Kuch kuch naya ho raha hai

It is a very pro-rural and pro-agriculture Budget. However, we can have the best schemes and projects for the poor but they will remain paper promises unless the delivery system is worked on. The delivery system has to be efficient, there should be no waste, and above all, it has to be honest.
Changes have to be made at the bureaucratic and political levels - there are bound to be vested interests at both.One way of checking waste and corruption is to involve the beneficiaries of the project in the implementation process. There will be far less leakage if we did this.
I liked the idea of a separate statement on gender sensitivity. There is no doubt that Indian women have made great strides in the recent past. But unfortunately, this improvement has been restricted to the urban areas where only women from a certain class and educational background have benefited. For the majority of girl children in the rural areas, life still needs to change. A concerted move in this direction is very welcome.
I welcome the raising of income-tax exemption bracket for women and senior citizens. Those in the prime of their careers can pay higher taxes but senior citizens need to be safeguarded. Inflation robs them of some of their savings, and interest rates for fixed deposits - 12% when they retired – have now dipped terribly.
I am also glad the FM has been sympathetic to the middle-income salaried class. Allowing basic employee benefits like canteens and conveyance to stay outside the tax net shows that the workforce has been kept in mind. I only hope there are no sub-clauses – no fine print we will discover later.