Raipurites respond to #budget2016

After an interesting Union budget 2016, people in Raipur have started planning their own budgets accordingly. Youngsters are focusing more on cutting their expenses as the prices of branded stuff and eating out are about to get dearer. Social media is flooded with views on the budget. While, everyone one has a different take on it, Raipur Times brings reactions from Raipurites about The Budget 2016.

The Positives

For those looking at budget with an overall and wider view seem to have positive reviews. For these people the government seems to be concentrating more on the uplifting the poor, which is a good thing.

“Overall, it is a good approach to help in the development of rural India. As most of our population is still concentrated in the rural areas, this budget looks like an initiative taken by government to make the rural India progress. I like the way that they focus on accomplishments of the present schemes. But government seems to have ignored the lower middle class,” says Trisha Singh, a final year law student.

Talking about the railway budget she adds, “There is link between the two budgets, railway and annual. The railway budget neither increased the fares nor taxes on goods, but the annual budget covers that and is like an answer for all who questioned railway budget.”

The Negatives

The expectations this year were high and many people don’t seem happy with the way things have panned out moneywise. “The 2016 budget proved to be costlier again for upper middle class, while the lower middle class has got benefits on things which they hardly need in their daily lives. This budget is said to be for common man as he can take benefits of ‘footwear and pension plans’ but on the other hand the trading facility got costlier like bill payments, eating out, air travel etc. Overall a good but unapproachable attempts to balance the society,” feels Palash Tiwari, an advocate at the Chhattisgarh High Court.

Pocket Pinch

Youngsters around the city are trying to find ways to adjust with the budget. While some plan to cut their expenses on food others have decided to opt for less shopping. Nishant Singh, an engineering student from Raipur says, “I guess my friends and I will hang out more in the street stalls and dhabas this year. There’s a long list of stuff that got expensive. I’m a big foodie and love hitting the restaurants every now and then. But after this budget, I don’t think that’s going to be something I want to do.”

Talking about the plans to deal with the budget, Sonam Mishra, a designing student shares, “I have been trying to quit smoking for years. The hikes in the rates are going to help me do that. But I’m a brand queen when it comes to clothing and accessories; it’s bad news for me that branded apparels are going to cost more. It’s right to say that wise spending is a must this year. I’m planning to shop wisely this year.”

Memes to the rescue

Right after the budgets the views and expressions took as sarcastic turn and memes and jokes started to float in the social media. The #budget2016 is trending topic among Raipurites. “It’s so much fun seeing hilarious memes and status by the people. It’s the hot topic on every page every site even on our college canteens and groups. People have very creative and sarcastic approaches to express. My friends and I created some memes about the budgets to express ourselves,” says Shubham Jain, a medical student in Raipur.