The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, in her speech that preceded the presentation of Union Budget 2022, made special mentions to farmers, women, and the youth of India, on Tuesday.
These three sections of the nation are important in the current scenario because of the politics surrounding them in the upcoming elections in the poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Goa. The farmers of Punjab, Western UP, and Haryana carried out a protest against the government for one whole year that began on November 26, 2020, on the borders of the national capital at Singh, Tikri, and Ghazipur. The protest was against the three farm reform laws introduced by the government. The protest stole the limelight for quite some time and the government had to withdraw the laws to restore peace and stability in the region.
Taking advantage of the anti-government sentiments of the farmers, the rival parties of BJP are adamant about deriving political mileage out of it and turning it into an election issue. The women voters of the poll-bound areas are also being wooed by the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) led by Akhilesh Yadav, and Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati. These opposition parties have alleged that the respective governments in these states did not create enough jobs as they promised. While Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the general secretary in charge of Congress in UP has promised 40 per cent of the assembly tickets to the women.
These circumstances have made these three sections of society very important. The Finance Minister under this context said that the budget for this year continues to seek growth. It has laid down a parallel track of a blueprint for the ‘Amrit Kaal’ which is futuristic and inclusive. This initiative will be directly beneficial to the youth, farmers, women, Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Scheduled Castes (SCs). Big public investment for the modern infrastructure is also readying India at 100 as per the Finance Minister’s speech in the Parliament yesterday.
She further added that this will be guided by PM GatiShakti and would be benefited from the synergy of the multi-modal approach. She mentioned that moving forward on this parallel track, the government is laying down four priorities and they are: PM GatiShakyi; Inclusive Development Productivity Enhancement and Investment; Sunrise Opportunities; Energy, Transition, and Climate Action Financing of Investments.
Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned the MSP in her budget speech as the farmers had protested for the provision of a legal guarantee on MSP (Minimum Support Price) along with the repealing of the three farm laws. She said that the wheat procurement in Rabi 2021-2022 and the estimated paddy procurement in Kharif 2021-2022 will cover 1208 lakh tonnes of wheat and paddy from around 163 lakh farmers, and Rs 2.37 lakh crore will be directed to their accounts as the payment of MSP value.
She also said that chemical-free natural farming will be promoted across the country with a focus on the lands of farmers in five-km corridors along the Ganga river, in the first stage. The minister also said that the year 2023 has been announced as the International Year of Millets so support will be provided for the post-harvest value addition which will lead to the enhancement of domestic consumption, and for branding of millet products at the national and international levels.
