Sitharaman's Amritkal Budget 'ignores' social security for poor women and elderly

By Harasankar Adhikari
According to the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, the Budget 2023 is the first budget in ‘Amritkal’ of India. In her budget speech, she glorified it through her juggling vocabulary. She did not spend a single word for job possibility for educated youth (the most vibrant population of India), except skill training under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, poor deprived section (aging population and women).
Further, she fully ignores the price hikes of daily commodities, including gas. Is it a symbol of ‘Amritkal’? And is there a government for ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Biswas and Sabka Prayas’?
There is no budgetary allocation for women and the elderly population at the bottom of the pyramid for social protection and security. According to an Agewell Foundation report, more than 90 million Indian elderly people will be without financial security by 2021.

At the same time, it underlines, "Of the total number of people living in extreme poverty in India in 2021, approximately 47 million were females. Females were more affected by extreme poverty in India as opposed to their male counterparts during the same time period."
Unfortunately, the Government of India does not consider it an issue worthy of attention. It thinks it is the prime obstacle to raising their success, so it always uses this to hide the practical scenario of India’s progress and development.
No doubt, the budget declares some modifications and new steps for strengthening social security through some savings schemes for the well-off segment of the country such as

increasing the maximum deposit limit for the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh;
doubling the Monthly Income Scheme limit to Rs 9 lakh and Rs 15 lakh for joint accounts; and
introducing a one-time new savings scheme for women, the Mahila Samman Saving Certificate, with a fixed interest rate of 7.5 percent and a partial withdrawal option, for two years up to March 2025.

But is it not a strategy to deceive the people? Where is the guarantee of a refund? Actually, the government is cleverly trying to record the financial state of the people who are in many ways hiding their position. On the other hand, it is a system for making the wealthy even wealthier.
There is reason to ask: what would be the living conditions of the poor elderly and female population, who are constantly fighting for a meal? Are they not voters in this democracy, or have their votes no value in electing this government? Is it a government for all?

Comments

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat* The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Regional political dynamics 'leading to' institutional violence in SAARC University

By Sandeep Pandey* South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU has lost significance too. Because of the hiatus in peace process between India and Pakistan, the Board of Governors of this University is dysfunctional.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra* Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Anti-Valentine's Day push: Sectarian move to 'restrict, constrict' India's cultural milieu

By Ram Puniyani* Indian culture is diverse and plural. It has been enriching itself by accepting the diversity irrespective of religion or geographical boundaries. This gets reflected in all aspects of our life, be it food habits, clothes, art, architecture, social occasions, customs and religious traditions. This is the natural grain of any open and thriving society. With the rise of sectarianism the effort is to restrict and constrict our culture in particular.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Counterview

Search This Blog