Congress leader RahulGandhi hit out at theCentre on Monday followingthe presentation of the 2021-22 Union Budget, allegingthat the Narendra Modi gov-ernment plans to handover

India's assets tocrony capitalists.

"Forget putting cashin the hands of people, Modigovernment plans to han-dover India's assets to hiscrony capitalist friends," he

said after thepresentation of the UnionBudget.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Expressing commitment to augment the country'sinfrastructure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

on Monday proposed to significantly enhance capi-tal expenditure to Rs 5.54 lakh crore in the next

fiscal, besides creating institutional structuresand giving a big thrust to monetizing assets to

achieve the goals of the NationalInfrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

Sitharaman said NIP, that waslaunched in December 2019 with6,835 projects, has now been expand-ed to 7,400 projects and around 217projects worth Rs 1.10 lakh croreunder some key infrastructure min-istries have been completed.

"For 2021-22, I propose a sharpincrease in capital expenditure andthus have provided Rs 5.54 lakh croreswhich is 34.5% more than the BE of2020-21," the finance minister said.

HYDERABAD, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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Following are the highlights of the 2021-22 Budget presented by

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday

* Spending on healthcare hiked by 137 pc to over Rs 2.23 lakh crore* Rs 35,000 cr outlay for COVID vaccine in fiscal beginning April 1* Today India has 2 vaccines available, 2 more vaccines are expected soon* Sharp increase in capital expenditure for next fiscal to

Rs 5.54 lakh cr, up from Rs 4.39 lakh cr of last fiscal* Fiscal deficit for current fiscal at 9.5 pc, against 3.5 pc budgeted

* Fiscal deficit for next fiscal pegged at 6.8 pc, govt to borrow Rs 12 lakh cr* Committed to bring down fiscal deficit below 4.5 pc of GDP by 2025-26

* FDI in insurance increased to 74 pc from 49 pc* Disinvestment target pegged at Rs 1.75 lakh crore* BPCL, IDBI Bank, two more PSU banks, one insurance company

to be privatised among others

* PSU Bank recapitalisation pegged at Rs 20,000 crore next fiscal* Aatmanirbhar health programme with an outlay of Rs 64,180 cr to be introduced* Budget proposals rest on 6 pillars-- health and well-being,

physical and financial capital and infra, inclusive development for aspirational India,

human capital, innovation and R&D, Minimum Government and Maximum Governance

* Govt to introduce a bill to set up development financial institution with an outlay of Rs 20,000 cr* Voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old vehicles; fitness tests after 20 yrs for personal vehicles* National monetisation pipeline for potential brownfield infrastructure assets

* Rs 3,726 cr for forthcoming Census which will be the first digital census.

FISCAL POSITION AND HEALTH OUTLAY

ALLOCATION AND REFORMS

Govt raisesimport duty onparts of mobilephones, chargers

For every rupeein govt kitty, 53

paise to comefrom taxes

ITR filing not mandatoryfor senior citizens above75 years, banks to deduct TDSFull reports inside

22,217 CRORE FOR 42 URBAN CENTRES WITH MILLION PLUSPOPULATION, TO TACKLEBURGEONING PROBLEM OF AIRPOLLUTION

- NIRMALASITHARAMAN

Voluntary vehiclescrapping policyPNS n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanon Monday announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrappingpolicy to phase out old and pollutingvehicles.

Presenting the Budget for 2021-22in Parliament, Ms Sitharaman saidthat under voluntary vehicle scrap-ping policy, personal vehicles wouldundergo fitness test after 20 yearswhile commercial vehicles wouldrequire it after completion of 15 years.

"It is to be notified, and will comeinto effect from 1st April, 2022," thestatement had said.

‘NationalMonetization

Pipeline launched’

Budget 2021:The winners

and losers

Gold and silverLeather goodsNylon clothesIron, steel and copper items

Imported autopartsSolar cellsMobile phonesand chargers

Imported gems Imported air-conditionerand fridgecompressorsC

HE

AP

ER

CO

ST

LIE

R

WHAT IS CHEAPER,WHAT IS COSTLIER NOW2021-COVID CESSGovt imposes cess on petrol, diesel, gold, other itemsPNS n NEW DELHI

In a bid to boost agricultureinfrastructure, the govern-ment on Monday announceda cess on certain items,including petrol, diesel, goldand some imported agricul-tural products.

While proposing theAgriculture Infrastructureand Development Cess(AIDC), Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman alsosaid that care has been takennot to put additional burdenon consumers on mostitems.

There is an immediateneed to improve agriculturalinfrastructure so that weproduce more, while alsoconserving and processing

agricultural output efficient-ly, the minister said in herBudget Speech in Lok Sabha.

"To earmark resources forthis purpose, I propose anAgriculture Infrastructureand Development Cess(AIDC) on a small numberof items.

As per the Budget docu-ments, AIDC of Rs 2.5 per

litre has been imposed onpetrol and Rs 4 per litre ondiesel.

Consequently, unbrandedpetrol and diesel will attractbasic excise duty of Rs 1.4,and Rs 1.8 per litre, respec-tively. The SAED onunbranded petrol and dieselshall be Rs 11 and Rs 8 perlitre, respectively. Similarchanges have also been madefor branded petrol anddiesel.

The cess on import of 'goldand silver' will be 2.5 percent, alcoholic beverages (100per cent), crude palm oil(17.5 per cent), apples (35 percent), 'coal, lignite and peat'(1.5 per cent), fertilizers,including urea (5 per cent),and cotton (5 per cent).

2020-COVID

HospitalsReal estate &ConstructionMetal makersState-run banksTextiles

IT FirmsBonds

ExportersFarmers/Rural

India

Budget hasvision of

self-reliance: PM Modi

NEW DELHI

Prime MinisterNarendra Modi onMonday hailed theUnion Budget, sayingit has the vision of'Aatmanirbharta' (self

reliance) and addressesall sections of the soci-ety, while keepingfarmers and villages atits heart.

"This Budget has aspecial focus onstrengthening the agri-

culture sector andboosting farmers'income. Villages andfarmers are at itsheart," Modi said.

the Budget has beenpresented in extraordi-nary circumstances

and has a sense of real-ity as well as a confi-dence of developmentin it. It has the visionof Aatmanirbharta'and addresses all sec-tions of the society, heasserted.

FM mutes TS on Budget tabOnly state in south with zero allocationPNS n HYDERABAD

The Union Budget 2021-22 has turnedout to be a damper for TelanganaState, considering that the Centre hasfailed to meet any of the crucialdemands or requests of the state gov-ernment. Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman's budget speech that lastedone hour and 50 minutes, there was no

mention of Telangana or any project forthe state; neither was any budgetaryallocation made for the state.

TS government heads and financedepartment officials, who watchedNirmala's speech eagerly on TV, wereleft disappointed as she dropped thenames of several states, but left outTelangana.

Govt handing overIndia's assets to

crony capitalists:Rahul

WIN

NE

RS

LO

SE

RS

Rs 35K crore forCovid vaccine

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government onMonday proposed a bud-get outlay of Rs 2,23,846crore for health and wellbeing in 2021-2022, anincrease of 137 per centfrom the previous year,with Rs 35,000 crore ear-marked for COVID-19

vaccine in the upcomingfiscal.

Presenting the budget,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman positionedhealth and well being asone of the 6 crucial pillarsof 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'(Self-reliant India).

4

4

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpalhas got an allocation of nearly Rs40 crore for 2021-22 to meet itsestablishment and construction

related expenditures,according to the UnionBudget presented onMonday. The Lokpal

was given Rs 74.7 crorefor the ongoing fiscal, which ends

in March. This has now beenrevised to Rs 29.67 crore for 2020-21,

it said.A total of Rs 39.67 crore has been allocated tothe Lokpal for the next fiscal, according to UnionBudget 2021-22 presented by Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman.The provision is forestablishment and construction related chargedexpenditure for the Lokpal, it said.

After a steep cut last year, the Departmentof Space has been allocated Rs 13,949crore in this Budget, of which Rs 8,228crore have been earmarked for capitalexpenditure. Rs 700 crore has beenallocated for the NSIL, a newly formedpublic sector undertaking under theDepartment of Space."The New SpaceIndia Limited, a PSU under theDepartment of Space, will execute thePSLV-CS51 launch, carrying theAmazonia Satellite from Brazil, alongwith a few smaller Indian satellites,"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budgetspeech.In Budget 2020-21, the Department of Spacehas been allocated Rs 13,949.09 crore, of which Rs8,228.63 crore has been earmarked for capitalexpenditure.

Anti-corruption ombudsmanLokpal gets nearly Rs 40 cr

Department of Spaceallocated Rs 13,949 cr

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation, which is probinghigh-ticket corruption casesand has registered over Rs67,000 crore of bank fraudcases last year, received Rs835.39 crore in the UnionBudget on Monday, anominal cut from Rs 835.75crore it received as per revisedestimates for 2020-21. The agency has to poolhuman resources with burgeoning bank fraudcases, extradition cases abroad, besides specialcrime cases handed over to it by various highcourts and the Supreme Court. The CBI hadreceived Rs 802.19 crore initially in the last budgetand it was increased to Rs 835.75 crore in therevised estimates for 2020-21.

The defence budget, includingoutlay for paymentof pensions, wasincreased to Rs 4.78lakh crore for 2021-22 as against last year'sRs 4.71 lakh crore.Excluding the pension outgo, the allocation in the UnionBudget for the armed forces stands at Rs 3.62 lakhcrore. Out of total allocation, Rs 1.35 lakh crore hasbeen set aside for capital outlay to purchase newweapons, aircraft, warships and other militaryhardware, according to the Union Budget presented inLok Sabha by Finance Minister. The capital outlay in thedefence budget 2020-21 was Rs 1.13 lakh crore. Thetotal revenue expenditure, which includes expenses onpayment of salaries and maintenance of establishments,has been pegged at Rs 3.37 lakh crore.

The Centre has allocated about Rs1,66,547 crore to the Ministry ofHome Affairs for the 2021-22fiscal with a majority of the fundsgoing to the police forces and asubstantial amount for censusrelated works. According to thebudget, presented by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman, Rs30,757 crore has been allocated toJammu and Kashmir and Rs 5,958 crore forLadakh. The MHA has been allocated Rs1,66,546.94 crore for the next fiscal with Rs1,03,802.52 crore for the central armed policeforces like the CRPF, BSF, CISF etc. and Rs3,768.28 crore for census operations. The work forthe census 2021 has been postponed due to thecoronavirus pandemic.

Ministry of Home Affairsgets over Rs 1.66 lakh cr

CBI, which is probing highticket cases gets Rs 835 cr

The FinanceMinister on

Monday pro-posed more than

doubling of health-care spending while

imposing a new agricess on certain imported

goods and raising customsduty on items ranging from

cotton to electronics in a bid topull the economy out of the

trough.In her Budget for the fiscal

year beginning April 1, sherestricted tax-free interest

on retirement fund to Rs2.5 lakh annually but gave

tax exemption on LeaveTravel Concession

subject toincurring of

specifiedexpenditure.

A new AgricultureInfrastructure and Develo-

pment Cess will be imposed from Tuesdayon customs duty levied on bullion, alcoholic

beverages, coal and agri products rangingfrom apple to lentil.

But to reduce the burden on consumer,customs or import duty on these items wascut.

A cess of Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and Rs4 per litre on diesel was also slapped but thiswas offset by a reduction of an equivalentamount in the excise duty - making it priceneutral for consumers.

Also, a taxdeducted atsource

(TDS)of 0.1 per cent will

be levied on purchase ofgoods exceeding Rs 50 lakh in

a year. The responsibility ofdeduction shall lie only on the per-sons whose turnover exceeds Rs 10crore.

In a relief to senior citizens, thoseabove 75 years of age with only pensionand interest income would no longer haveto file income tax returns.

In order to incentivise the purchase ofaffordable house, the finance minister pro-posed to extend the period for claiming anadditional deduction for the interest of Rs1.5 lakh paid for home loans by one year to

March 31, 2022. To remove hardship facedby NRIs in respect of their income accruedon foreign retirement benefits account due tomismatch in taxation, new rules for align-ment will be notified.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) limit ininsurance was proposed to be raised to 74per cent from the current 49 per cent.

In order to provide relief to taxpayers,advance-tax liability on dividend incomeshall arise only after the declaration/paymentof dividend.

The dividend paid to Real EstateInfrastructure Trusts or

Infrastructure Investment Trusts(REIT/InvIT) shall be exempt

from TDS.Tax holiday for

start-ups has also beenextended by one year toMarch 31, 2022. The

time-limit for re-openingof income tax assessment has

been reduced to 3 years from thecurrent 6 years. Re-opening up to 10

years is proposed to be allowed only if thereis evidence of undisclosed income of Rs 50lakh or more for a year.

In her budget speech in the Lok Sabha,Sitharaman projected a fiscal deficit of 6.8per cent of gross domestic product for the

next 2021-22 fiscal. The current year wasexpected to end with a deficit of 9.5 per centas against a target of 3.5 per cent. With about1 per cent spending of GDP on health, sheproposed raising of the spending to Rs 2.2lakh crore to help improve health systems aswell as fund vaccination drive against coron-avirus.

By the end of the current fiscal on March31, the government would spend Rs 94,452crore.

"The investment on health infrastructurein this budget has increased substan-tially," she said.

Customs duty on cotton, silk,maize bran, certain gems andjewellery, specified autoparts, screws and nuts washiked.

To promote valueaddition in the elec-tronics sector, thesame for printed cir-cuit board assembly,wires and cables,solar inverters andsolar lamps werealso raised.

The import dutyon naphtha, ironand steel melting

scrap, aircraft components, gold and silverwas reduced.

She also allocated Rs 20,000 crore torecapitalise state-run banks that are saddledwith bad loans and have been a drag ongrowth.

The revenue target from privatisation ofPSUs was put at Rs 1.75 lakh crore with aplanned initial public offering (IPO) of LifeInsurance Corporation (LIC) among the

state-run companies that willbe sold in the next

fiscal.

Rs 1.10 L-crfor Railways F

inance Minister Nir-mala Sitharaman ann-ounced on Monday a

record sum of Rs 1.10 lakhcrore for the Railways, outof which Rs 1.07 lakh croreis for capital expenditure,and said the national trans-porter would monetise thededicated freight corridorsafter its commissioning.

Presenting the UnionBudget 2021-22, Sithara-man also applauded theservices provided by theRailways to transportessential goods across thecountry during the coron-avirus lockdown. “I amannouncing a record sumof Rs 1,10,055 crore for rail-ways of which Rs 1,07,100crore is for capital expen-diture only," she said.“Indian Railways have pre-pared a National Rail Planfor India 2030. The plan isto create a future ready rail-way system by 2030 bring-ing down the logistic costfor industry is at the core ofthe strategy to enable MakeIn India," Sitharaman said.

She said it was expe-ctedthat the eastern and west-ern dedicated freightcorridors would becommissioned byJune 2022. “The fol-lowing additionalinitiatives are alsoproposed. TheS o n e n a g a r -

Gomoh section of 263 kmon EDFC will be taken upin PPP mode this yearitself. Gomoh-Dankunisection of 274.3 km willalso be taken up shortly inshort succession," she said.

The finance ministersaid the Railways wouldtake up the future dedicat-ed freight corridor pro-jects -- East Coast Corridorfrom Kharagpur to Vijay-wada, East-West Corridorfrom Bhusawal to Kharag-pur to Dankuni and North-South Corridor from Itarsito Vijaywada.

Sitharaman said thedetailed project reportwould be undertaken in thefirst phase. She said broadgauge route electrificationwas expected to reach46,000 route kilometres,which is 72 per cent by theend of 2021 from 41,548km from October 1, 2020,adding that 100 per centelectrification of suchroutes would be completedby December

2023.

Over Rs 257 crore hasbeen allocated to thePersonnel Ministry for

the next financial year fordomestic and foreign trainingof bureaucrats and augmentingnecessary infrastructure,according to the Budget 2021-22 presented by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanon Monday.

Of the total allocation of Rs257.35 crore for 2021-22, Rs178.32 crore has been ear-marked for upgradation of theLal Bahadur Shastri NationalAcademy of Administration(LBSNAA) in Mussoorie to acentre of excellence, augmen-tation of training facilities atthe Delhi-based Institute of

Secretariat Training andManagement (ISTM), and theNational Programme for CivilServices & Capacity Building -- Mission Karmayogi, amongothers. The LBSNAA and theISTM conduct several training

programmes for IndianAdministrative Service (IAS)officers and all other levels ofsecretarial functionaries withexposure to rules, regulationsand aptitude.

The Union Cabinet had in

September last year given nodto the Mission Karmayogi,dubbed as the biggest bureau-cratic reform initiative, aimedat capacity building to makegovernment employees more"creative, proactive, profes-sional and technology-enabled".

A total of Rs 79.03 crore hasbeen provided for to the min-istry for 2021-22 to meet estab-lishment-related expenditureof the ISTM, the LBSNAAand training division of theDepartment of Personnel andTraining (DoPT).

A sum of Rs 136.69 crore hasbeen allocated under the"autonomous bodies of DoPT"head.

From Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman read-ing out her 110-minute

speech from a tablet to seatingarrangements in tune withpandemic times, there werequite a few firsts during thepresentation of the 2021-22Union Budget in the Lok Sabhaon Monday.

Also, for the first time, theBudget went paperless andmembers were provided softcopies of the speech and doc-uments.

Clad in a red and cream-hued saree with patterns,Sitharaman continued with thepractice of carrying the red-

coloured 'bahi khata'. Onlythat this time around, tabletreplaced papers in the red bag.

Unlike earlier occasions, theminister stood in the secondrow of the Treasury benches asshe read out the speech from atablet placed on a short lectern.During the 110-minute longspeech, she paused a few timesto sip water and a plate withcandies were kept near thelectern.

It was also the shortestspeech by Sitharaman, whohad delivered the longestspeech last year. Her firstBudget speech in July 2019went on for around 137 min-

utes and in 2020, it went on formore than 160 minutes andwas cut short after she feltunwell.

With seats demarcated toensure adequate social dis-tancing among members, someof the Union ministers, includ-ing Railway Minister PiyushGoyal, were sitting in RajyaSabha during the Budgetspeech.

Reading out her thirdstraight Union Budget speechfrom a tablet, the ministerquoted from works ofRabindranath Tagore andTamil classic Thirukkural whilesome Opposition members

made certain remarks duringthe speech.

Many of the Budgetannouncements, includingsome related to taxation, weregreeted with thumping of deskby the ruling party members.

After the presentation ofBudget, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, who was wear-ing a blue mask, went to theminister and congratulated her.Many other members werealso seen chatting withSitharaman after completion ofher speech.

Next to Sitharaman wasUnion Minister Harsh Vardhanand on the same row was min-

isterial colleague Pralhad Joshi.Apart from Prime MinisterModi, Union ministers AmitShah and Rajnath Singh werealso seated in the front row.

Amid the ongoing farmers'protests against the three newfarm laws, Shiromani Akali Dalleaders -- Harsimrat KaurBadal and Sukhbir Singh Badal-- along with RLP's Hanuman

Beniwal sought to raise thematter. They were seen holdingposters demanding that theCentre take back the 'black'laws. All of them, who were tillrecently part of the rulingNDA, stood in the aisle for afew minutes and later walkedout of the House soon after thefinance minister started herspeech.

Budget turns paperlessFinance Minister reads out speech from tablet for the first time

Over Rs 257 crore for training babus T

he supplementary nutri-tion programme and thePoshan Abhiyaan has

been merged to launchMission Pos-han 2.0to strengthen nutr-itional content,delivery, outreach,and outcome,according to theUnion Budgetannounced on Monday.

“To strengthen nutrition-al content, delivery, outreach,and outcome, we will mergethe Supplementary NutritionProgramme and the PoshanAbhiyaan and launch theMission Poshan 2.0. We shalladopt an intensified strategy to

improve nutritional outcomesacross 112 aspirational dis-tricts," Finance Minister

Nirmala Sitharamansaid.

Out of Rs 24,435crore allocated tothe Women ChildD e v e l o p m e n t

Ministry, an amountof Rs 20,105 crore has

been assigned to SakshamAnganwadi and Poshan 2.0.Poshan 2.0 scheme in anumbrella scheme covering theIntegrated Child DevelopmentServices, Ang-anwadi Services,Poshan Abhiyaan, Scheme ForAdolescent Girls, NationalCreche Scheme).

‘Mission Poshan 2.0’ launched to improve nutritional outcomes

Defence sector allocationup to Rs 4.78 lakh crore

The healthcare industry welcomed thegovernment's increased allocation for thehealthcare sector and said that the move willprovide access to medical care for all in thecountry, fuel job creation and boost economicmomentum. Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman proposed Rs 2,23,846 crore budgetoutlay for health and well-being for 2021-22,compared to Rs 94,452 crore in the currentfiscal, registering an increase of 137 per cent.Sitharaman has also proposed Rs 35,000 croreoutlay for COVID-19 vaccines for the nextfiscal and announced the rollout ofpneumococcal vaccines across thecountry to help save over 50,000 deathsannually. "I have provided Rs 35,000crore for COVID vaccines for 2021-22. Icommit to provide further funds ifrequired," the Finance Minister saidwhile presenting the Budget for 2021-22. Commenting on the budget,Apollo Hospitals Chairman PrathapC Reddy said, the ground-breaking focus on healthwhich will provide accessto medical care for all inour country, fuel jobcreation and boosteconomicmomentum.

HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY WELCOMES

INCREASED BUDGET ALLOCATION

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2021 hyderabad 02

¬Railway and union budget was presented separately till 2017after which they merged into a single presentation.¬ In 2001, the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha changed itto 11 am. Until 2000, the budget was presented at 5 pm onthe last working day of February.¬ In 2014, Arun Jaitley delivered the longest budget speech- 2.5hours- in 2014.¬ Indira Gandhi was the first woman finance minister to presentthe Budget in 1970

TRIVIA ¬Morarji Desai has presented 10 Union Budgets inParliament which is the highest by a single financeminister followed by P Chidambaram with ninebudgets ¬ The word BUDGET is derived from 'bougette' whichmeans small bag in French.¬ The first ever Indian budget was presented by JamesWilson, a Scottish economist and politician in 1860.¬ The first independent budget of India was presentedby RK Shanmukhan Chetty on November 26, 1947.

TRIVIA

BUDGET 2021-22

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2021 hyderabad 03

The Centre for Women Studies(CWS), Maulana Azad NationalUrdu University (MANUU), in

collaboration with the Centre forDevelopment Policy and Practice(CDPP), Hyderabad, organised a 16-day campaign on eliminating gender-based violence with a series ofwebinars on ‘Gender Inequality: the yawning gap between law andthe justice delivery system’. Prof SM Rahmatullah, MANUU Vice-Chancellor I/c, in the valedictory session of the webinar observedthe need to create awareness about these issues in society. Heexpressed concern at the increasing cases of gender-based violenceand how each one should adopt good practices and create anatmosphere of justice. A book titled ‘Gender and Inclusion’ edited byProf Shahida and Prof Amir Ullah Khan and published under theaegis of CDPP was released by Prof Rahmatullah on this occasion.Prof Shahida, Director, Centre for Women’s Studies said there wasno dearth of Constitutional and legal provisions in India for womenbut unfortunately they do not percolate down to reality.

A23-member senior officialdelegation led by AP Muni-cipal Administration and

Urban Development SpecialChief Secretary Y Srilakshmiinspected different innovative,beautification and developmentworks and Swachh Hyderabad initiatives being implemented in thecity on Monday. The delegation includes Swachh AndhraCorporation MD Sampath Kumar and Commissioners of MunicipalCorporations of Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Kakinada and others.The delegation was briefed on different development andbeautification works through a power point presentation by GHMCofficials. Prior to the commencement of their inspection, thedelegation met GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar andinteracted with him over different aspects. The team inspected thePanchatantra park in Indira Park, secondary collection andtransportation point at Sanjeevaiah Park, Herbal Park besideSanjeevaiah Park, Smart Bus station, Tarnaka, Loo Cafe and mobiletoilet at NTR Garden, Dog Park in Gachibowli, Lake beautificationworks at Durgam Cheruvu and the sports complex at Sanath Nagar.

The police officials,including the DeputySuperintendent of Police

(Armed Reserve) SureshKumar, bid a tearful adieu andgave a guard of honour toLucky, a sniffer dog, who dieddue to illness on Monday.Thefour-legged Braveheart hadserved in the district police fora period of nine years. He hadbeen involved in the detection of land mines and claymore mines.The sniffer dog had saved the lives of several policemen bydetecting claymore mines planted by naxalites at SansthanNarayanapur on May 3, 2014. Lucky’s custodian head constableShiva Kumar said he always considered Lucky as his familymember. He received several medals due to the services of thesniffer dog, he said. Reserve Inspectors Narsimha Chary, SurjanRaj, Srinivas, Krishna Rao and Narsimha were among the policeofficials who paid respect to the sniffer dog.

CITY LIGHTS

Schools reopen after 11 monthsPNS n HYDERABAD

After nearly 11 months schoolsand colleges in Telanganareopened for physical classeson Monday with all precau-tionary measures in view ofCovid pandemic.

Students of IX standard andabove returned to class roomsfollowing all safety guidelineslike wearing masks and fol-lowing social distancing.

The schools provided masksto those who did not have one,arranged hand sanitisers andchecked the body tempera-ture of students with thermalguns before allowing them in.

The schools, junior colleges,degree colleges and post-degreecolleges re-opened with allprecautionary measures inplace to check the spread ofCovid-19.

The educational institutionsresumed the classes with stag-gered timings and restrictedthe maximum number of stu-dents in a class room to 20 toensure physical distancing.

The schools allowed the stu-dents after taking consent let-ters from parents. It was mixedfeelings for students. Whilethey were happy to return toclass rooms and meet theirteachers and friends after a

long gap, the overall mood wasapprehensive and one of cau-tion.

The normal scenes of a groupof students huddling togetherfor a chit-chat were not wit-nessed. The seating arrange-ment in class rooms was toensure six feet distance. In gov-ernment-run Mahabubia GirlsHigh School in Hyderabad, forinstance, one student was sittingon one bench instead of two tothree in pre-Covid days.

The state has 14,252 highschools and 2,464 junior col-leges and over 1,000 degree col-leges. Many private schoolshad staggered timings to avoidcrowding. A teacher atMahabubia School said theyensured cleaning of all classrooms before reopening the

school. Markings were madeon the ground at the entranceto ensure that the studentsmaintain physical distance.

"We are ensuring there is nocrowding in classes, ground orduring lunch," the teacher said.The school conducted meetingwith parents before resumingclasses. Since 10th standard is akey turning point in the life ofstudents, the parents wanted tosend the children for physicalclasses. Teachers hope that thestudents will get confidencewith interaction with theirteachers and they will be readyto learn more. In some privateschools, classes for 50 per centof the students were conductedduring morning hours while theremaining were called afterlunch to avoid crowding.

"My son who is in X standardwill be spending only threehours. I have suggested to theschool authorities to take class-es on alternate days so that hecan spend a few hours every dayand benefit from offline class-es. Today is the first day and Ihope things will improve incoming days," said Rafi, whoseson studies at a leading privateschool. Most of the schools saw50 per cent attendance on thefirst day of reopening.

"The attendance was gooddespite the fact that the schoolswere reopening after a long timeand pandemic is still around.But as confidence grows, weexpect more parents will sendtheir wards," said Ahmed Ali, ateacher at Government Boys'High School, Shah Gunj.

Ali, who teaches mathemat-ics, said the students were happyto return to classes but theywere also worried on whetherthey will be able to cope up withthe syllabus in the remainingtime this academic year.

The education departmentlast week announced that examsfor 10th standard or SecondarySchool Certificate (SSC) will beheld from May 7 to May 13.

The education departmenthas announced that May 26 willbe last working day will ofschools. There will be a total of89 working days in the acade-mic year.

The Board of IntermediateEducation will conduct theannual examinations for inter-mediate first and second yearfrom May 1 to May 20.

PNS n SIRICILLA

Municipal AdministrationMinister KT Rama Rao want-ed the students to gain knowl-edge through educationinstead of studying subjects forthe purpose of jobs.

Rama Rao inaugurated therenovated Zilla Parishad HighSchool in Sircilla on Monday.The renovated school build-ings has all the facilities on parwith the corporate schools.The school was developedunder public and private(Divis) partnership by spend-ing Rs 3 crore.

Speaking on the occasion,

Rama Rao said Telangana wasthe only state which was pro-viding quality education topoor students by setting up 945residential schools. Per annum,an amount of Rs 1.25 lakh isbeing spent on each student.

Surprisingly, students pur-suing education in welfareschools were getting nationallevel ranks. Telangana is theonly state which was providingRs 29 lakh education loan topursue higher studies foreigncountries. Besides education,students should also involve insports activities to maintainphysical as well as mental fit-ness, Minister advised.

Talking about Sircilla ZPhigh school, Rama Rao opinedthat the school got corporatelevel recognition since it wasdeveloped with modern facili-ties under public and privatepartnership. Besides 39 class-rooms and a computer lab, ahuge dining hall to ensure 400students to have meals at one gowas also developed. ZP school,which was established in 1960,groomed scores of people.Corporate level facilities weredeveloped in the school withthe help of philanthropists.

KCR wanted to develop suchkind of schools across the state,Rama Rao informed.

State spends Rs 1.25 lakh perannum on each student: KTR

PNS n HYDERABAD

Governor Dr. TamilisaiSoundararajan felicitatedGhusadi dance exponent andPadma Shri award winnerKanaka Raju in a grand man-ner at a special programmeorganised at the Raj Bhavancommunity hall, here, onMonday.

A special performance bythe Kanaka Raju and histroupe, which was organised aspart of the felicitation, thrilledthe Governor, who joinedthem, on their request, forsome traditional dance move-ments.

The Governor and theTribal Welfare MinisterSatyavathi Rathod's joiningthe troupe for little dancemovements of Ghusadi artform was hugely applauded bythe audiences. The Ghusadidance troupe was overjoyed atthe Governor's gesture in join-ing them for a while.

Speaking on the occasion,Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan

stated that the selection ofKanaka Raju for the PadmaShri award was a huge honourand recognition to ourTelangana's indigenousGhusadi dance.

She termed the announce-ment the award to KanakaRaju was a proud moment forthe Telangana State and addedthat it was a great tribute to ourAdivasi tribal dance form.

The Governor appreciatedKanaka Raju's efforts in train-ing thousands of youth in theindigenous dance of Ghusadiand thus popularising and

ensuring the survival and pro-motion of the traditional artform.

Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajanstated that she was very muchinterested in the tribal culture,medicine, food habits andtheir welfare since her collegedays. "

"During my medical collegedays, I, along with my husbandDr. P. Soundararajan, went toAndaman islands to studyabout the tribal culture andtheir traditional medicines andfood," she recollected hermemories.

Telangana’s virustoll crosses 1,600PNS n HYDERABAD

The death toll due to Covid inTelangana crossed 1,600 onMonday, health officials said.

Two more persons suc-cumbed to the virus duringthe last 24 hours, pushing thetoll to 1,601.

The state had reported firstCovid death in the last week ofMarch last year. The tollcrossed 1,000 in Septemberwhile it climbed to 1,500 inDecember.

According to director ofpublic health and family wel-fare, the fatality rate remained0.54 per cent against thenational average of 1.4 percent. While 44.96 per cent ofthe deaths occurred due toCovid, 55.04 per cent hadcomorbidities.

During the last 24 hours, thestate reported 118 new casesdue to the weekly drop in thenumber of tests. The cumula-tive number of cases mount-ed to 2,94,587.

A total of 264 people recov-ered from the virus, taking thecumulative number to2,90,894.

The recovery rate improvedfurther to 98.74 per centagainst the national average of97 per cent.

The active cases alsodropped to 2,092 including723 who are in home or insti-tutional isolation.

The daily count of cases inGreater Hyderabad droppedfurther to 26. Rangareddy dis-trict logged 13 cases while thedaily count in remaining 31districts was in single digit.

Motorist who offered lift to stranger set on firePNS n HYDERABAD

Unidentified persons set ablazea young man, leaving himwith severe burns at Sultanpurin Balapur in the old city herein the early hours of Monday.Previous enmity is suspected tohave led to the attack.

The victim, identified as

Harish, 28, a private employeefrom Jillelaguda, was attackedby the assailants in a secludedplace at around 4 am.According to the police, anunidentified person claimingto be a resident ofChandrayangutta asked for alift from Harish when the lat-ter was returning after watch-

ing a movie at a theatre in LBNagar.

"Harish picked up the manand dropped him at a seclud-ed place, where the suspect wasjoined by a group that attackedHarish. They first doused himwith petrol and set him ablazebefore fleeing the spot," policesaid.

Around 6 am, local residentsfound Harish on the groundwith severe burns and alertedthe police. He was shifted tothe Osmania General Hospital,where his condition was stat-ed to be stable. The Balapurhave booked a case of attemptto murder and have taken upinvestigation.

Hyderabad sees dip in fatal road crashes PNS n HYDERABAD

The capital city has recorded a46 per cent dip in fatal roadcrashes in January against thenumber of accidents reportedin the same month last year.

According to the HyderabadTraffic Police, only 12 fatalitieswere reported in January thisyear, compared to 24 fatalitiesin January 2020.

"The prime and foremostaim of the Traffic Police is toreduce fatal and non-fatal roadaccidents on the city roads.Due to the various preventivemeasures and enforcement

work done, the police havebeen successfully been able to

reduce fatal road mishaps incity," officials said.

As per data from the TrafficPolice, in January this year,nine persons died in accidentsdue to over speeding, whichhas been the major cause ofdeaths in road accidents. Otherreasons included cell phonedriving, drunk driving andnegligent driving. It wasobserved that in the fatal roadcrashes, six motorists and a pil-lion rider did not wear helmetsand one, though he wore a ahelmet, did not fasten the strapof the helmet.

"The Traffic Police are con-ducting regular special drivesto curb drunk driving and

enforcement against specificviolations that endanger lives ofcommuters. Counseling isbeing given to such drivers inthe presence of their familymembers or guardians at theTraffic Training Institutes,"said Anil Kumar, AdditionalCP, adding that these specialdrives had contributed tremen-dously in reducing the numberof road fatalities. During theongoing 'National Road Safety'month, various meetings arebeing conducted with alldepartments concerned to cre-ate a safer Hyderabad withregard to road safety.

Governor: Preserve and promote tribal art forms

MANUU holds campaign to eradicate gender violence

PNS n HYDERABAD

Osmania University (OU)on Monday postponed LLB(3YDC), LLB (Hon)(3YDC) III and V semestersregular, and BA LLB(5YDC), BBA LLB (5YDC),BCom LLB (5YDC) III, V,VII and IX semester exam-inations scheduled to startfrom February 3 and re-scheduled them fromFebruary 5.

Osmania varsity reschedules law exams to Feb 5

Sniffer dog Lucky laid to rest with full honours in Nalgonda

AP MA&UD delegates inspect Swacch Hyderabad initiatives

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e q u i p m e n t r a i s e d

TAX PROPOSALS

Harvard alumnus andformer UnionMinister P

Chidambaram often gives lec-tures on the Union govern-ment’s fiscal policies and crit-icises the Modi government,accusing it of failure on allfronts.

When Chidambaram wasUnion Finance Minister, hebenefited INX Media throughmoney laundering, andhelped it transfer overseasfunds so that his son receivedkickbacks. A pseudo experton finances, he endorses theCongress stance on the wel-fare of the poor and farmers,though his party sheds onlycrocodile tears, with the Leftparties playing second fiddleto it.

The National Institute ofPublic Finance and Policy, ina study, has attributed peoplevoting Modi government topower again in 2019 to thepro-poor welfare schemes ofthe Union government. Onaccount of the schemes’ directimpact on lives of the poor,the Modi government couldretain power, it analysed.

The ‘The Print’ said thatthe Modi government’sschemes became successful as

the government ensuredtrickledown of the funds tothe poor, without giving anyroom for corruption andleakages. Likewise, ‘TheScroll’ traced the develop-ment of even the remotest vil-lages in the regime toschemes like Pradhan MantriUjjwal Yojna, Jan-DhanYojna, Ayushmaan Bharat,and Awaas Yojna, among oth-ers.

The Congress and Left par-ties feigned their concern formigrant workers and shedcrocodile tears over their tra-vails during the Covid-19-induced lockdown period.As the BJP won a majority ofseats in Bihar, the Cong andLeft parties’ criticism hasproved to be wrong.

The Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Yojna announced byModi in June last year bene-fited migrant workers by pro-viding free food grains tothem for five months andhelped them find work underthe MGNREGS. How many

people know about it? TheCentre spent Rs 31,000 crorefor providing free rationsunder the scheme. To createassets under the MGNREGS,the Centre allocated Rs50,000 crore in its budget.‘One nation, one ration card’scheme is being implement-ed in 32 states and UnionTerritories. The Modi gov-ernment took steps to elimi-nate middlemen to ensuretransparency in the PublicDistribution System.

In the budget for last year,the Modi government allocat-ed more than Rs 13 lakh croreto allocate funds to the agri-culture sector. The Union

Budget for this year, present-ed on Monday, scaled it up toRs 16.5 lakh crore. TheUnion budget has paid atten-tion to development of ani-mal husbandry, dairy andfisheries on a large scale. TheInfrastructural DevelopmentFund for villages has beenincreased by 33 per cent andput at Rs 40,000 crore. Theallocations to the micro irri-gation fund have been dou-bled to Rs 5,000 crore. Marketcommittees have been giventhe benefit of availingAgriculture InfrastructureDevelopment Fund to createinfrastructural amenities inthem. The credit for increas-

ing the MSP for various agri-cultural products by one andhalf times more than the costof agricultural productiongoes to the Modi government.

In 2020-21, Modi govern-ment spent Rs 1,72,752 croreto procure paddy from farm-ers, as against the Rs 63,928crore paid by the Congressduring the UPA regime in2013-14. The BJP govern-ment procured wheat at a costof Rs 75,060 crore, as against

Rs 33,874 crore spent duringthe UPA regime.The Modi gov-e r n m e n tinsisted onpayment ofm i n i m u mwages to workersunder the ESI. CanChidambaram say which gov-ernment could be called ‘pro-poor’ and ‘pro-farmer’: theUPA government or the BJPgovernment?

The National SampleSurvey reports indicate thatrural unemploymentincreased manifold duringthe UPA regime. CPM leaderPrakash Karat, while releas-ing the party manifesto at thetime of 2009 Lok Sabha elec-tions, criticised the UPA poli-cies as pro-rich. He criticisedthe Manmohan Singh gov-ernment for weakening thePublic Distribution System.CPM politburo memberBrinda Karat, addressing apublic meeting at Guntur in2010, said that the

Manmohan Singh govern-ment’s policies favoured

the rich and accusedthe UPA govern-ment of breaking theback of farmers. In

the UPA regime, farm-ers were orphaned, she

said, while accusing the gov-ernment of giving packagedeals to major corporates.

The UN agency of WFC,in its report of 2009, notedthat rural poverty multipliedin the UPA regime andattributed 50% of childdeaths to malnutrition. Itpointed out that inflation offood grains increased up to12 per cent in the UPAregime. Agricultural scien-tists like Swaminathan advo-cate that clean drinkingwater, hygienic surround-ings, basic health care, andfood security comprising abalanced diet are essential forevery human being.

Since 2014, the Modi gov-ernment has set specificgoals to achieve various

objectives and has beenachieving them, one after theother. We should not forgethow the Supreme Courtpassed adverse commentsagainst the UPAGovernment for tonnes offood grains rotting in ware-houses on the one hand andthousands of people perish-ing in country due to starva-tion. The same governmentonce commented that pover-ty could be deemed to havebeen eliminated if every per-son earned Rs 22.50 per day!Can anyone survive with ameagre income of Rs 22.50 aday? The BJP found faultwith the statistics then on thefloor of the Lok Sabha.

Economists say that allo-cation of funds for creationof infrastructure and makingunprecedented allocationsto the health sector in thebudget paved the way foreconomic growth recovery.But the notion ofChidambaram and Left partyleaders is that the country ispassing through a dark era.They are not in a position toappreciate the phenomenalchange that the Modi-ledgovernment has brought inthe lives of people.

Y SATYA KUMAR

BJP National Secretary

TRULY

SPEAKING

The Congress and Left parties feigned theirconcern for migrant workers and shedcrocodile tears over their travails during theCovid-19-induced lockdown period. As theBJP won a majority of seats in Bihar, theCong and Left parties’ criticism has provedto be wrong.

Modi government transforming lives of people

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2021 hyderabad 04

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BUDGET PRESENTATIONS HAVE

MANY LITERARY GEMS BUDGET PRESENTATIONS HAVEMANY LITERARY GEMS

BUDGET 2021-22

During the past six years,the central government- working in coordina-

tion with the state govern-ments, private sector, and cit-izens - has electrified every vil-lage and habitation acrossIndia, apart from connecting28.2 million households to thepower distribution network.The commitment of the gov-ernment to green energy hascontributed to 38% of coun-try's installed electricity gen-eration capacity is from therenewable sources, 136 GWout of the total 375 GW.Further, national electricitysecurity has improved signif-icantly through creation of asingle national power system.

Notwithstanding theseachievements, the state-ownedpower distribution compa-

nies (DISCOMs) have contin-ued to be the Achilles heel ofthe power sector. Recognisingthis fact, the central govern-ment launched Ujjwal DiscomAssurance Yojana (UDAY) in2015 with the objective of'improving the operationaland financial efficiency ofstate-owned distribution com-

panies. However, five yearslater most of the DISCOMsare in worse health with anaccumulated debt of Rs 2.6lakh crore, though someprogress has been made inreducing the AggregateTechnical and Commercial(AT&C) losses and reducedgap between the Average Cost

of Supply (ACS) and theAverage Revenue Realisation(ARR).

Like several other govern-

ment programs, UDAY had tocontend with a number ofchallenges, most notablebeing the unwillingness of thestate government to part withits stranglehold over the DIS-COMS, considering its pub-lic importance by virtue ofoutreach to vevery commer-cial, industrial and domesticconsumer; and through not-so-subtle manipulation of theelectricity regulatory com-mission's (ERC) autonomy. Itis instructive to observe thatunbundling of the StateElectricity Boards (SEBs) andsubsequent corporatisationof their offspring in the firstdecade of this century was notaccompanied by appropriategovernance reform, whichburdened these entities withunsustainable operational

expenditure. Consequently,despite technologicaladvances in the distributionsegment and availability ofcentral government grantsunder Deen Dayal GramJyothi Yojana (DDUGJY),most of the DISCOMS failedto invest in technologicalstrengthening or governancereform of the distributionsystem.

In this background, theproposal of the finance min-ister in the 2021-22 UnionBudget "to provide choice tothe consumers by promotingcompetition through a frame-work that will be put in placeto give consumers alternativesto choose from among morethan one DistributionCompany," is a welcomeproposition. Further, the

finance minister hasannounced that "a revampedreforms-based result-linkedpower distribution sectorscheme will be launched withan outlay of Rs 3,05,984crores over 5 years. Thisscheme is expected to assistDISCOMS with the muchneeded investment in "infra-structure, including pre-paidsmart metering, feeder sepa-ration, upgradation of sys-tems, etc."

Revitalisation of DISCOMsmust include inter alia, invest-ment in infrastructure, tech-nology, system automation,governance reform, financialprudence, real competition,separation of content and thecarrier, and above all, libera-tion from the strangle hold ofgovernment control.

Autonomy of state ERC issine qua non for the sustain-ability of the DISCOM andpower sector. Mere privatisa-tion or infrastructurestrengthening will not trans-form the power distributionsystem unless the programincorporates a comprehensivepackage of investment andreform measures. The polit-ical and bureaucratic leader-ship of the states must realisethat economic growth is notpossible without such a com-prehensive action and accord-ingly implement the programfor sustainable rejuvenation ofthe DISCOMs. Without suchan action, the hope of a newdawn (UDAY 2.0) envisionedby the union finance minis-ter could very well end up asthe dusk of darkness.

Dr PV RameshFormer Chairman and Managing

Director of REC Ltd.

Union Budget 2021-22: A new Dawn for the DISCOMsThe commitment of the governmentto green energy has contributed to38% of country's installed electricitygeneration capacity is from therenewable sources, 136 GW out ofthe total 375 GW. Further, nationalelectricity security has improvedsignificantly through creation of asingle national power system.

For every rupee in govt kitty,53 paise to come from taxesPNS n NEW DELHI

For every rupee in the gov-ernment coffer, 53 paise willcome from direct and indi-rect taxes, 36 paise fromborrowings and other liabil-ities, 6 paise from non-taxrevenue like disinvestmentand 5 paise from non-debtcapital receipts.

According to the UnionBudget 2021-22 presented inPar l i ament by FinanceMinis ter Nir malaSitharaman on Monday,goods and services tax willcontribute 15 paise in everyrupee revenue, while corpo-ration tax will contribute 13paise to each rupee earned.

The government is alsolooking to earn 8 paise for

every rupee from Unionexcise duty and 3 paise fromc ustoms duty. Whi le ,income tax will yield 14paise to every rupee collec-tion.

The collection from bor-rowings and other liabilitieswill be 36 paise, as per theBudget 2020-21.

On the expenditure side,the biggest outlay compo-

nent is interest payments at20 paise for every rupee, fol-lowed by the states' share oftaxes and duties at 16 paise.

Allocation for the defencestood at 8 paise.

Expenditure on centralsector schemes will be 14paise, while the allocationfor centra l ly-sponsoredschemes will be 9 paise.

The expenditure on theFinance Commission andother transfers is pegged at10 paise. Subsidies and pen-sion would account for 8paise and 5 paise, respec-tively, in each rupee spend-ing.

The gover nment wi l lspend 10 paise in everyrupee on other expendi-tures.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A component to developfarm infrastructure hasbeen added to the cost ofpetrol and diesel in theUnion Budget presented byFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman today. An agri-culture infrastructure anddevelopment cess of Rs 2.5per litre on petrol and Rs 4per litre on diesel have beenadded in the budget thatwas made after months ofturmoil in the economy dueto the COVID-19 pandem-ic, which led to lost earn-ings and job cuts acrosssectors.

There will be no pressure

on consumers as otherduties and cess were revisedbefore the new agricultureinfrastructure cess was cal-culated, Sitharaman said.

"Consequent to imposi-t i on of Ag r i c u l tu reIn f r as t r u c tu re andDevelopment Cess (AIDC)

on petrol and diesel, basicexcise duty and specialadditional excise duty rateshave been reduced on themso that overall consumerdoes not bear any addi-t i ona l bu rd e n , " M sSitharaman said.

"Consequently, unbrand-ed petrol and diesel willattract basic excise duty ofRe 1.4, and Re 1.8 per litre,respectively. The specialadditional excise duty onunbranded petrol and dieselshall be Rs 11 and Rs 8 perlitre, respectively. Similarchanges have also beenmade for branded petroland diesel," the FinanceMinister said.

Agriculture infra cess of Rs 2.5on petrol, Rs 4 on diesel

Govt raises import duty on partsof mobile phones, chargersPNS n NEW DELHI

The government on Mondayproposed to impose importduty on components of mobilephones and chargers, toenhance local value addition,a move that may marginallyimpact handset prices.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman announced reviewof 400 exemptions in customsduty including those applica-ble on the mobile devices seg-ment.

"For greater domestic valueaddition, we are withdrawing

a few exemptions on part ofchargers and sub-parts ofmobiles. Further, some parts of

mobile rate will move from nilrate to moderate 2.5 per cent,"Sitharaman said.

Continued from Page 1

"Health and well beinghave formed the topmostpr ior ity of the UnionGovernment during theongoing COVID-19 healthcrisis. It is the foremost ofthe six crucial pillars thatform foundation of theUnderscoring the signifi-cant importance of healthand well being for thegrowth and developmentof the country, the budgetallocation for the samehas been increased to Rs2,23,846 crore in budgete s t i m ate 2 0 2 1 - 2 2 a sagainst this year's budgetest imate of Rs 94,452crore.

Rs 35K crore...

FM mutes TS...Continued from Page 1

What left government headsand finance officials dejectedwas the fact that Nirmala didtake the names of othersouthern states such as TamilNadu, Kerala, and AndhraPradesh.

When Sitharaman heldpre-budget exercise with allthe states in January, theTelangana government hadput forth a long wish list. Itsought the release of Rs 723crore grant recommendedby the 15th FinanceCommission. It also soughtRs 900 crore BRGF to back-ward districts of Telangana,taking into account forma-tion of new districts inTelangana in 2016, whilesoliciting that BRGF funds beextended for another fiveyears.

It is not uncommon for finance budget speeches toinclude humorous quips, anecdotes, and references.Moreover, our finance ministers bestow quite a fewliterary gems while taking us through different financialpolicy changes. For example, in his budget speech in2012, the then FM-Pranab Mukherjee quoted legendary16th-century playwright William Shakespeare’s famouslines from ‘Hamlet’ - "I must be cruel to be kind" tojustify the budget sanctions that were there to ensurelong-term benefits.

It is true – while Morarji Desai has the unique distinction ofpresenting the budget a record ten times, there have been instanceswhen a finance minister hasn’t presented the budget even once. Mr.HN Bahuguna and Mr. KC Neogy are the only two Finance Ministerstill date, who did not present any Union Budget, despite holdingreigns of the finance ministry. This happened because both thesegentlemen held office for such short durations, in between twobudget tenures that they had no opportunity to present one. Notably,while Neogy was the second Finance Minister of Independent India,appointed in 1950, he held the office for just 35 days.

Lucenia Dunn spent theearly days of the coron-avirus pandemic encour-

aging people to wear masks andkeep a safe distance from eachother in Tuskegee, a mostlyBlack city where the govern-ment once used unsuspectingAfrican American men asguinea pigs in a study of a sex-ually transmitted disease.

Now, the onetime mayor ofthe town immortalised as thehome of the infamous“Tuskegee syphilis study” iswary of getting inoculatedagainst COVID-19. Amongother things, she's suspicious ofthe government promoting avaccine that was developed inrecord time when it can't seemto conduct adequate virus test-ing or consistently providequality rural health care.

“I'm not doing this vaccineright now. That doesn't mean

I'm never going to do it. But Iknow enough to withhold get-ting it until we see all that isinvolved,” said Dunn, who isBlack.

The coronavirus immuni-sation campaign is off to ashaky start in Tuskegee andother parts of Macon County.Area leaders point to a resis-tance among residents spurredby a distrust of governmentpromises and decades of failedhealth programs. Many people

in this city of 8,500 have rela-tives who were subjected tounethical government experi-mentation during the syphilisstudy.

“It does have an impact ondecisions. Being in this com-munity, growing up in thiscommunity, I would be veryuntruthful if I didn't say that,”said Frank Lee, emergencymanagement director in MaconCounty. Lee is Black.

Health experts have stressed

both the vaccines' safety andefficacy. They have noted thatwhile the vaccines were devel-oped with record-breakingspeed, they were based ondecades of prior research.Vaccines used in the U.S. haveshown no signs of serious sideeffects in studies of tens ofthousands of people. And withmore than 26 million vaccina-tions administered in the U.S.alone so far, no red flags havebeen reported. Tuskegee is nota complete outlier. A recent sur-vey conducted by the commu-nications firm Edelmanrevealed that as of November,only 59% of people in the U.S.were willing to get vaccinatedwithin a year with just 33%happy to do so as soon as pos-sible.

But skepticism seems to rundeeper here. When Alabamaand the rest of the South were

still segregated by race, gov-ernment medical workers start-ing in 1932 withheld treat-ment for unsuspecting meninfected with syphilis inTuskegee and surroundingMacon County so physicianscould track the disease. Thestudy, which involved about 600men, ended in 1972 only afterit was revealed by TheAssociated Press.

A lawsuit filed on behalf ofthe men by Black Tuskegeeattorney Fred Gray resulted ina $9 million settlement, andthen-President Bill Clinton for-mally apologized on behalf ofthe U.S. government in 1997.But the damage left a legacy ofdistrust that extends far beyondTuskegee: A December surveyshowed 40 per cent of Blackpeople nationwide said theywouldn't get the coronavirusvaccine.

Vax skepticism lurks in town famous for syphilis study

Rich floral tributes werepaid to MahatmaGandhi in the US on his

73th death anniversary withIndia's mission in Houstonlive streaming a virtual narra-tion of “Mahatma Gandhi'sTryst with Peace”.

Consul General of India inHouston Aseem Mahajanalong with members of EternalGandhi Museum Houston(EGMH) paid floral tributes toGandhi at Hermann Park onSaturday during an eventorganised by EGMH alongwith Arya Samaj GreaterHouston, Unity Church ofHouston, Ismaili Jamatkhanaand Center Houston, RothkoChapel, Bahai's of Houston.

The virtual narration of“Mahatma Gandhi's Tryst with

Peace” by Dr ShobhanaRadhakrishna was livestreamed by Consul General ofIndia in Houston. At the virtual"Shraddha-njali - A MemorialService” commemorating the73rd anniversary of Gandhi'smartyrdom for truth and non-violence, rich tributes werepaid by city officials, Cong-ressmen, Indian-Americansand local Houstonians whoadhere to his ideals of peace,non-violence and humility.

India, US start discussions on F-15EX multi-role combat aircraft: BoeingT

he US and India haveheld discussions on F-15EX fighter jets and

the two respective air forceshave exchanged informationabout it, a top Boeing officialhas said after the aerospacemajor received approval fromthe American government tooffer its latest multi-role com-bat aircraft to the Indian AirForce. The F-15EX is the lat-est and most advanced versionof the multi-role, all-weather,and day and night versions ofthe F-15 aircraft family.

"There have been discus-sions between the two gov-ernments and the two AirForces have exchanged infor-

mation about the F-15EX,”Maria H Laine, vice presi-dent, Boeing InternationalSales and IndustrialPartnerships told PTI in ajoint interview with JeffShockey, vice president, GlobalSales and Marketing, BoeingDefense, Space & Security andBoeing Global Services.

"Since the US Governmentapproved our license request tooffer F-15EX to India, we arestarting to have more discus-sions about the platform,”Laine said.

The US Air Force awardedBoeing an indefinite-deliv-ery/indefinite-quantity con-tract with a ceiling value of

nearly USD 23 billion in July2020, she added.

"It certainly sends a power-ful signal when the US gov-ernment makes a commit-ment to a platform like thisthat they're in it or the longhaul and are showing faith andconfidence in the capabilityand price point of the F-15EX–piques interest in the US andaround the world,” Shockeysaid. In April 2019, the IAFissued an RFI (request forinformation) or initial tenderto acquire 114 jets at a cost ofaround USD 18 billion, whichis billed as one of the world'sbiggest military procurementsin recent years.

A27-year-old Indian-ori-gin law enforcementofficer in the US state of

California has been arrestedfor allegedly faking a shockingdrive-by shooting incident lastyear following which he washailed as a hero who had amiraculous escape, authoritieshave announced.

Sukhdeep Gill, who held thepost of Deputy at Santa ClaraCounty Sheriff 's Office, wasarrested on Friday as he onJanuary 31, 2020 had report-ed that he was shot from apassing car as he stood on adark rural road. Followingthe incident when the officersresponded, no serious injurieswere found on Gill and it

appeared that he had beenshot only once on his bodycamera, which was destroyed,the report said, citing a state-ment issued by the districtattorney's office.

Gill's report triggered amanhunt for the alleged shoot-er. Gill told officers that "hehad parked on the dirt shoul-der to urinate during a routinepatrol.”

Indian officer in US charged: Stagesfake drive-by shooting incident

US prez announces legal defenceteam for Senate impeachment trialF

ormer US presidentDonald Trump hasannounced his legal

defence team for his Senateimpeachment trial which isscheduled to begin onFebruary 8.

Trump became the firstpresident in the US history tobe impeached twice when 10of his fellow Republican Cong-ressmen joined Democrats inthe House of Representativeson January 13 to charge himwith inciting an unprecedent-ed insurrection at the USCapitol on January 6.

The Democrats need two-thirds of the vote for the Senateimpeachment. If convicted, hecould face being barred fromever holding office again.

Trump is the first US pres-ident facing an impeachmenttrial after he left the presiden-

cy. This is for the second timein about a year that he is like-ly to be acquitted by the Senate,as the Democrats do not haveenough votes. Currently, boththe Dem-ocrats and theRepublicans have 50 mem-bers each in the 100-seatSenate. The Democrats needthe support of at least 17Republican Senators to reachthe two-thirds majority mark.

Trial lawyers David Schoenand Bruce L Castor Jr will headTrump's impeachment defence

legal team, bringing nationalprofiles and significant trialexperience in high-profilecases to the effort, according toa statement issued by the officeof former president Trump.

Notably, Schoen has alreadybeen working with Trump andother advisors to prepare forthe upcoming trial, and bothSchoen and Castor agree thatthis impeachment is uncon-stitutional - a fact 45 Senatorsvoted in agreement last week,the statement said.

Expressing solidarity withagitating Indian farmers,an alliance of various

diaspora organisati-ons hasdemanded the repeal of thethree agri laws.

Global Indian ProgressiveAlliance, which representsmore than a dozen and a halfDiaspora organisations fromacross the world, demandedthat the government recognisethe right to peaceful protest,and acknowledge the peacefulprotests outside Delhi for thelast 60 plus days and of priorprotests across the country.

Global IndianDiasporaseeks repealof farm laws

Tributes paid to Gandhi in Houston

hyderabad 05

Myanmar military televisionsaid Monday that the militarywas taking control of the coun-try for one year, while reportssaid many of the country'ssenior politicians includingAung San Suu Kyi had beendetained.

An announcement read onmilitary-owned Myawaddy TVcited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allowsthe military to take control intimes of national emergency.

It said the reason fortakeover was in part due to thegovernment's failure to act onthe military's claims of voterfraud in last November's elec-tion and its failure to postponethe election because of thecoronavirus crisis.

The announcement and thedeclaration of a state of emer-gency follows days of concernabout the threat of a militarycoup and military denials thatit would stage one and came onthe morning the country's newParliament session was tobegin.

The takeover is a sharpreversal of the partial yet sig-nificant progress towarddemocracy Myanmar made inrecent years following fivedecades of military rule andinternational isolation thatbegan in 1962. It would also beshocking fall from power forSuu Kyi, who led the democ-racy struggle despite yearsunder house arrest and andwon a Nobel Peace Prize forher efforts.

Suu Kyi's National Leaguefor Democracy released a state-ment on one of its Facebookpages saying the military'sactions were unjustified andwent against the constitutionand the will of voters. Thestatement urged people tooppose Monday's coup andany return to military dicta-torship.

It was not possible to con-firm who posted the messageas NLD members were notanswering phone calls.

The military's actions were

already receiving internation-al condemnation.

U.S. Secretary of StateAnthony Blinken issued a state-ment expressing grave concernand alarm over the reporteddetentions.

We call on Burmese militaryleaders to release all govern-ment officials and civil societyleaders and respect the will ofthe people of Burma asexpressed in democratic elec-tions, he wrote, usingMyanmar's former name.

The office of the U.N. sec-retary-general was also amongthose to issue a statement con-demning the developments asa serious blow to democraticreforms. The detention of thepoliticians and cuts in televi-sion signals and communica-tion services on Monday werethe first signs that plans to seizepower were in motion. Phoneand internet access toNaypyitaw was lost and SuuKyi's party could not bereached. Phone service in otherparts of the country was alsoreported down, though peoplewere still able to use the inter-net in many areas.

The Irrawaddy, an estab-lished online news service,reported that Suu Kyi, who asstate counsellor is the nation'stop leader, and the country'spresident, Win Myint, wereboth detained in the pre-dawnhours.

Why military taking control?M

yanmar's militaryhas taken control ofthe country under a

one-year state of emergencyand reports say StateCounsellor Aung San Suu Kyiand other government lead-ers have been detained. Hereare some possible reasonswhy the military has takenover now:

The announcement onmilitary-owned MyawaddyTV cited Article 417 of thecountry's constitution, whichallows the military to takeover in times of emergency.The announcer said the coro-navirus crisis and the gov-ernment's failure to post-pone November electionswere reasons for the emer-gency.

The military drafted theconstitution in 2008 andretains power under the char-ter at the expense of democ-ratic, civilian rule. HumanRights Watch has describedthe clause as a coup mecha-nism in waiting. The consti-tution also reserves keyCabinet ministries and 25 percent of the seats in

Parliament for the military, aportion that limits the powerof a civilian government andrules out amending the char-ter without military support.

Some experts expressedpuzzlement as to why themilitary would upset theirpowerful status quo, but oth-ers noted the looming retire-ment of Senior Gen. MinAung Hlaing, who has beencommander of the armedforces since 2011.

There's internal militarypolitics around that, which isvery opaque, said KimJolliffe, a researcher onMyanmar civilian and mili-tary relations. This might bereflecting those dynamicsand might be somewhat of acoup internally and his wayof maintaining power with-in the military.

The military has assignedVice President Myint Swe, aformer military officer, ashead of the government forone year.

The election commissionrejected the claims last week,stating there was no evi-dence to support them.

The military takeovercame on what was to be thefirst day of the newParliament following theelections.

Instead, Suu Kyi and otherlawmakers who would havebeen sworn into office werereported detained.

A later announcement onMyawaddy TV said the mil-itary would hold an electionafter the one-year emergencyends and would turn overpower to the winner.

WHAT'S HAPPENINGNOW

Telecommunications cameto a near halt in the morningand early afternoon. In thecapital, internet and phoneaccess appeared to beblocked. Many people else-where in the country whocould still access the internetfound their social mediaaccounts had been tem-porarily suspended.

Barbed wire road blockswere set up across Yangon,the largest city, and militaryunits began to appear outsidegovernment buildings suchas City Hall.

It was notpossible toconfirm whoposted themessage asNLD memberswere notansweringphone calls

Myanmar shuts down all flights M

yanmar's governmentagency in charge ofair travel says it has

stopped all passenger flights inthe country. The US Embassyin Myanmar said on itsFacebook page that the roadto the international airport inYangon, the country's s biggestcity, had been closed Monday.

On Twitter it said thatreports indicate that all air-ports in Myanmar are closed.

The US Embassy alsoissued a security alert sayingit was aware of the detentionof Myanmar's leader AungSan Suu Kyi as well as theshutdown of some Internetservice, including in Yangon.There is potential for civil andpolitical unrest in Burma, andwe will continue to monitorthe situation, it said, usingMyanmar's former name.

The US State Departmentearlier issued a statement say

it was alarmed by Monday'smilitary takeover.

China said it was still gath-ering information aboutMonday's developments inMyanmar. China is one ofMyanmar's most importanteconomic partners and hasinvested billions of dollars inmines, infrastructure and gaspipelines in the SoutheastAsian nation.

Foreign Ministry

spokesman Wang Wenbinsaid at a daily news briefing:"We have noted what hap-pened in Myanmar, and weare learning the further situ-ation now, He added: China isa friendly neighbour ofMyanmar. We hope that allparties in Myanmar will prop-erly handle their differencesunder the constitutional andlegal framework and maintainpolitical and social stability.

Gulf-based Indian busi-nessmen have hailedthe Union Budget

tabled by finance ministerNirmala Sitharaman, sayingit will boost India's economy.

Yusuffali MA, prominentNRI businessman andChairman of Lulu Group,said this “magical budget issure to propel the Indianeconomy despite the globalpandemic challenge.”

Yusuffali said that thefinance minister has given ahuge thrust to healthcarealong with infrastructure,education, research anddevelopment.

“Introduct ion ofAatmanirbhar health pro-

gramme with an outlay of Rs.64,180 cr. will go a long wayin speeding up the econom-ic recovery. Further spendingon vaccinations is a greatmorale booster for both Indiaand Indians,” he said.

“As an NRI businessman, Iam very glad to note thatthere are some very specificsteps being taken to tap theNRI investments," he said.

"Announcement of “OnePerson Companies” or OPCsin India is going to be agame-changer especially forthe start-up sectors and new-gen businesses,” he said.

Sitharaman on Mondaysaid that the government willbe incentivising the incor-

poration of One PersonCompanies (OPC), by allow-ing them to grow without anyrestrictions, to boost ease ofdoing business in the coun-try.

Yusuffali also commendedthe increase in the tax thresh-old for NRIs from Rs. 5 cr toRs. 10 cr and said rules toeliminate double taxation arevery welcome initiatives.

“Kerala specif icannouncements such as thedevelopment of major fishingharbours including Kochi,huge allocation to furtherexpand highway infrastruc-ture and the Kochi Metro willsurely boost state's economyand make it more business-

friendly,” Yusuffali said.Sudesh K Aggar wal –Chairman ITEC m.e. & GiantGroup of Companies ,Chairman Emeritus – IBPCSharjah, said the first post-Covid budget has assuredthat it cares for the health andwell being of the people.

“There is a push on infraprojects and economic activ-ity, and I hope it shall lead toreal-time employment gen-eration,” Aggarwal said,adding that one-person com-pany shall benefit NRI's.Aggarwal, however, said thatdoubling the income of farm-ers is illusive. “MSME sectoris not given enough push,” hesaid.

The Congressional Bud-get Office expects theUS economy will grow

at a 4.6 per cent annual ratethis year, with employmentreturning to pre-pandemiclevels in 2024.

The 10-year out lookissued Monday said the eco-nomic recovery from thecoronavirus has been boost-ed by an unprecedentedwave of government spend-ing to combat the outbreak,such that growth could passits maximum sustainablelevel in early 2025 beforereturning to a long-runaverage of 1.7 per cent.Based on the CBO's projec-

tions, economic growthwould be the strongest since1999.

Congress has spent USD 4trillion to keep the economystable since the pandemicshuttered schools, offices,restaurants, gyms and otherbusinesses , leading toroughly 10 million job loss-es and an economic declineof 3.5 per cent last year.

The CBO estimates fac-tored in the roughly USD900 billion approved inDecember, but they exclud-ed President Joe Biden'sUSD 1.9 t r i l l ion planbecause the projections arebased on current law.

Indian-American BhavyaLal was on Mondayappointed by NASA as the

Acting Chief of Staff of the USspace agency.

Lal served as a member ofthe Biden PresidentialTransition Agency ReviewTeam for the agency and over-saw the agency's transitionunder the administration ofPresident Joe Biden.

In a statement, NASA saidLal brings extensive experi-ence in engineering and spacetechnology, serving as a mem-ber of the research staff at theInstitute for Defence AnalysesScience and Technology

Policy Institute (STPI) from2005 to 2020. There, she ledanalysis of space technology,strategy, and policy for theWhite House Office of Scienceand Technology Policy andNational Space Council, aswell as federal space-orientedorganisations, includingNASA, the Department ofDefence, and the intelligencecommunity.

Lal is an active member ofthe space technology and pol-icy community, havingchaired, co-chaired, or servedon five high-impact NationalAcademy of Science commit-tees.

Consignments of made-in-India vaccines havereached Algeria and

South Africa."Arrival in Algeria. A trust-

ed partnership standsrenewed," External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar tweetedon Monday, using the hashtag'Vaccine Maitri'.

"In it together. Made inIndia vaccines land inJohannesburg, South Africa,"he said in another tweet.

India has already sentCOVID-19 vaccines to manycountries such as Bhutan,Maldives, Bangladesh, Braziland Nepal, among others.

India is one of the world'sbiggest drugmakers, and an

increasing number of countrieshave already approached it forprocuring the coronavirus vac-cines. India has already rolledout a massive coronavirus vac-cination drive under whichtwo vaccines, Covishield andCovaxin, are being adminis-

tered to frontline health work-ers across the country.

While Oxford-AstraZen-eca's Covishield is being man-ufactured by the SerumInstitute of India, and Covaxinis being produced by BharatBiotech.

Bhavya Lal appointed ActingChief of Staff of NASA

Consignments of made-in-Indiavax reach Algeria, South Africa

Gulf NRI businessmen hail Budget Budget office projects 4.6%growth in Biden's first year

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 2, 2021

Military takes control of Myanmar

supplying millions of doses ofCOVID vaccines, manufac-tured in India, to its neighboursand nations around the world.”

It is important for all citi-zens to know and digest thesefacts if only to ward off the neg-ativity that is being spreadindiscriminately and irrespon-sibly by some politicians and,in particular, by Congressleader Rahul Gandhi.

In fact, while developednations like the US, the UK,France and Spain are flounder-ing in their efforts, the Modi-led Union Government and theGovernments in all States andUnion Territories, which arerun by a variety of parties, havedone remarkably well to joinhands and tackle the biggesthealth crisis in centuries.

Rahul first criticised thelockdown imposed in March2020 and later ridiculed theModi Government for lifting it.To buttress his argument, he putout graphs of COVID-19 preva-lence in countries like Germany,France and the UK to claim thatthe virus incidence had comedown in those countries afterthey lifted the lockdown, but inIndia it had shot up. Thereafter,he has been persistently criticis-ing India’s efforts to tackleCOVID-19. What Rahul doesnot realise is that his pettypolitical attacks are hurting our

image. Looking at the plight ofthese nations today, one won-ders what he has to say now.

Thus far, over 100 millionpeople have been affected glob-ally. India accounts for 10 mil-lion cases, but has managed bet-ter control. It reported 13,044new cases a day on January 30after touching a high of 97,894cases per day on September 14,2020. The last four months haveseen a steady decline in cases.Against this, the countriesRahul was praising are in a realmess. Currently, the UK andFrance have two million and 2.7million active cases, respective-ly, as against 1.78 lakh in India.The US has reported 25 millioncases, of which nearly 10 mil-lion are active.

Strangely, even as the casesare declining, Rahul againattacked the Centre for its “fail-ure” to tackle COVID-19. The“unplanned lockdown”destroyed millions of lives, hesays, but the truth is that Indiahas one of the lowest death ratesin the world during this pan-demic. As against 10 millionpatients, India has reported 1.53lakh deaths, accounting foraround 1.5 per cent fatalities.Fortunately, most ChiefMinisters are not toeing his line.

Meanwhile, theIndependent Oversight andAdvisory Committee for the

WHO Health EmergenciesProgramme has submitted aninterim report in which it hascriticised “the rising politicisa-tion of the pandemic response”,which means reckless attemptslike the ones being made byRahul are harming the cause.

The WHO panel has right-ly observed that a successfulresponse “hinges on inter-con-nected global systems and net-works” and scientific expertise,and contends that the WHOcan’t succeed without unifiedglobal political support duringthe next phases of the pandem-ic. It says the world is “at a crit-ical juncture” and will “notdefeat this virus without greaterglobal solidarity and strongermultilateral cooperation”.

It is tragic that the leaderof India’s oldest political partyis consistently out to under-mine the efforts of the Centreand all State Governmentsand lakhs of health workers,who have staked their lives toserve COVID patients. This isdestructive politics at its worst.Fortunately, there are wisermen and women in his party,including Chief Ministers, whoare not toeing his line andworking selflessly to rid thecountry of this terrible scourge.

(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies. Theviews expressed are personal.)

They say that every crisis hides within itself an opportunity and teaches us somevital lessons. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is the need forself-reliance and the importance of having a robust healthcare infrastructure.

Obviously, the Government has taken these lessons to heart and, despite an ailing econ-omy made sicker by the pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made somebig-ticket announcements for the healthcare sector in the Union Budget. The Ministerallocated `2,23,846 crore to the sector, which is an increase of 137 per cent over lastyear’s Budget. Of the amount, the focus of the spending will be vaccination, with a whop-ping `35,000 crore set aside for it. Strengthening healthcare institutions and capacity

building will also get the lion’s share. Sitharaman alsoproposed an Aatmanirbhar Swastha Bharat Schemewith an outlay of ̀ 64,180 crore over the next six yearsand the main interventions under the scheme will sup-port over 17,000 rural and 11,000 urban wellness cen-tres. As the Government comes to terms with the real-ity that “we will have to live with the virus” as envi-ronmental degradation, deforestation and a burgeon-ing population will make zoonotic diseases and Coronaand Zika-like pandemics a regular feature, it has realisedthat there is a need to focus on developing the capac-ity of primary, secondary and tertiary care systems,strengthen national institutions and create new ones.

With this in mind, the Centre has put curative and preventive health and well-beingon the forefront. The proposals would make quality healthcare accessible and afford-able, besides standardising infrastructure across the country. However, the Budget is silenton the critical aspect of insurance. As health insurance premiums are increasing, rais-ing the premium amount for tax exemption would have been a great initiative to bringmore people under the cover. Increasing the Foreign Direct Investment limits in the sec-tor and the proposed IPO of Life Insurance Corporation will surely strengthen the insur-ance sector. The Government also needs to prepare itself for the next crisis of non-com-municable diseases, which will be responsible for 80 per cent of deaths and cause a$3.8 trillion burden by 2030. Increased allocation for other social determinants like cleanfuel, air and water will have a greater impact on health. If there is a silver lining in thedark cloud that is the pandemic, it is the realisation that solid healthcare infrastructure iskey for a nation that harbours the ambitions of becoming a $5 trillion economy.

The first thing everybody worries about in every Budget is how much their incometaxes have been altered; will they end up paying the Government more? Well, on thatfront the news is not bad as things have remained unchanged. But on all other fronts,

this was one of the most challenging Budgets in recent history, with the Government deal-ing with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fiscal deficit is close to 10per cent for fiscal year 2021 and a projected percentage of 6.8 does not make for prettyreading. With a target of 4.5 per cent by 2025, an era of elevated deficits is upon us. Also,the Government does not appear to be going aggressively into disinvesting Public SectorUnits with a reduced disinvestment target, although it is clearly saying that it will disinvest

two Public Sector Banks and an insurance companyand is almost certain to go ahead with the sale of theLife Insurance Corporation. And, of course, politics cameinto the picture with a major infrastructure push in poll-bound States like Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and WestBengal. Major spending on the Railways was alsoannounced, the biggest ever allocation for the steel tracksthat criss-cross our country. Some even described theBudget as Keynesian, using the major infrastructure pushto generate jobs and demand.

Now, there are several major questions surround-ing announcements in the Budget. The first is the con-cept of a ‘Bad Bank’ where distressed assets with non-

performing loans can be put into an Asset Management Company and an AssetReconstruction Company which, on the face of it, is a great idea. But the challenge heremight be one of human capital. Will the bankers in such a State-owned ‘bad bank’ be braveenough to take the haircuts needed to help distressed assets recover? There are positivemoves such as the announcement to put assets i