GUWAHATI: Though the general mood of the people about the
Union Budget presented by finance minister
Arun Jaitley was upbeat, critics felt a lot has been promised and it now rests on the government to match its words with action in letter and spirit.
Gauhati Commerce College (GCC) principal
Homeswar Kalita pinned high hopes on the Budget, which he feels, can give a big boost to the economy and infrastructure. "It's a good budget with lots of promises to give a push to infrastructure. This, in turn, can help in generating employment. If the infrastructure development proposals gain momentum, it can help in the growth of the business sector in the region as well as in the country," said Kalita.
He thanked the government for announcing the minimum support price for kharif crops which would be 1.5 times of the cost incurred by farmers. "The prospect looks bright for farmers as there is a promise of doubling farm income. The stress on rural economy will take care of many issues faced by the agrarian community," added Kalita.
A research student of IIT Guwahati,
Bikash Sah, said the elimination of brain drain by providing financial emoluments should be accompanied with increased funding in premier institutes like the IITs and IISc.
He said that overall, the idea of the budget for the development of the nation is commendable but this process should generate more employment and project proposals should be catered by institutes specialized in that particular area and skilled workforce.
City trader
Prantosh Roy felt the success of the budget will depend on its implementation by various agencies. "For the retail traders of Assam, who have been demanding a simplified GST structure, may not benefit much from the budget. Similarly, the long-pending demand of constructing adequate cold storages for preserving agricultural produce seems to remain unfulfilled," said Roy.
Housewife Ellora Talukdar said that though the Union Budget has lots of reasons to cheer women, government employees and entrepreneurs, the Budget promises could not fulfil the aspirations of housewives. "I was expecting a curb in the prices of essential household and kitchen commodities like the cooking gas. But I was disappointed. However, the government's promise to give more free gas connections to women under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and electricity connection to the underprivileged women under the
Saubhagya Yojana is heartening," she said.
