The Union Budget 2015-16 was presented Saturday by the Union finance minister and everyone, from industry honchos to small-scale businessmen and students to the working class, had immense expectations from this budget. More so the homemakers, who were hoping for some reduction in prices of essential items. Did Arun Jaitley live up to the expectations? We ask a few women on their thoughts about this budget.
Pragyan Patnaik says Union Budget 2015 failed to meet her expectations since enhancement in service tax would fail to increase spending. Again, income tax exemption was also not increased, which would mean low savings.
“As a working woman, I find it very difficult to manage household costs in such an inflationary situation. In the recent budget, the homemakers had expected a decline in prices of food grain, milk, fruits, and vegetables. Also, rationalising subsidies is the need of the hour. For a woman, running the family kitchen in the most cost-effective way is top priority. Hopefully, the skyrocketing vegetable prices will be under control. Besides, child health and education are other issues which were not addressed properly in the budget. Another concern is the high school fee structure. For middle-class families this is of prime importance. Thus, some relaxation and uniformity was expected, but this was again not up to the mark in the budget. Special Investment Plan options, especially meant for women, should have been facilitated for making them self-sufficient,” Pragyan adds.
Aurosikha Mohapatra is of the view that every budget has its pros and cons and ends up creating a pinch on the pocket. “It’s a thumbs-down for me because of the increase in the price of household commodities. Managing a house with the available budget is not child’s play. But it’s a thumbs-up when it comes to strengthening the backbone of the economy of the country. I’m happy that women’s security was given importance this time,” she said.
This time’s budget is a good one as per Sneha Prava Das. “Women’s security is of prime importance and since this has been successfully dealt with in the budget, I’m glad about the provision. Since the Delhi rape incident, women’s safety has been given a lot of importance. The Nirbhaya fund was set up to help increase women’s safety all over India. The finance minister promised an additional Rs 1,000cr to the fund. A scheme named ‘Sukanya Samriddhi’ was introduced by the government prior to the budget. This scheme provides a bank account and additional tax free interests for the money deposited in the name of a minor girl child. The Union budget 2015 announced continued tax exemption for the interests accumulated from this account. One more thing is that though eating out would become costlier, the positive side is that it will prove to be beneficial in terms of health,” Sneha Prava says. pnn