The Union Budget of 2017-18 was unveiled with a bold vision to ‘transform, energize, and clean India,’ reflecting the government’s commitment to fostering comprehensive development. With a strategic focus on economic growth, sustainability, and cleanliness, the budget outlined several measures to achieve these objectives. One notable initiative was the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a historic tax reform aimed at simplifying the tax structure and promoting a unified market. The implementation of GST was envisioned to transform the indirect tax system, reduce tax evasion, and enhance overall tax compliance. Additionally, the budget allocated significant funds for infrastructure development, emphasizing the importance of energizing the nation’s backbone. Investments in key sectors such as transportation, housing, and rural development were set to create a robust foundation for economic growth and job creation. Furthermore, the budget underscored the government’s commitment to clean energy by promoting renewable sources and discouraging dependency on non-renewable resources. The push for a cleaner India was evident in initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which aimed to provide clean cooking fuel to economically disadvantaged households, thus contributing to both environmental sustainability and improved public health. Overall, the measures proposed in the Union Budget of 2017-18 reflected a holistic approach to transforming the nation by addressing economic, environmental, and social dimensions.
Tag: Indian economy and issues related to planning, mobilization of resources, growth development and employment. Government budgeting.
Decoding the Question:
- In Intro, try to write about ‘transform, energize and clean India’(TEC).
- In Body, discuss measures taken to achieve TEC India.
- Try to conclude the answer by highlighting the need for implementation for the objectives.
Answer:
Budget in India is an important national level exercise. It is a socio-economic document that reflects the aims and aspirations of the government and people of India.The ideas, schemes and initiatives announced in the budget have a great impact in the country. One of such is the ‘transform, energize and clean India’(TEC) agenda as a theme in the Union Budget 2017-18 that wants to:
- Transform the quality of governance and quality of life of people,
- Energise various sections of society, especially the youth and the vulnerable, and enable them to unleash their true potential; and
- Clean the country from the evils of corruption, black money, and non-transparent political funding.
To achieve these targets there are various measures proposed in the budget. They are:
Emphasis on Traditional Sectors:
- In order to achieve TEC, the government has allocated the highest ever 48,000 crore fund to MGNREGA.
- To save farmers from natural calamities, the government target has increased to cover 40% of cropped area under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and also corpus under long term irrigation fund has been increased to Rs. 40, 000 crore.
- Increased agriculture credit allocation target to Rs. 10 lakh crore.
Emphasis on Rural Development:
- Increased pace of construction of rural roads, which are the lifelines of rural areas, to 133 km per day under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
- Under this budget target of 100% village electrification by 1 January 2018 has been set by the government.
- Mission ANTYODAYA proposed a target to pull out 1 crore people and 50000-gram panchayats from poverty.
Emphasis on Education and Youth:
- To improve distance learning and online education, the government has launched the SWAYAM portal with over 300 online courses and allocation of 4000 crore to train youths for developing market-oriented skills. Under the SANKALP scheme, the government is aiming to make India a skill capital of the world.
Emphasis on Infrastructure:
- Highest allocation for railways of rupees 1.3 lakh crore which is again increased allocation for national carriers with improving passenger safety, improved journey experience, cleanliness and development works being the focussed areas.
- Overall infrastructure sector has got the highest ever allocation, which is over 3.96 lakh crore.
- To give a boost to the real estate sector, the government has given ‘Infrastructure’ status to the housing sector.
Emphasis on Improving Investment:
- Abolishment of Foreign investment Promotion Board.
- To promote small entrepreneurs, the rate of corporate income tax has been reduced to 25% companies with turnover less than Rs 50 Crore.
Clean India:
- It entails removing the evils of corruption, black-money and non-transparent political funding.
- Digital economy is being strengthened through initiatives like JAM trinity, BHIM app, Financial Inclusion Fund, Amending Negotiable Instruments Act etc. But not much has been done to protect the digital payments and transactions from cyber frauds and thefts and accessibility to computers or mobiles is limited to few.
- To bring transparency in the funding of political parties the limit of donation through cash has been fixed at Rs. 2000/- from one person and electoral bonds will also be issued in future.
So, it can be said that the budget 2017-18 reiterates the government’s intentions to bring about greater and faster economic growth, transparency in political funding to reduce corruption and give boost inclusive growth for everyone to smile. Therefore the institutions to execute policies must be rejuvenated and a sound mechanism for the monitoring and evaluation of policies should also be established. But all of the above objectives are meaningless if they are not implemented in the desired spirit.
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