Recession, inflation, and economic crisis will worsen in the country
* AIPF’s reaction to the Central Government’s budget
Lucknow, (Asian independent) The National Working Committee of the All India People’s Front, in a statement reacting to the budget presented yesterday, said that the Central Government presented a budget of Rs. 53.47 lakh crore in Parliament yesterday. The GDP estimate for the financial year 2026-27 is Rs. 393 lakh crores. A massive amount of Rs. 16 lakh crores in the budget’s resource mobilization includes borrowings and other liabilities. As a result, the country’s debt has increased rapidly, and a large part of the budget, Rs. 14 lakh crores, is spent on interest payments. Similarly, the contribution of corporate tax is Rs. 12 lakh crores, which is less than the income tax of Rs. 14.6 lakh crore generally paid by the middle class. The capital expenditure, which has been increased, is also mainly on items like National Highways and railway corridors, the benefit of which will accrue to the corporate and wealthy classes. Expenditure on education, health, and agricultural infrastructure is very low in this capital expenditure. It is clear that the burden of resource mobilization has been placed on the common man, while the expenditure on them remains the same, which is already very low.
A comparative study based on budget share clearly shows that there has been a marginal increase in education from 2.54 percent to 2.60 percent and in health from 1.94 percent to 1.95 percent, which is less than the rate of inflation. In important sectors such as rural development (5.25 percent to 5.10 percent), agriculture and allied activities (3.13 percent to 3.04 percent), food subsidy (4.62 percent to 4.25 percent), and fertilizer subsidy (3.31 percent to 3.19 percent), there has been a slight decrease. It is clear that the government has shirked its responsibility for social security. In the much-hyped new internship program, only ₹526 crore could be spent out of the allocated budget of ₹10,831 crore, and the budget for this item was reduced to ₹4,788 crore. Similarly, out of the ₹7,089 crore allocated for Eklavya Model Residential Schools, only ₹4,900 crore was spent, and in Skill India, only ₹200 crore was spent out of ₹2,700 crore.
The budget does not even mention addressing minimum demands such as filling vacant posts in government departments, providing respectable wages for scheme workers, and restoring the old pension scheme for government employees.
Overall, the direction of the budget is in line with the interests of corporations and the wealthy class. What was needed was to impose appropriate taxes on the wealth of corporations and the wealthy class, which would reduce dependence on foreign debt and increase investment in areas such as job creation, social welfare, small and medium-sized industries, and agriculture. This would increase the purchasing power of ordinary citizens and help the country recover from inflation and recession. But instead of doing this, the government’s budget will reduce people’s purchasing power and social security, and the country will face a serious economic crisis.
On behalf of the National Working Committee
R. Darapuri,
National President, All India People’s Front. 9415164845
