A band-aid for bullet wounds: Authorities bankrupt of concepts

The Hindi saying, ‘nau sau choohe kha kar billi Haj ko chali’ (a present of piety by a recurring sinner or actually, the cat goes on a pilgrimage having swallowed 900 mice) is what this authorities is all about, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge mentioned concerning the eighth Union Finances introduced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, 1 February. Describing it as an “announcement veer” Finances, he quipped that it has turned the ‘Make in India’ programme to ‘Nationwide Manufacturing Mission’.

“The world is discussing the AI disruption that has occurred on account of China’s DeepSeek. And we had earmarked Rs 552 crore within the final Finances (China devoted Rs 17 lakh crore!) to AI mission. Aghast to study that even out of that paltry allocation, we spent solely Rs 173 crore,” quipped CPI(M) MP John Brittas.

Observing that bureaucrats could be proud of this Finances, former finance minister P. Chidambaram, who introduced 9 Union Budgets in comparison with Sitharaman’s eight, asserted, “The FM is strolling the worn-out path. She is just not prepared to interrupt free as we did in 1991 and 2004. She is just not prepared to de-regulate. She is just not prepared to get out of the way in which of individuals, particularly entrepreneurs and MSMEs and start-ups.”

“A band-aid for bullet wounds! Amid international uncertainty, fixing our financial disaster demanded a paradigm shift. However this authorities is bankrupt of concepts,” Lok Sabha Chief of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi mentioned.

“We have no idea the place the Rs 60,000 crore promised to Bihar within the final price range has been spent,” identified RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav, who felt that the Finances speech was marked by rhetoric and repackaging.

“Extra dialogue however not funds for farmers,” mentioned academic-turned-activist Yogendra Yadav. He lamented the decline of allocations for agriculture from 5.95 per cent of the Finances in 2019-20 to three.06 per cent in 2025-26.

Former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra reacted by questioning the announcement of elevating the FDI restrict for the insurance coverage sector to 100 per cent, which might pose a problem to the general public sector Life Insurance coverage Company of India and different insurance coverage corporations each in the private and non-private sectors. Does the announcement have any hyperlink with anybody within the Central authorities and the worldwide insurance coverage foyer, he questioned aloud.  

“We did not even hear the phrases ‘unemployment’ or ‘inflation’ from the finance minister right this moment. It was a mercifully quick speech (one hour 14 minutes), however she did not point out both of these phrases, which isn’t so merciful.

“The actual fact is, if in case you have a job and earn Rs 12 lakh or much less, there’s each motive to be blissful. Nevertheless, if you do not have a job, it is unclear from this Finances the place the job alternatives will come from. If you happen to’re residing in Bihar and are from an ally celebration, you will possible obtain sops to help your election efforts. Mockingly, this is similar celebration that advocates for ‘One Nation, One Election’,” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor posted.

Congress MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh mentioned in a publish on X, “The finance minister has introduced the revision of price norms in Saksham aanganawadi and Poshan 2.0… the FM has, nonetheless, not prolonged this announcement to: 1) Inclusion of breakfast in colleges 2) Provision of a glass of milk, as is completed in Karnataka by means of the Ksheera Bhagya Scheme 3) Upward revision in honorarium given to Anganwadi employees”.