Will Budget revive kaam and kamayee?

Hyderabad: The much-touted Atmanirbhar budget has disappointed the middle class who had pinned a lot of hope on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. They had expected some benefits in the form of higher income-tax exemption since this section was badly affected on account of the corona pandemic. The fundamental duty of providing 'kaam' to make youth to have some 'kamayee' is given a miss.

Many techies, teachers and other employees said that they were expecting much more from the Finance Minister. It is good that the Union Government has laid greater emphasis on health and increased the budget allocations like never.

But then the biggest problem for the middle-class families is to repay the debts they had incurred during the pandemic. The Government can borrow and invest but for us salaries were cut and they have not yet been restored fully, they said.

"There was no exemption from paying school fees in full and more money had to be spent to boost one's immunity levels to prevent from falling victim to the virus," said Radhika, a home-maker. She also fears that this budget may lead to a hike in prices of rice and some other essential commodities. Kavita, a techie, said that this budget does not give her a feeling of Atmanirbhar. "May for the country as a whole, it may be but for the common person who is dependent on salary it certainly does not give that feeling. Gold and silver will be cheaper but is the common man in a position to invest in it? Leather goods, nylon clothes will be cheaper but how does it really benefit us. Mobile phones and chargers and even air conditioners will cost more," she said.

K P Rao, a senior citizen, felt that the only benefit the pensioners got was that they need not file returns if they are above 75 and if they have no other source of income. "This is no great relief," he said.

Shankar Shrivastav, a medium size businessman, said that the budget had some good aspects but it did not help much. "This is a tough time as the common man was badly affected as his kaam and kamayee were affected. The government should have taken into consideration the high premiums that are there in the insurance sector. Those who opted for moratorium are also now in trouble as they need to repay heavy amounts now," he said.