिसिट 3.5 पर्सेंट पर सीमित न रखते और बॉरोइंग का जो ब्याज है, वह 7.64 पर्सेंट पर नहीं आता, तो फिर आपको 8, 8.5 या 9 पर्सेंट पर ऋण लेना पड़ता ।        

आज आप कह रहे हैं कि बजट से आपको तकलीफ हो रही है, आप लोगों को और तकलीफ होती, उससे हम लोगों ने आपको बचाया।

          आज माननीय सदस्यों ने बहुत बातें की, किसी ने कहा - गुड, बैड एंड अगली, तो उन्होंने गुड में तो यह नहीं बताया कि डेट का कितना प्रेशर बन जाता, हम लोगों ने वह कम कर लिया है, क्योंकि हम लोगों ने इस प्रकार से संतुलन बनाया है। हम लोगों ने फिस्कल मैनेजमेंट अच्छी तरह से किया है, इससे देश को बचत हुई है, इससे राज्यों को बचत हुई है और अगली पीढ़ियों को इससे बचत हुई है। मैं इन्हीं दो प्वाइंट्स पर इंटरवेंसन करना चाहता था। धन्यवाद।

श्री मल्लिकार्जुन खड़गे:  जब वह हमारे ऊपर कुछ बोले हैं तो क्लैरिफिकेशन पूछना जरूरी है। ...(व्यवधान) अभी वह यूपीए पॉलिसी की पैरालिसिस के बारे में बात कर रहे थे, लेकिन उसको पैरालाइज करने में आपका बहुत बड़ा हाथ है। आप ही ने जीएसटी बिल को रोका, आप ही ने फूड सिक्योरिटी को रोका, आप ही ने एफडीआई को रोका, आप ही ने आरटीआई को डिलै कर दिया, हमने जो चीजें गरीबों की मदद के लिए की थी तो उन चीजों पर आपने हंगामा मचा कर हाउस नहीं चलने दिया, बिल पास नहीं होने दिया। ...(व्यवधान) यहां तक कि जेटली जी जैसे बड़े नेता, जो वकील हैं कि obstructing Parliament is part and parcel of parliamentary democracy. पार्लियामेंट्री डेमोक्रेसी में यह होता है। यह पार्ट ऑफ डेमोक्रेसी है, यह उन्होंने कहा है। जब आप यह बात कहते हैं तो पीछे आपने क्या कहा था, जरा उसको याद करना चाहिए। आप उसको याद नहीं करते हैं।

          दूसरी चीज, जब आप ने दो बजट पेश किया तो कोई अप्रिशिएशन नहीं किया, इस तीसरे बजट का इम्पलिकैशन क्या होगा, वह आगे की बात है।...(व्यवधान) इसलिए आप ने इपीएफओ पर क्वीक्ली यूटर्न लिया। जब बिहार में मार पड़ी तब यूटर्न हो गया, तब किसानों की याद आ गयी, तब मजदूरों की याद आ गयी, तब गरीबों की याद आ गयी, इसलिए अब जो बजट लाये हैं, वह बिहार का इम्पैक्ट है, आपके दिल में नहीं है। चुनाव को नजर में रखते हुए और पांच स्टेट्स में जो चुनाव होने जा रहे हैं, उसको मद्देनजर रखते हुए आपने इस बजट को बनाया है, इसको दिल से नहीं बनाया है।...(व्यवधान) मैं यह कहना चाहता हूं कि वर्ल्ड इकोनॉमी बहुत क्राइसिस में थी, लेकिन हिन्दुस्तान में इकोनॉमी मजबूत थी। यह क्यों मजबूत थी, क्योंकि यूपीए सरकार की पॉलिसिज भी उतनी ही ठीक थीं, बैंक्स भी उतने ही मजबूत थे और रिजर्व बैंक भी उतना ही मजबूत था, इसीलिए यहां की इकोनॉमी मजबूत रही। कम से कम वह क्रेडिट दीजिए, सब हमने किया, एक साल न हुए, सभी आपने किया। बात करते वक्त पीछे भी क्या था, कैसी स्थिति थी, उनको ध्यान में रख कर बात करना चाहिए। यहीं मैं आपसे विनती करना चाहता हूं।

SHRI A.P. JITHENDER REDDY (MAHABUBNAGAR): My party colleague, Shrimati Kalvakuntla Kavitha spoke very well. She stated that she was really concerned about jawans and kisans.  I would like to add one more thing. I thought she would definitely speak about it because I thought, being a lady she would be obviously attracted to jewellery. She talked about the nation, about the citizens, about the jawans and about the kisans.

          I would like to bring to your notice that the gems and the jewellery sector has been taxed one per cent excise duty. Hyderabad being a place from where a lot of jewelleries are being exported, almost one crore people, who are artisans, goldsmiths and other karigars will come on to the road.  So, that is why tomorrow if you give us time my party Members and also Shri Asaduddin Owaisi because he is also from Hyderabad, and most of the karigars are from the old city, will come and give a representation on that.  We request you to please withdraw that one per cent excise duty which has been imposed.

19.00 hours SHRI Y.V. SUBBA REDDY (ONGOLE): Mr. Chairman, Sir, I thank you for permitting me to speak on the General Budget which, many are saying, and rightly so, is tilted towards farmers, poor and rural India. Although in terms of fiscal management the Government seems to have done well, thanks mainly on account of global petroleum and commodity prices falling in an unprecedented manner by over 70 per cent giving leverage to the Government to hike the Union Excise Duties very substantially, there is not much good news for the country.

          The investment proposals signed by various States with great fanfare are hardly materializing. It is a matter of great worry that exports have been falling for the 14th month consecutively. On the one hand, imports of manufactured goods are increasing every month, but on the other hand, even in the face of the Government’s prestigious Make in India programme, our exports have been falling. Despite an unprecedented fall in the global petroleum and commodity prices, the trade deficit for April-December, 2015 is as high as $ 99 billion. In respect of the Index of Industrial Production for the mining, manufacturing and power sectors, the cumulative growth in three sectors during April-December, 2015 over the corresponding period of 2014 has been 2.3 per cent, 3.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively. This is a matter of great worry. I agree that the existing NPAs are vitally affecting the viability of banks. But have we learnt any lessons? Are we not adding NPAs even now on daily basis?

          The country has added on an average 19,000 MW of coal based power per annum during the last five years before 2014. In 2014-15, the country added another 24,500 MW of coal based power projects so much so that the coal based power capacity has gone up from 77,000 MW in 2009 to 1,75,000 MW now. The domestic coal production is only 530 million tonnes per annum as against a requirement of 800 million tonnes of coal required for the 1.75 lakh MW to operate at 80 per cent PLF, which means we have to import 300 million tonnes of coal per annum when the rupee has already slipped to Rs. 70 per dollar. The power capacity that we have will be sufficient for the next decade also. Most of them are either stranded or under performing. Despite this, every day each State Government is awarding bids for coal based power projects. Are we not guilty of adding fresh NPAs every day?

          Coming to the Budget, I have no doubt that Shri Arun Jaitley has succeeded in establishing his Budget on 9 pillars right from agriculture to tax reforms and I compliment him for an exceptional job done to keep the fiscal deficit at 3.9 per cent for this year. He has also not changed the target of 3.5 per cent for 2016-17. Not only that; he has been able to rein in revenue deficit, current account deficit, inflation and allocated Rs. 25,000 crore for banks recapitalization to avoid NPAs etc. With Rs. Nine lakh crore agriculture credit target, with the new Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana, bringing 28.5 lakh hectares under irrigation, huge allocation for rural roads, new health insurance policy for the poor, free LPG for BPL women, opening up of Prime Minister Jan Aushadhi Stores, allocation of Rs. 2.87 lakh crore to local bodies etc. are all welcome.

          But, with due respect to the hon. Finance Minister, the announcements made in the Budget are not pursued meticulously with the same vigour and passion with which the Budget is prepared. I personally feel that the vision will dwindle without completing its mission. I am not criticizing; I am only bringing to the notice of the hon. Finance Minister the ground reality, so that he can plan his course of action accordingly. Let me give one or two examples to substantiate my point. The Budget talks about opening up of 3,000 Jan Aushadi Stores. It was the target of the 12th Plan. We are four years into the 12th Plan and we have been able to set up just 164 stores and only 87 are functional. There are only two in Telangana – one in NIMS and the other one is in Uppal – for four crore people. There is just one store in entire Andhra Pradesh. So, setting up 3,000 Jan Aushadi Stores, as mentioned in para 53 of the Budget, is very ambitious. So, a real emphasis is needed here.

My second point is this.  The hon. Finance Minister said that he would supply 1.5 crore LPG connections to poor in three years, that is before the next General Elections. I tried to go though the pattern of issuing LPG connections. There is no doubt that there is whopping 1.5 crore new LPG connections issued between April and December 2015. But, the problem is, nearly 70 per cent of them are not poor. Poor find it difficult to take this because the proposed scheme only gives a BPL woman subsidy of Rs. 1600. The Petroleum Minister is on record saying that a minimum of Rs. 3,400 needed for an LPG connection.  So, subsidy is not even 50 per cent of what is required. So, I urge upon the hon. Finance Minister to add, at least, the price of LPG stove to make this scheme a success.

This is a very dangerous proposition, considering the fact that even after 45 years of bank nationalisation, only 40 per cent of our farmers have access to bank credit while the balance 60 per cent are in the grip of private money lenders. If the Government is really committed to double the farmers' incomes, they should, on war footing, ensure that hundred per cent of farmers are provided bank credit.

We further request that national projects like the Polavaram irrigation project should be completed within the next three years by making timely and adequate financial releases, as it will go a long way in furthering the food security of the country. Many of the promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 and the promises made on the floor of Rajya Sabha on 20th February 2014 have not yet been fulfilled. 

While I welcome the Government's commitment to double the farmers' incomes in the next five years, I must say that provisions made in the Budget are highly inadequate to accomplish that target. To achieve this, MSP for various crops like paddy, cotton, etc. have to be increased substantially looking at the substantial increase in input costs. Here, the recommendation of Swaminathan Commission of giving MSP plus 50 per cent profit on farmers produce to fix MSP should be implemented. Sir, I come from an area where nothing can be grown except tobacco which is earning Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 6,000 crore of foreign exchange for the country annually. So, I have two points to make. The first one is the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should be made applicable to tobacco and the second one is 'farmer' should be made a unit instead of the proposed 'village' as unit, so that the benefit of insurance reaches to every farmer.

Another important proposal of the Government is to provide Housing for All by 2022 under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. It is a very laudable move. But, here, the beneficiaries are identified by the State Government. If the entire power of identifying the beneficiaries is given either to the State Government or Municipalities or Corporation –which are otherwise under the control of the State Government – there will be discrimination in identifying the beneficiaries. There is every possibility – and it has become a norm – not to give importance to areas which are represented by the Members of Parliament from the opposition parties.

The Union Cabinet has approved Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. Hon. Prime Minister, Modi ji has also promised that he would give Special Category the moment BJP comes to power. It is nearly two years, but nothing has been done so far. People of Andhra Pradesh are screaming for Special Category Status. My party President, Shri Jagan Mohan Reddy also met the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Home Minister and the President umpteen times to take decision in this regard. So, kindly implement this promise made during 2014 immediately.

In this Budget, the hon. Minister has given just Rs. 100 crore for Polavaram project. Sir, it is the dream of Telugu people since 1940s. It was given national project status in 2014. But, so far, just Rs. 500 crore has been given for this. The hon. Water Resources Minister and the Government of India are saying that the project would be completed by 2018. But, at this pace, I think, it will not be completed by 2018. So, I request the Government to take up construction of dam in his own hands and complete it.  I request Government of India to complete Polavaram project by 2018 as promised.

With these words, I conclude. Thank you, Sir.

 

* SHRI T.G. VENKATESH BABU (CHENNAI NORTH):  At the outset, I present my views on the Budget (General) for the year 2016-17.

The President of DMK, Mr. Karunanidhi has given pass marks to Mr. Modi, our Hon’ble PM for presenting this budget.  May be, he is still harping on alliance with BJP.  To him, Mr. Modiji can become a good man in a bad party.  It is also a warning to the Congress party so that they should not claim much stake in the alliance.

But, while welcoming the positives of the budget, our Amma, the Hon'ble T.N. Chief Minister has categorically declared that few of the budgetary proposals are retrograde, going against the principles of cooperative federalism and far below the expectations of the people of Tamil Nadu. Of course, we don’t have any illusions of alliance, while assessing the far more important budget.

Given that the global economy casting gloomy shadows, this budget is prudent enough to look inwards. The budget has not provided much boost of investment to manufacturing and service sectors dealing on exports. Since, it is dawned on the Government that any push in these sectors will not yield any positive results in the backdrop of acute recession, overwhelming the world economy.  There is less talk of globalization, reforms and liberalization though there is no policy orientation against these principles.

But forced by the circumstances, the Government started looking back and revisiting its old ideology. In this regard, doubling of investment to the farm sector and rural development is to be welcomed.

Indian Agriculture is facing a crisis and is shrinking. The minimum wages of agricultural workers have dwindled to Rs. 120 per day.  Agriculture is the primary sector of our economy on which manufacturing and service sectors are dependent. So without strengthening the agricultural sector, the other sectors cannot thrive. This wisdom has dawned on this Government after almost 5 decades.

The target fixed for doubling of farm income is to be welcomed. The investment to convert 55% of dry lands into wet lands is also to be welcomed. The scheme ‘Electricity to the whole of India before 2018’ is good.

On the plea of Prime Minister, 75 lakh people have come forward to surrender their gas subsidy.  The Government, on the other hand, has announced gas connection to 5 crore poor families in 3 years. This is laudable.

The Budget has unleashed massive investment to the infrastructure development including road, water and rail transport, far above the previous UPA Government's allotment to this sector.

But other sectors including health and education are not adequately pampered.  Amma’s intention is that for health and education services, the people should not be dependent on private sector. These two services should be readily available to them in good quality and free of cost.  Tamil Nadu government is allocating more than 6% of its GSDP to these services, whereas the mighty centre with all resources at its command is spending less than 2% of GDP to these two services.  As a result, Tamil Nadu could scale new heights in these services. The World Health Organization has hailed the T.N. health system.

The University Grants Commission officials have time and again praised the educational standards set by Tamil Nadu Government.

Even the flagship programmes like 'Start Ups' and MSMEs are not sufficiently funded. Our variant of startup is New Entrepreneur-cum-Enterprise Development Scheme (NEEDS), which has been started 3 years back and is progressing on fast track in evolving more and more of young, educated and high-tech entrepreneurs with the full backing of the State Government. More than one lakh incubation centres are providing these entrepreneurs with skilling.

In MSME industry, we have almost 40% of MSMEs in our State. More than one lakh MSMEs are newly registered in the past 5 years, which is a record of sort.  More than one crore new jobs were created apart from 3 lakh fresh Government recruitments.

The NDA Government has neglected even its core constituency, namely, the middle class. They are not alleviated in the tax and exemption limits. As a result, they have to pay more tax. The tax imposed on the EPF withdrawals cannot be tolerated by even the NDA allies. By all means, it has to be withdrawn before the current session of Parliament is prorogued.

The amnesty extended to the Black Money holders is tantamount to accepting the Government's inability to unearth black money. This will encourage tax evaders while discouraging tax payers. The much trumpeted policy of widening the tax base will have a beating.

Despite increasing the investment, the fiscal consolidation is achieved by this Government in that the fiscal deficit for 2015-16 was 3.9%, for 2016-17 it is estimated to be 3.5% and is to slide down to the magical figure of 3% in the years to come, to meet out the target fixed by RBI, through which RBI can reduce the interest rates. The fiscal deficit and total loan availed by our Amma’s Government are kept well below the marking of RBI, despite massive spending on infra and social welfare schemes.

But the outstanding loan amount together with the loan to be availed will be Rs. 6 lakh crore.  The Government gets 21% of its revenue from loans and pays 19% as interest.  This is evidently unsustainable and urgently needs to be cleared.

Tamil Nadu under the leadership of our Amma strongly objects to the clandestine way in which FDI is to be allowed into multi-brand retail food market. We also strongly resent the proposed amendment to be brought into the Motor Vehicle Act, through which the road transport is to be privatized. This is encroachment into the domain of the State and is gross violation of the principle of Cooperative Federalism, the words coined by NDA.

We also strongly oppose the surcharges increasingly levied on basic tax with the sole objective of not to share this tax income with the States.

The Centre derives Rs. 2 lakhs crore through the slump in international oil prices and another Rs.2 lakh crore through auctioning of spectrum and coal.

By virtue of constantly hiking the excise duty on oil, the Centre has amassed 3/4th of the declining cost of oil and transferred only 1/4th of the price fall to the consumer.  True to the principle of Cooperative Federalism, the NDA Government should share a part of this tax revenue with the states.

The concept regarding the use of spectrum as an invincible product instead of regarding it as a service is a well mooted strategy to appropriate the whole licence fee on spectrum into the Centre’s kitty denying the share of states.

It is to be welcomed that this budget provides for Rs. 20,000 crore Corpus fund for irrigating 28 lakh hectares and Rs. 6000 crore for sustainable ground water conservancy.

          It is feared that states like Tamil Nadu which have fully availed the irrigation facilities will be spared for funds as happened in the previous years. As a water-starved state, Tamil Nadu needs more of these funds.

Most of the newly launched projects in this budget are carbon copies of similar projects already carried out successfully by our Tamil Nadu Government.

To cite a few, the soil betterment scheme expansion is in recognition of similar schemes introduced in Tamil Nadu. National Rural Digital Literacy Mission is a replica of the 30 lakh free laptops so far given by our Government to bridge the gap in digitalization.

The Centre is to provide free gas connections to 5 crore families all over India to reduce the burden of women from the household works, and with the same purpose, Amma’s Government has supplied mixies, grinders and fans to around one crore and 85 lakh BPL families without any cost.

The plan to open 3000 Medical shops to sell medicines at cheaper prices is almost similar to the already implemented scheme of opening more than hundred Amma dispensaries.

The Medical Insurance Scheme announced in this budget to the poor is in line with the CM’s Medical Insurance Scheme launched and bettered by our Anna in 2011 itself.

The schemes announced to promote education, skill training and job creation are laudable and they could be linked with similar schemes in the states. Tamil Nadu is the forerunner in these three schemes and so our Amma suggests that wider consultation with States can be initiated before implementing these schemes to provide a linkage. But the fund of Rs.3700 crore allocated to these schemes is barely sufficient.

While our Amma has extended greetings to the Centre’s allocation of more funds for the infra development, she puts out a request that the National Highway Commission can be instructed to prioritize the schemes selected by the State Government.

The PPP Mode is proposed by the Centre to build up the infra facilities with high quality potentials. Our State reiterates its special powers to renegotiate such pacts, since they are more tilted in favour of the private partners.  For example, the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) provided in the PPP Pact acts as a cushion to the private partners in the event of any loss or liability. The fund has recently been unreasonably hiked from 20% of the total project cost to 40%. There is no transparency or accountability in these pacts. So Tamil Nadu State wants to revisit this pact and also the SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) pacts to be signed with Railways, which are more tilted in favour and whims of Railways.

The decision to recapitalize the PSU Banks to the tune of Rs. 25,000 crores and to further it, when need arises, is to be welcomed as this move will augment the much needed investment.

As insisted by our Amma for a very long time, the Centre has finally decided to constitute a committee to review the Fiscal Responsibility and Consolidation Act. The State Government should have a stake in it.

Our Amma’s request to the Hon'ble Prime Minister for allocation of more funds to the initiation and completion of the already sanctioned central projects in Tamil Nadu seems to have been heeded to, since more funds is allotted now in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana scheme.

Similarly, our Amma’s suggestion that there should be no distinction made between the Plan and the Non-Plan expenditures from 2017-18 fiscal onwards, so that it can be focused only on the revenue and investment expenditure, also seems to have been heeded to.

I request that the Hon'ble Finance Minister may take note of the expert opinion that Rs.1409 lakh crores are being dealt on electronic transactions as calculated by the RBI.  If 2% tax is levied on these transactions, the Government would get a budgetary tax revenue of Rs. 50 lakh crore, which is almost double of our present tax revenue. The experts also opine that if Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes are withdrawn, which totals 82% of total currency, it will curtail the Black Money and the counterfeit notes supplied by the Pakistani ISIS. It is for the Finance Minister to evaluate the feasibility of these two expert opinions.

We are at pains to point out that there is no mention of Cauvery and Mullaperiyar disputes in this budget.

The budget also avoids talking about the linking of peninsular rivers and the Pamba-Achankovil-Vaippar river-linking project which are persistently demanded by our Government.

With these reservations expressed, I want to congratulate our Hon'ble F.M. who has taken tireless efforts to bring out this budget, which is comprehensive and is least destructive.

         

*SHRI SANKAR PRASAD DATTA (TRIPURA WEST): The Union Budget of 2016-2017 could not fulfill the expectation of the downtrodden – lower middle class and middle class people.

          However, it could fulfill the expectation of the corporate house.

          In  the agriculture cooperation and farmers welfare head, it was shown that a 128% more allocation is there for the sake of the farmers of our country, but reality is this that a meager 33% is increased in the Budget, which is not sufficient for the starvated peasants community of our country.

          It is shown that in the MGNREGA, 38,500 crore has been allocated for this.  But a dues of previous year, an amount of Rs. 8,800 crore has to be cut down from this year Budget, so the actual allocation would be less than the previous year.  What we are seeing in case of the mandays that got in the previous year was only 38 days, which is much below from the announcement of the Act which told that 100 days work should be there.  But the actual position of mandays demand that if not more minimum Rs. 50,000 crore is required immediately in the allocation of this year Budget.

          In 2016-2017 Union Budget for the women and child development, the Budget allocation has been fallen by 1188 crore in relation to 2014-2015 financial year allocation.

          In case of S/C sub-plan and S/T sub-plan situation demands that according to the percentage of population, it required to sanction 91,301 crore and 47,300 crore respectively but only a meager amount of 38,823 crore and 24005 crore respectively for the S/C and S/T sub-plan, which is pathetic.

          This  BJP Government does not increase the tax of the rich people, rather it has decreased the direct tax by around 1000 crore for the sake of the rich.  Whereas the indirect tax which is being paid by the poor and common people has been increased by around 20,000 crore.

          Is  this the Budget of fulfilling the slogan of “Sub Ka Sath Sab Ka Bikash”.

          What happened to the black money and non-performing assets, according to one Government agency, it is around 10 lakh crore, if we could recover the money it could have been used for the development of the people of the country.

          This  BJP led Government did not keep its own words, as it is told in the BJP election manifest.  It was told that the price of the essential commodities would come down.  But what is the reality?  The price of all the essential commodities are going up like rocket speed.  By this time the fall of il prices in the international market brought a scope in Indian economy and Rs. 1 lakh crore has come into the exchequer but that fruit has not distributed among the people of the country.

          The number of millionaire are gradually increasing .

                       

SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY (BAHARAMPUR): Thank you, Sir.  I am fortunate enough that I have been able to participate in the super-hit Budget as enunciated by our hon. Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.

          Sir, the Tarzan of our country has deployed one Humpty and one Dumpty for preparing the Budget for which they are now boasting of a super hit Budget.  We have even been enlightened by the vichardhara of the Government.  We have been told that it is a balanced budget.  संतुलन किया गया है। जब इतनी सारी चीजें संतुलित हो चुकी थीं, तब आपको ईपीएफ रोलबैक करने की क्यों जरूरत पड़ी? इसका मतलब है कि you were trying to surreptitiously poach into the area of common people but you were buckled under.  Thanks to the pressure mounted by the agitated people, where the stellar role was played by our leader Shri Rahul Gandhi ji.  It has forced you to roll back the tax on EPF.  Can you deny this?  If it was so balanced, who has forced you to roll it back?  मैं जयंत सिन्हा जी की बात बड़े गौर से सुन रहा था। सिन्हा साहब, मैं सिर्फ यह पूछना चाहता हूं कि corporate tax contribution to gross tax revenue picked at close to 40 per cent in 2009-10.  In the 2016-17 Budget estimate, they are expected to contribute only 30.3 per cent of the total tax collections.  Why is the corporate tax 30 per cent plus surcharges? After adjusting exemption allowances, it was just 24.67 per cent for 2015-16, the last year, for which the data was available.  However, it is still 9 per cent below the maximum statutory rate of 32.44 per cent.  Why have you failed in collecting the taxes?  Where is the performance of this Government?  The efficiency of the Government is mostly relying upon its capacity of collecting the taxes where you have failed miserably. 

          Sir, the Government may claim many things but we have to observe the reality of the state of our common people.  The Finance Minister has tried hard to project himself as a fiscal fundamentalist.  Yes, corporate lobby may clap on you because you have exhausted all your resources and burnt the midnight oil to establish that your Government is pursuing the path of fiscal rectitude. I would like to know whether the fiscal discipline is the only parameter of a robust economy or of an efficient economy.  Hon. Home Minister, during his tenure in Opposition, used to criticise the then UPA Government by saying that they did not have any big idea.

          May I know as to what are the big ideas that you have incorporated in your Budget?  Each and every piece of your proposal has been borrowed from the UPA Government.  So, you are the great borrower of the ideas conceived by the UPA Government.  Still you are accusing and criticising the UPA Government that it was suffering from policy paralysis.  May I know as to how do you define policy paralysis?  Rather, I can say that in spite of a virtuous combination that you have inherited from the UPA Government, firstly the crude oil prices has been falling sharply, which contribute a lot to the performance of this economy. You had got the opportunity.  That is why, inflation got checked.  In spite of a virtuous combination that has been inherited by you, you have failed to strike a right chord because you appeared to be robust, to be bold but you are feeble and effete in action.  You do not have any kind of imagination.  That is why, in spite of all favourable economic environments, you have not been able to strike a right chord.  Still, you are fumbling. 

          You are yourself imbalanced.  So, naturally the person who is himself is imbalanced cannot prepare a Budget which may be balanced.  You are yourself suffering from policy myopia, from policy dementia.

          The Budget 2016 has come amidst growing disquiet over the actual state of the Indian economy.  GDP grew at 7.6 per cent in 2015-16 at the back of 7.2 per cent growth registered in 2014-15.  During the UPA regime, the growth of our economy registered was 6.9 per cent.  Then, how can you say that you have made something different, for which you may claim that it is a ‘super hit Budget’? 

The Wholesale Price Index fell to 0.9 per cent in January, 2016.  Such a virtuous combination of high growth and falling inflation – if truly reflective of ground realities – is unprecedented in recent economic history.  Yet, several other economic indicators do not corroborate such a ‘sweet spot’. 

          Even your Economic Survey shows that fixed capital formation has fallen to 29.4 per cent of GDP in 2015-16 from 30.8 per cent in 2014-15.  Please mind it, capital formation has fallen from 30.8 per cent to 39.4 per cent.  Agriculture has grown by merely 1.1 per cent this year after -0.2 per cent growth last year with food grains production stagnating at around 250 million tonnes for the past two years.  Mr. Jayant Sinha, during the UPA regime, the food grains production of our country had touched 263 million tonnes, and in spite of all policy paralysis, we had been able to register at near four per cent agriculture growth.   You cannot deny it.  Even then, you remain happy with the litany of policy paralysis conceived by your leader.  I think that being accomplished economist as you are, you should not be carried away by those political leaders, who only want to score political brownie points.   Yes, I must appeal to you.

          The Government has not let much borrowing space to the private sector.  Am I right or wrong?  It should have, at least, increased public investment.  Unfortunately, the capital expenditure relative to  GDP for the next year is budgeted at 1.6 per cent, which is even lower than current year’s 1.8 per cent.  A slew of measures could have been taken to weed out unproductive revenue expenditure to augment capital expenditure.  You know everything.  But you are also under stupendous pressure because on the one hand, you have to please your political boss and on the other hand, you have to prove that you know  better fiscal management.  So, on the one hand, to please the political boss and on the other hand, to manage the economy, you have been landed between the devil and the deep sea.  That is why you yourself have been imbalanced.

          Sir, may I cite two-three points, which are relevant to the present state of affairs? Firstly, I would like to quote Mr. Roopen Roy, a renowned  credit company manager, in respect of a dream home.  He said:

 “But is first-time homeowner’s dream fraught with risks that he does not understand? What happens when an unsc­rupulous real estate developer operating in a relatively unregulated industry raises money, but fails to deliver the promised dream home? Are nightmares common or do they happen in very rare cases? Well unfortunately, it is rather widespread prompting the Government to consider stepping in. ”   Sir,  I know that there is a time constraint.

          मि. सिन्हा जी ने इंटरवेंशन में कहा था कि ज्वैलर्स को डरने की जरूरत नहीं है। ज्वैलर्स के बारे में यहां बहुत बातें की गईं। बंगाल में लाखों की तादाद में लोग जेम्स और ज्वैलरी का काम करते हैं। मैं मंत्री जी से एक सवाल पूछना चाहता हूं।

          For the last several years, the import duty has been increased from one per cent to 10 cent.  But why do you adopt this route by resorting to increase in excise duty by one per cent?  Why do you resort to this route? It is because easily you can earn money by imposing more import duty.  So, it clearly indicates a malicious intent that I am saying.  You know that corporate sectors are desperate enough to infiltrate into this area of cottage industry,  which  may be called an industry of unorganized sector, where traditional artisans are earning their money with dignity and honour.

On the one hand, you are pursuing the ‘Skill India’, ‘Make in India’ but on the other hand, you give advantage to the corporate dragon by imposing excise duty of one per cent which may snuff out those traditional artisans from their area. जयंत सिन्हा जी भी ईस्टर्न इंडिया के हैं, जो हमारे स्टेट के बगल में है। जयंत सिन्हा जी आपको यह जानकारी होगी कि ईस्टर्न इंडिया में वर्ष 2010 के 26 जनवरी को तत्कालीन राष्ट्रपति प्रतिभा पाटिल ने सेकेन्ड ग्रीन रिवोल्यूशन की बात कही थी। उन्होंने एलान किया था कि हमें ईस्टर्न इंडिया में हरित क्रांति करनी चाहिए। एक तरफ पंजाब है, हरियाणा है, लेकिन यहाँ पर प्रोडक्शन प्लेटो में आ गया, प्रोडक्शन में स्टैटिक आ गया। इसलिए जो नया पोटेंशियल है, वह ईस्टर्न इंडिया में है। इसलिए सेकेंड ग्रीन रिवोल्यूशन के लिए ईस्टर्न इंडिया चुना गया था। मैं जानना चाहता हूँ कि अभी सेकेन्ड ग्रीन रिवोल्यूशन का अभी क्या स्टेटस है। ईस्टर्न इंडिया में सेकेन्ड ग्रीन रिवोल्यूशन के लिए आपने  कितनी राशि आवंटित की है और पिछले वर्ष में जितनी राशि आवंटित की गयी थी, वह सही मायने में खर्च हुआ या नहीं, मैं यह जानना चाहता हूँ।

          दूसरी बात यह है कि आप जानते हैं कि बंगाल और असम तथा केरल और तमिलनाडु में लाखों की तादाद में चाय बागानों में काम करने वाले लोग हैं। बंगाल में चाय बागानों की हालत खस्ता हो चुकी है। Virtually, the those tea gardens in West Bengal have become the enclave of death and destitutions. आपको सुनने में हैरानी होगी कि अभी मलन्यूट्रिशन हर लोगों की नसीब में आ चुके हैं। जहां लोगों की बॉडी-मास इंडेक्स 22 होना चाहिए, वहाँ बंद पड़ी चाय बागानों के लोगों की बॉडी-मास इंडेक्स 14 हो गयी है। आपकी सरकार ने आठ चाय बगीचे टेकओवर किए। इन्हें टेकओवर करने के बाद उन्हें यह पता नहीं था कि यह चाय बगीचे बीआईएफ में चले गए थे। मालिक सीधे कोर्ट चले गए और आपकी सरकार ने जो आठ चाय बगीचे टेकओवर किए थे, उसमें कोई दखल नहीं दे पाए। क्या आपकी यही पॉलिसी है? आपकी सरकार जब चाय बगीचों की हालत को देखते हुए टेकओवर करते हैं तो क्या वह निगेटिविटी नहीं समझेगी। आज चाय बगीचों को लेकर बजट में एक भी मुद्दा नहीं है लेकिन हिंदुस्तान के करोड़ों लोग टी इंडस्ट्री पर निर्भर करते हैं। मैं एक दरख्वास्त करूंगा कि जो असम, बंगाल के स्माल टी-ग्रोअर्स हैं वे चाहते हैं कि उन्हें क्राप इंश्योरेंस दी जाए क्योंकि असम में 40 परसेंट चाय एक लाख से ज्यादा स्माल टी-ग्रोअर्स बनाते हैं। उन लोगों को मुआवजा दी जाए, उन लोगों को सुविधा दी जाए।  Last but not least      “दूर इशारों में बात नहीं बनती है, शांत रोने से बरसात नहीं होती है, जिंदगी ख्वाब नहीं बल्कि हकीकत है, आंख बंद करने से रात नहीं होती है। ”   इन्हीं बातों के साथ,   I oppose your budget.

 

श्री भगत सिंह कोश्यारी (नैनीताल - उधम सिंह नगर): महोदय, आपने आज के आम बजट पर बोलने का अवसर दिया है, मैं आपको धन्यवाद देता हूं कि आम बजट समग्र बजट है, सम्पूर्ण बजट है और सर्वस्पर्शी बजट है। यह एक प्रकार से कम्प्लीट कप्रीहेंसिव इन्क्लूसिव बजट है।

19.30 hours                        (Shri P. Venugopal in the Chair)           सभापति महोदय, समय कम है और आप बीच में रोक सकते हैं इसलिए मैं सीधे बजट की बात करता हूं, लेकिन उससे पहले मैं एक बात कहना चाहता हूं कि तुलसीदास जी ने कहा है :

           स्वारथ लागि करैं सब प्रीति, सुर नर मुनि सबकी यह रीति।

          मेरा भी एक स्वार्थ है। मेरे क्षेत्र में एचएमटी की एक फैक्टरी थी, जो अरबों रुपयों की फैक्टरी थी, पिछली सरकार के कारनामों की वजह से बंद हो गई है। केवल मेरे यहां की ही नहीं, बल्कि शायद आपके राज्य की या दूसरे राज्यों में भी बंद हुई हैं। ऐसी स्थिति में मेरा निवेदन है कि कम से कम आप एचएमटी कम्पनी को और मेरे ही नहीं, बल्कि अन्य कंपनीज को ...(व्यवधान)  I do not disrupt anybody. Why are you disrupting me? You can say later on. After all, I do not disrupt anybody.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Do not disrupt him.

SHRI BHAGAT SINGH KOSHYARI: If anybody speaks, I do not disrupt. How is it that you are disrupting me? … (Interruptions)

SHRI K.C. VENUGOPAL: Sir, there is no quorum.

           Sir, I am on a point of order. There is no quorum in the House.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: The bell is being rung--

… (Interruptions)

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Nothing will go on record.

… (Interruptions)…* HON. CHAIRPERSON: Now, there is a quorum.  The hon. Member, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari may continue.

SHRI BHAGAT SINGH KOSHYARI: If there is no quorum, please ask your Members. If you are so conscious of quorum, please ask your Members.… (Interruptions) No, it is not good.

          महोदय, मैं कह रहा था कि यह समग्र बजट है, सम्पूर्ण बजट है, सर्वस्पर्शी बजट है, एक कम्प्लीट, कंप्रेहेंसिव और इन्क्लूसिव बजट है। मैंने आपसे कहा कि मैं बजट की बात शुरू करूं, उससे पहले मेरा एक निवेदन है, मेरा एक स्वार्थ है कि मेरे राज्य में, मेरे क्षेत्र में एचएमटी की फैक्टरी थी, जहां अब घड़ियां बनाना बन्द हो गया है। जिनकी सरकार में वह घड़ी बनाने का कारखाना शुरू हुआ, मुझे लग रहा है कि उन लोगों की घड़ी भी अब बन्द होने वाली है, लेकिन अब हमारी सरकार आई है। अगर आप वहां घड़ी नहीं बनाना चाहते तो मेरा क्षेत्र पूर्व सैनिकों का क्षेत्र है, वर्तमान सैनिकों का क्षेत्र है, वहां डिफेंस की कमेटी गयी है और उसने कहा है कि यहां डिफेंस के सामानों का प्रोडक्शन होता है। इसलिए आपके माध्यम से मैं वित्त मंत्री जी से निवेदन करूंगा कि वहां तत्काल डिफेंस प्रोडक्शन शुरू किया जाए। साथ ही, एचएमटी की अन्य फैक्टरीज में भी वहां पर यह काम शुरू किया जाए।...(व्यवधान)   Am I speaking anything against you? Again and again, you are interrupting me.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Please address the Chair.

श्री भगत सिंह कोश्यारी:महोदय, मैं किसी के अगेन्स्ट नहीं बोल रहा हूं, आखिर वहां एक फैक्टरी बन्द हो गयी है, इसलिए मेरा यह कर्त्तव्य है कि मैं अपने क्षेत्र की आवाज यहां उठाऊं। डिफेंस मिनिस्टर काइन्ड एनफ हैं कि उन्होंने वहां अपनी कमेटी भेजी, जिसने अपनी रिपोर्ट दी है कि वहां डिफेंस प्रोडक्ट्स का प्रोडक्शन हो सकता है।

          आज हमारे यहां 500 करोड़ रुपए की सम्पत्ति बेकार पड़ी है, पिछली सरकार की गलतियों की वजह से इसलिए मेरी सरकार से विनती है कि वहां डिफेंस का प्रोडक्शन शुरू होना चाहिए। इसके साथ ही देश में अन्य जगहों पर भी जहां-जहां इस तरह से फैक्टरीज बंद पड़ी हैं, वहां भी कुछ न कुछ प्रोडक्शन शुरू होना चाहिए।

          यहां कविता जी अपनी बात कह रही थीं। उन्होंने बजट के बारे में अच्छी और बुरी दोनों बातें कहीं तथा साथ ही साथ जगलरी की बात भी कही। मैं उतना तो नहीं जानता, केवल यह जरूर जानता हूं कि पंडित दीन दयाल उपाध्याय जी कहते थे कि सारे अर्थशास्त्र का एक ही मंत्र है -

                   भूल गए राग-रंग, भूल गए छकड़ी,                    तीन चीजें याद रहीं, नून, तेल और लकड़ी।

 

नून का मतलब नमक, तेल का मतलब खाना पकाने वाला तेल और लकड़ी का मतलब है जलाने के लिए ईंधन। मेरे दादा जी 150 किलोमीटर दूर जाकर नमक और तेल लेकर आते थे। स्वतंत्रता सेनानियों ने, क्रांतिकारियों ने देश को आजादी दिलाई। आजादी के बाद मेरे पिता जी 50 किलोमीटर दूर से नमक और तेल लेकर आते थे। जब अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी प्रधान मंत्री थी, उस समय जेटली जी भी मंत्री थे। अटल जी ने प्रधान मंत्री ग्राम सड़क योजना शुरू की। आज मेरा सौभाग्य है कि मुझे, मेरे परिवार को और मेरे गांव वालों को प्रधान मंत्री ग्राम सड़क योजना के कारण अपने ही गांव में नमक और तेल मिल जाता है। मैं उन्हें इसके लिए बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद देता हूं। रह गई बात लकड़ी की, तो मैं प्रधान मंत्री जी और वित्त मंत्री जी को और पेट्रोलियम मंत्री जी को बधाई देता हूं कि अब मेरे गांव की माताओं, बहनें और बहुओं को घर में खाना पकाते समय लकड़ी की समस्या नहीं रहेगी। उन्हें अब लकड़ी जलाकर अपने आंसू नहीं बहाने पड़ेंगे, क्योंकि हमारे प्रधान मंत्री जी ने कहा है कि हम तीन करोड़ या पांच करोड़ घरों में गैस की सप्लाई करेंगे। इस बात को सुनकर मेरी आंखों में खुशी के आंसू आ गए। अब मेरे देश में पांच करोड़ घरों में हमारी बहनों के जो आंसू बहते थे उस लकड़ी के धुएं से, वे बंद हो जाएंगे। मैं इस ऐतिहासिक कदम के लिए सरकार को बधाई देता हूं।

          मान्यवर, यहां अभी वित्त राज्य मंत्री जी अपनी बात कह रहे थे। एक-दो नहीं, मैंने अनेक लोगों को पढ़ा है, जिसमें सी. रंगराजन साहब भी शामिल हैं। उन लोगों के बारे में शायद हम कल्पना भी नहीं कर सकते थे कि वे ऐसा कहेंगे। सी. रंगराजन साहब ने कहा है कि इतना बढ़िया बजट बना है। लेकिन उधर से कई लोग कह रहे थे कि इसमें युवकों के लिए कुछ नहीं है, रोजगार के बारे में कुछ नहीं है। ये बातें विपक्ष के सारे लोग कह रहे हैं और यह भी कह रहे हैं कि यह प्रो-फार्मर्स हैं। उन्होंने कहा कि सरकार ने किसानों की चिंता शायद आने वाले कुछ विधान सभा चुनावों के कारण की है। मैं इतना ही कहना चाहता हूं कि आज देश में 60 प्रतिशत किसान हैं। यदि इनके लिए हमारे प्रधान मंत्री जी ने, वित्त मंत्री जी ने चिंता की है तो मैं सोचता हूं कि इतना तो सामान्य ज्ञान होना चाहिए कि उन 60 प्रतिशत किसानों के यहां देश का 60 प्रतिशत युवा वर्ग भी रहता है। इसलिए उस युवा को तो अपने आप ही रोजगार मिल जाएगा। इसलिए मैं समझता हूं कि इतना सामान्य ज्ञान तो इन लोगों को होना चाहिए।

          मैं एक बड़े स्तम्भकार  का जिक्र करना चाहूंगा। उनके नाम के पीछे भगत लगता है और मेरे नाम के आगे भगत लगता है। वह भी लिख रहे थे कि यह प्रो-फार्मर है, लेकिन युवाओं के लिए कुछ नहीं है। मैंने उन्हें कहा कि आपको इतना समझ में आना चाहिए कि जब यहां 60 प्रतिशत युवा रहता है, किसान है, तो उसके लिए रोजगार की व्यवस्था इस बजट में है।

          स्वामी विवेकानंद जी इस देश को वैदिक मंत्र के साथ एक नई आवाज देकर गए। वह कहते थे - उत्तिष्ठत जागृत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधता यानी Arise, awake stop not till the goal is reached. वह जो उत्तिष्ठत की बात थी, मैं सोचता हूं कि हमारे प्रधान मंत्री जी ने कहा है - स्टेंड अप, स्टार्ट अप। विवेकानंद के शब्दों में जो स्टेंड अप और स्टार्ट अप की बात आती है, वह अब चाहे मुद्रा योजना की बात हो, जिसमें अभी 20 करोड़ लोगों को सुविधा मिल रही है। और चाहे स्किल इंडिया की दूसरी योजनाएं हैं, उनकी वजह से आज लोगों को रोजगार मिल रहा है।

          महोदय, मैं निवेदन करना चाहता हूं कि मुझे लगता है कि जिस समय दस साल का यूपीए का शासनकाल था, वही प्रधान मंत्री थे, जिन्होंने 1991 में अर्थ मंत्री के रूप में नई योजनाएं शुरू की थीं, लेकिन 2004 के आते ही क्या हो गया। 2004 से 2014 तक ऐसा लगता है कि उन्हें कोई करंट लग गया और सारी अर्थव्यवस्था सो गई। मैं आपको गारंटिड कहता हूं कि हमारे वित्त मंत्री जी का यह पहला बजट है, उससे पहले हमारी सारी अर्थव्यवस्था सोई थी, लेकिन हमारे वित्त मंत्री के पहले बजट से अर्थव्यवस्था ने अंगड़ाई ली, हमारे वित्त मंत्री के दूसरे बजट से अर्थव्यवस्था उठकर खड़ी हो गई और तीसरे बजट के बाद अर्थव्यवस्था दौड़ने लगी है, चलने लगी है। मैं आपको विश्वास दिलाता हूं और मुझे अपने प्रधान मंत्री और वित्त मंत्री पर पूरा भरोसा है कि निश्चित रूप से जिस ढंग से जल के अंदर हमारे मंत्री जी जल परिवहन चलाने वाले हैं, जिस तरह से सड़कों का जाल बिछ रहा है और जिस तरह से 160 हवाई अड्डों का पुनरुद्धार किया जा रहा है, माननीय मंत्री जी यहां बैठे हैं। मैं कह सकता हूं कि अगले बजट के आते-आते न केवल हमारे वित्त मंत्रालय से देश की अर्थव्यवस्था दौड़ेगी, बल्कि यह पानी में तैरकर जायेगी और हवा में उड़कर जायेगी और दुनिया के देश हमारे देश की वित्त व्यवस्था का लोहा मानेंगे।

          इन्हीं शब्दों के साथ मैं फिर से एक बार माननीय वित्त मंत्री जी को बधाई देते हुए अपनी बात समाप्त करता हूं। धन्यवाद।

         

SHRI K.N. RAMACHANDRAN (SRIPERUMBUDUR): Thank you, Chairman, Sir, for allowing me to participate in the discussion on the General Budget.

The Budget presents a total Plan expenditure of Rs. 5.5 lakh crore and a non-Plan expenditure of Rs. 14.28 lakh crore. So, the total expenditure is projected at Rs. 19.78 lakh crore. As is the case with the Indian economy, for a long time, the projected revenues fall short of expenditures and thus we have seen a deficit Budget. This is a fact. Our dignified hon. Finance Minister has made a good attempt to keep the fiscal deficit at 3.9 per cent for the current year's Revised Estimates and expects to keep it at 3.5 per cent for 2016-2017.

We also recognize that the Plan expenditure in the Revised Estimates for 2015-2016 has been increased. With this increase, there is a hope and we are waiting that the Centre would release more funds to different States for scheme expenditure, particularly, before this financial year.

Hon. Amma-led Government of Tamil Nadu had been making a suggestion to abolish the distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditures for a long time. Now, in this Budget, the Finance Minister has announced that this distinction would be eliminated from 2017-2018. This is really a welcome step.

The Budget lays special emphasis on sectors like agriculture, irrigation, social sector including health, women and child development, welfare of SCs and STs, and minorities.

          Though we welcome this significant emphasis, our Amma had expressed her concern that ‘focussing allocations on uncompleted projects” under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme would repeat the mistake of unbalanced fund allocation to some States which have not completed many major and medium irrigation schemes. This Programme plays a vital role in agriculture sector. This will also deprive of States like Tamil Nadu of funds. This will result in severe heartburn and hence, I request the Government to encourage States like Tamil Nadu, which have completed the projects in time, by allocating more funds.

          Tamil Nadu is the pioneer in Soil Health Card Programme; and the Government of India’s budget allocation of Rs. 5,500 crore for Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana has come at a right time, but it is grossly inadequate. I request the Finance Minister to see that more funds are allocated for this programme.

          As we all know, the revenue from “cess and surcharge” is not shared with the States, and it is totally appropriated by the Centre. With a view of not sharing funds with the States, the Finance Minister has adopted a new method of levying cesses and surcharges on various items of Central taxes. He introduced the levy of Krishi Kalyan Cess, infrastructure cess, clean environment cess, etc. These are all retrograde measures; and we feel that the Centre is trying to avoid sharing its tax proceeds with the States.

          There are also other measures in this Budget, which would eat into the ‘tax base’ of State Governments and increase the ‘tax base of the Centre. This should not be the intention of the Centre, when the Government talks loud about ‘federal nature’ of our country.

          The States have been voicing their grievances for some time with regard to keeping the fiscal deficit under control, as per the FRBM Act. Different States feel that the Centre adopts different methods to keep the fiscal deficit down, whereas the States are not able to do this and are not allowed to do this. In this connection, we welcome the announcement of the Government to form a Committee to review the FRBM Act. Here, we would make a request that the Committee may have consultations with all the States, whose views could be taken on board while taking a concrete decision.

          Coming to the taxation proposals, there are direct tax concessions to the extent of Rs. 1,060 crore, mostly corporate income tax concessions, while there is a levy of indirect taxes worth Rs. 21,000 crore.

          In addition, the Centre indulges in adjusting the Central Excise Duties on petroleum products, this is our long time grievance, as and when there is a reduction in their prices internationally. This puts a huge burden on the common people and the Chief Minister requested that the Centre should not resort to this, as it is intended only to make its kitty fat.

          We welcome the allocation made to the social sector, including education and healthcare, which stands at Rs. 1,51,581 crore. While welcoming the allocation of Rs. 2,000 crore for providing LPG connections to BPL families, we urge the Centre not to leave out States like Tamil Nadu that has a sizeable number of people covered under LPG connections.

          For the “Stand Up India Scheme”, there is a provision to facilitate at least two projects per bank branch, which will benefit at least 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs. I also welcome the proposals with regard to education, skills and job creation.

          Here, I would like to make some points with respect to mounting NPAs and problems being faced by the education sector. NPAs are a major concern for the financial sector and the health of our nation also. To arrest further addition to NPAs, I would suggest that the Government can think of a settlement mechanism with the borrowers. The Government can bring forward a new policy on NPAs which could decide the criteria for treating a bad loan as NPA. The repayment period of loan may also be extended and interest rates may be re-negotiated to enable the genuine borrowers to repay the loan so that it does not fall into the category of NPA.

          There are no two opinions that Tamil Nadu is in the forefront in education sector, as is the case with other sectors. It is the first State to produce thousands of talented and knowledgeable engineers who brought name to our country and who are still bringing good name. The educational institutions nowadays are in pathetic and panic situation.

          Education is the backbone of India’s human capita; and the educational institutions, especially the private professional colleges, are doing a great service to the nation, by not only educating the young minds, but also making them go abroad, earn and bring back money to India, in the form of NRI moneys. This ploughed back money of the NRIs is further put into India’s development.

          So, while the educational institutions achieved the objective of nurturing young talents, they are suffering a lot since they provide education at a very low cost. They do not earn revenue because they do it with a service motive. They are in a financial crisis presently, because they took huge bank loans to run such institutions for the cause of students’ community. The loans taken by these institutions are treated on par with the loans taken by the industrial establishments.

          I would request the Government to separate these two because educational institutions are running for a noble cause and they should be treated as not for profit organizations, so that the loans taken by them do not fall into the category of NPAs.

          The two-month stipulated period for repayment of loans is very severe. If one fails to do so, they debt becomes an NPA. This is a very harsh and the real business is getting affected because of this. I would request the Government to extend the period of repayment of loans to six months, as was originally envisaged, which will serve as a catalyst for customers to pay back within this period. Apart from that, our Finance Minister has announced Rs.1,000 crore of rural higher education fund. Please ensure that this fund should go to rural areas for the benefit of the rural students. This is my humble request.

          Coming to the issue of imposing tax on EPF withdrawal, we must welcome the withdrawal of this proposal. In the same way, there is another long-pending issue of removal of burden of imposition of service tax on insurance premiums. Insurance premiums collected by the insurance companies like LIC, are being taxed presently. But these insurance companies fund the road sector and other sectors of the Indian economy and imposition of service tax on the premiums will do no good to the country.

To give an example, the total amount contributed by LIC during the last three years was Rs.7.52 lakh crore. LIC has also committed to contribute Rs.5 lakh crore to the Indian Railways for its infrastructure development programmes during a five-year period. So, I request the Government to reconsider the decision of imposition of service tax on insurance premiums.

          With these remarks I would like to end by quoting hon. Amma who summarised the Budget proposals thus. This Budget lacks flavour as it does not have announcements of any specific schemes which would have enthused different segments including States.  It also does not speak about the status of implementation of many schemes announced last year and the previous year. The people of the State of Tamil Nadu had still higher expectations which have not been met.

          Thank you, Sir.                                                       

DR. RATNA DE (NAG) (HOOGHLY): Mr. Chairman, Sir, this year’s Union Budget has been presented at a time when the public discourse in India shifted from mere issues of development towards issues of social democracy.  Nonetheless, one has to analyse the Budget as a fiscal document affecting the Indian people.

          The classes of people who occupy the centre stage of the Budget are farmers and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who otherwise do not find any place in the dominant discourse of the NDA Government. Two consecutive years of drought and allowing the drastic fall in global consumer prices has placed the farmers in severe distress. Farmers’ suicides have become the order of the day even in affluent States like Punjab. In such a situation much is needed to be done for rural India where 67 per cent of our population resides.  Let us see what has actually been done in the Budget.

          There has been substantial hype about focus on farmer and rural India. But a minute study of the Budget makes it clear that the claim is entirely baseless. I put some figures here to support my argument. In terms of the total outlay, irrigation accounted for only 0.14 per cent. In 2015-16 the allocation was Rs.13,500 crore, amount spent during that period was Rs.12,000 crore, amount remained unspent was Rs.1,500 crore. Agriculture and allied activities accounted for only 2.7 per cent of that total outlay.  Rural development accounted for a mere 0.4 per cent of the total plan outlay. To be precise, agriculture, irrigation, 20.00 hours           There is one area of rural India which has got much importance in the Budget.  That is the area of rural consumption demand.  For that purpose, Rs 38,000 crore has been devoted to rural job creation through MGNREGA.  Much emphasis has been put on creation of infrastructure and Rs 97,000 crore has been given for roads and highways.  In addition, Rs 48,000 crore has been given for rural infrastructure.  Any student of political economy would know that the sole purpose of this expenditure is to boost Indian industry and business which has been declining profit and investment.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members, Dr. Ratna De (Nag) and Shri Suresh C. Angadi want to finish their speeches today itself.  Thereafter, we shall take up Zero Hour.  If the House agrees, we can extend the time for the House till 9.00 pm. SEVERAL HON. MEMBERS: We agree.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Dr. Ratna De (Nag), please continue.

DR. RATNA DE (NAG) : the Budget does not reflect any ideological shift towards the making of India.  Coming to the urban poor and the middle class, the Budget does nothing for them.  In fact, by increasing the proportion of indirect tax, Budget has been extremely regressive on them.  In a few words, regarding the restless aspiring youth of India, the Budget does nothing to revive the lost hope.  Decreasing the allocation for higher education and education in general shows the commitment of the Government towards the youth of India. 

          Regarding my State, our Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has provided inclusive governance and has fulfilled the hopes and aspirations of our people with limited resources without much need and appeal for financial assistance from the Central Government. 

There has been some mild noise in the Budget regarding the hill sector.  Yes, the dialysis will be cheaper but what about the cost and treatment of the patient which is always a burden on the poor?

We have been told that 100 per cent rural electricity will be completed by 2018.  But in our State, already 100 per cent rural electrification has been achieved in early 2016.  At the end, I have no other option but to say that this Budget has no hope for the industry, no hope for the youth, no hope for the poor and no hope even for the Sensex.  Lastly, I would say that the Budget has continuously marginalized the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.  The allocation for the Scheduled Caste Dalit women is one per cent and for Adivasi women it is two per cent.  Without taking into account the needs and voices of the women, the scheme lacks in understanding the life’s reality and is blind to the conscience of the Dalit and Adivasi women. 

On 7th December 2015, it was reported in the Indian Express that hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modiji said that his Government is leaving no stone unturned to fulfill the vision and dream of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to create a prosperous and inclusive India, whose views and thoughts he said have not been fully understood as yet.  I would like to know whether you are going to fulfill such views and thoughts of hon. Prime Minister.

     

SHRI SURESH C. ANGADI (BELAGAVI): Thank you, Chairman Sir.

          First of all, I congratulate the hon. Prime Minister, hon. Finance Minister, the Minister of State and the entire team of the Finance Department for presenting a unique Budget.

          “The happiness of the commoners is the happiness of the king. Their welfare is his welfare. A king should never think of his personal interest or welfare but should try to find his joy in the joy of his subjects.”, said Chanakya. लोगों की ही खुशी है - ऐसा चाणक्य ने बताया और ऐसा ही बजट हमारे प्रधान मंत्री और वित्त मंत्री ने पेश किया है।

          For the first time in the history of Independent India, a pro-farmer, किसानों के लिए, गरीबों के लिए, और गांवों के लिए development-oriented agricultural Budget, aiming for the doubling of farmers’ income in a time-bound period and eradication of poverty  and not the poor, has been presented. This is a tribute in the real sense to our rural folks who are the backbone of our motherland.

          In a country where 60 per cent of the population living in rural areas, dependent on agriculture and allied activities their survival, generating 58 per cent workforce and contributing 19 per cent to the GDP was neglected so far. Agriculture also plays a vital role in export and manufacturing sectors. The country’s peace and prosperity is dependent on them. All these years, only sloganeering, blame game and false assurances were going on but this Budget is a step in the right direction for upliftment of the poor and downtrodden. It is an experiment to bring back those who left the villages in pursuit of livelihoods, a gram vapasi movement, not an award vapasi drama; because of the pro-farmer, pro-village Budget, many retired people can come and stay in their villages now. Most of the people are going to urban areas. To avoid urbanisation, the hon. Prime Minsiter has given Rs. 2,25,000 crore in the Budget for the rural areas, for the rural people. People can move towards the villages now for development.

          Even after 68 years of Independence, our villagers are deprived of roads, electricity, potable water, and toilets. They are living under the false hope of slogans like ‘garibi hatao’ since the 1970s. but  one generation, ‘garibon ko hata diya’. But this Budget and the NDA Government have rekindled the hope of the sceptical countrymen. This Budget is a bold step towards wiping the tears from the eyes of the poor farmers and instilling confidence in them. It has proved that now there is a Government at the Centre which is caring for their welfare.

          I am proud to say that under the MNREGA Rs. 38,500 crore have been given. This is aimed to create employment generation for the rural people. Most of the time these were only given for the panchayats; now it has been given to the opening of the small ponds for the small holders. For the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Rs. 19,000 crore have been given; for agriculture and irrigation, it is Rs. 47,912 crore.

          A sum of Rs. 1,01,775,000 crore for Rural Development and Drinking Water has been allocated. A sum of Rs. 1,56,380 crore has been allocated for Women and Child Development and under the SC and ST Sub-Plan a sum of Rs. 62,838 crore has been allocated to arrest the negative growth of the economy since 2014.

          In rural areas setting up of food processing units is very important. Fifty per cent of food is wasted by the agriculturists. So, if we can start food processing units in the rural areas then it would be very helpful. Towards this 100 per cent FDI has been given which can create more employment in the rural areas. A sum of Rs. 2000 crore has been allocated for LPG connections. About 1.5 lakh B.P.L families are likely to benefit out of this and around three crore people will benefit each year. In the coming three years, more than five crore people, particularly the women in the rural areas, will benefit out of it. This is a historic step taken by the hon. Prime Minister. A sum of Rs. 2,87,000 crore has been allocated for Gram Panchayats. Every Gram Panchayat will get about Rs. 80 lakh in the coming days. The late Indira Gandhi nationalised the banks in the 60s. At that time around 60 per cent of our population were having bank accounts, but still 40 per cent people were left out. If any person other than her were concerned about the poor people and the people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, it is our hon. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. The rest of the 40 per cent who were then left out of the ambit of banking, have now been included and they also have their bank accounts today. Our Prime Minister said that we have not done everything. The previous Governments also have done good work and wherever they had done good work, it has been appreciated. But wherever they have failed, we have opposed that while in the Opposition. We did not oppose everything that the previous Government has done.

          Sir, Shri  Kharge ji is a senior Member and he is the leader here and I would like to request him about a small issue in my State about scarcity of drinking water and I would like to request him to take up this matter with the hon. Prime Minister … (Interruptions) The matter is pending before the Tribunal. I would like to request Shri Kharge ji to convince the Opposition leaders in Maharashtra and in the State of Goa and we will convince the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Goa to settle the issue of drinking water out of court. For about four to six months people in my district are sitting on a hunger strike. I would like to request that Members both in the Treasury Benches as also in the Opposition to settle the issue of drinking water out of court. This House is meant for discussion and not for blaming each other. So, this is an important issue for the farmers and also the villagers. The place has been drought hit for the last three years. I request Shri Kharge ji and our eminent best Parliamentarian Shri Arun Jaitley – who has already been felicitated by the hon. President of India – to call these six leaders of the three States and settle the issue. I make this request in the interest of the country and also the farmers… (Interruptions) I am requesting Shri Kharge because he is the Opposition leader. I am also from his State. I would like to request Shri Kharge to take the lead in the matter and settle the drinking water issue out of court. The issue of drinking water is a major problem.

          The vision of the Prime Minister is to uplift the youth, the poor, the farmers and the villages.  We are with him. We will work together for the prosperity of the country.

          I support the Budget and I congratulate the hon. Finance Minister once again.

                                                                                               

SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE: Sir, the ball is in the court of the Government of India because the Prime Minister has to solve this problem.  He has to call the Chief Ministers of the concerned States, namely, Goa and Maharashtra and Karnataka.  The State of Karnataka is ready to cooperate but the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Goa are not agreeing to it.

          Sir, you may know that such a problem came during the period of Shrimati Indira Gandhi.  She solved the issue of Cauvery drinking water problem, the issue of Krishna water problem.  She prevailed upon the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Government of Karnataka and the Government of Maharashtra. All the three Chief Ministers agreed with the advice of Shrimati Indira Gandhi.  She convinced that they should give drinking water to Chennai. So, 15 TMC of water was given to Chennai as drinking water after her intervention. 

          In the same way, if the Prime Minister intervenes, nobody will deny it.  It is not my problem.  How can the Opposition leaders play a role?   Only the Prime Minister can play a role in this issue.  You prevail upon him and you pressure him.  If Shri Modi, Shri Parsekar and Shri Fadnavis agree, the problem will be solved and particularly the problem of your constituency will get solved.  We are with you and we are supporting you.  I will give you the support which you want.

   

HON. CHAIRPERSON:  Let us take up ‘Zero Hour’.  Shrimati Ranjeet Ranjan, I will not allow you more than two minutes.