Some steps have been taken to provide a helping hand to the tottering Agriculture Sector through some sops like interest subvention for those paying up loans on time, extension of debt waiver by 6 months and additional outlay for irrigation. But the investments planned in the field of agriculture are surprisingly low for a nation the size of India, thereby smacking of tokenism. The offer of direct subsidy to farmers is a good move, but it has been offset by the reduction in fertilizer subsidy.

Predictably, reflecting the UPA’s priorities, Industry has been given precedence over Agriculture and it is this that is reflected by the upswing in the share markets. I welcome the allocation of Rs 200 crore made for combating the pollution problem in Tiruppur. It would have been fitting if similar allocations had been made for other polluting industries like leather as well, which has rendered several areas of the country arid and unproductive.

The Finance Minister, while presenting his Budget for 2010-11, appears to have taken a leaf from the AIADMK’s election manifesto prepared for the last Lok Sabha elections with regard to Direct Taxes by extending welcome income tax relief to the middle class. However, while we had proposed total exemption of income tax for annual incomes up to Rs 5 lakhs (which is warranted given the present cost of living index), Mr Pranab Mukherjee has restricted total exemption only to Rs 1.6 lakhs. But, by expanding the first tax slab to Rs 5 lakhs, the middle class can heave a small sigh of relief.

Right through his Budget speech, Mr Mukherjee was harping on the need to control prices. But by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel, the FM has provided the impetus for a price spiral once again. Further, nothing has been done to address some of the major causes for the price spiral like hoarding and future trading in essential commodities. Little has also been done on the expenditure management front, which is another cause for unbridled price rise.

Practically, little has been done to improve India’s anti-terror infrastructure, which has repeatedly been found wanting and is badly in need of overhauling. Steps to prevent the flow of funds into India for illegal and terrorist activities like stopping the issue of participatory notes and bringing back the huge stockpile of Indian black money idling in tax havens abroad have not been addressed substantively, given the gravity of the situation. With hostile neighbours across the borders on all sides, a much larger defence outlay was also called for.

The increased investment in highways development will help ease freight transport nationwide. But the deafening silence on a critical issue like interlinking of rivers, that has been hitting media headlines with regularity, indicates the unwillingness of this Government to grapple with contentious but essential issues.