AIKS: UNION BUDGET OPENS DOORS FOR AGRIBUSINESSES

The union budget promotes further centralisation and encroaches on states' federal rights, while driving corporatization of agriculture to benefit predatory agribusinesses. Agricultural and allied sector allocations have continuously declined from 5.44 per cent in 2019 to 3.15 per cent currently, with a 21.2 per cent decrease compared to 2022-23. No measures ensure assured crop procurement at C2+50 per cent, and there is no increase in allocations for MGNREGA, PM-KISAN, and PMFBY over Interim Budget. Despite claims of prioritizing agriculture, the finance minister has prioritized corporate interests over the welfare of farmers, workers, and the poor.

The budget maintains MGNREGA allocation at Rs 86,000 crore, with Rs 42,000 crore already spent in 2024-25. This leaves only Rs 44,000 crore for the remaining eight months, highlighting the BJP-led government's insensitivity and likely increasing rural distress and migration.

Allocations for crop husbandry and fertilizers have declined by 24.7 per cent and 34.7 per cent (Rs 87,238 crore) respectively compared to 2022-23, likely harming agricultural productivity

The finance minister's national cooperation policy, claiming to boost the rural economy and employment, infringes on states' rights by centralising control over cooperatives. Despite this, cooperation funding has declined by 30.5 per cent, and allocations for cooperative storage and warehousing have decreased by 24.2 per cent compared to 2022-23.

The finance minister announced funding in challenge mode, including for the private sector, allowing big agribusinesses like Bayer and Amazon to influence public sector agricultural research Institutions. Consequently, the direction of agricultural research will be increasingly decided by these private companies.

The proposal to implement the digital public infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture, which aims to provide coverage for farmers and their lands within three years, needs to be subjected to public scrutiny and extensive discussion. The inclusion of details for 6 crore farmers and their lands in the farmer and land registries is highly significant. It is worth noting that centralized digital registries, as demonstrated by previous initiatives like Aadhar, are vulnerable to breaches of confidentiality. Moreover, they could potentially enable land grabbing by corporations and other unscrupulous individuals.

The proposal for a digital crop survey using DPI in 400 districts raises serious concerns. Digital and remote-sensing technologies often replace crop-cutting experiments to the disadvantage of farmers, benefiting insurance companies. The government should release a white paper on the proposed technology, demonstrating its accuracy in capturing crop data before large-scale implementation.

On another front, there is no provision for ensuring farmers receive fair prices for pulses and oilseeds. Without clear policy direction, these claims will only amount to empty promises. The plan to promote large-scale clusters for vegetable production and supply chains could potentially pave the way for corporate contract farming. Therefore, it is important to remain vigilant and thoroughly analyze the finer details of these policies. The often-repeated assertion of bringing 1 crore farmers under zero budget natural farming has once again been stated, without providing any figures on previous efforts or the effectiveness of these methods.

The pre-budget Economic Survey has already predicted a low growth rate of only 1.4 per cent in the agricultural sector in 2023-24, compared to 4.7 per cent in 2022-23. This is due to a decrease in foodgrain production caused by delayed and poor monsoons caused by El Nino. However, the BJP-led NDA Government's failure to reduce production costs, provide low-interest crop loans, ensure effective crop insurance, uninterrupted electricity, expand irrigation facilities, make fertilizers available, and guarantee minimum support prices based on the C2+50 per cent formula, cannot be solely blamed on El Nino. Clearly, the budget has not adequately addressed these issues.

The main focus is on promoting export-oriented agriculture and entrusting agriculture to corporations. AIKS urges all of its branches to rise up and protest against the neglect of farmers and workers' welfare, which is seen as a betrayal.

CITU: UNION BUDGET IS ANTI-PEOPLE

The union budget for 2024-25, presented by the NDA coalition government led by Modi, emphasizes a concerning inclination towards favoring large corporations while neglecting the welfare of the general public. The budget seemingly prioritizes allocating significant resources from the national exchequer, primarily funded by public taxes, towards direct subsidies and benefits for the corporate sector. Furthermore, this issue is further exacerbated by the fact that these misleading actions are being carried out under the guise of promoting economic growth, employment, and public welfare.

A preliminary examination of the budget speech and budget papers reveals a stark contrast between the words spoken by the finance minister and their actual actions. While revenue generation has increased by approximately 15 per cent, overall expenditure has only increased by 5.9 per cent. In fact, this represents a decline of 1.8 per cent as a percentage of GDP compared to last year. This is concerning given the current economic situation, with a significant decrease in overall consumption expenditure, widespread poverty, record-high unemployment rates, and extreme levels of inequality that have persisted throughout their ten-year rule.

he only beneficiaries seem to be large corporations, which have seen a significant increase in wealth and profits, while the majority of the population continues to suffer in abject poverty. The budget, unfortunately, fails to address any of these pressing issues. Instead, it primarily focuses on increasing the flow of public funds to private corporate entities through various incentives related to productivity, capital expenditure, and employment generation. However, there is a complete lack of enforceable mechanisms to hold these entities accountable.

To highlight some key areas of expenditure, it is worth noting that the budget for women & child development has only witnessed a marginal increase of 2.5 per cent. However, it is important to acknowledge that this increase does not account for inflation and should not be considered a genuine rise. In contrast, the budget for MNREGA has not been raised in accordance with the revised estimate of the FY 24 budget. This aligns with the government's exclusionary measures, which have significantly limited access to MNREGA deployment and implemented an AADHAR-based payment system. These measures aim to curtail expenditure during a time when agriculture is facing a crisis and rural unemployment is reaching unprecedented levels. Despite a food inflation rate of 9.4 percent, the food subsidy has been reduced by 3.33 per cent. Additionally, the fertilizer subsidy has been reduced by 13.18 per cent, and the subsidy on LPG has been decreased by 2.57 per cent. Alongside these reductions, the Labor Welfare Fund has faced a cut of Rs 1200 crore, while the Labor Budget has decreased by Rs 3000 crore. Similarly, the rural development fund has experienced a 20 per cent decrease, the crop insurance scheme has suffered a Rs 1500 crore reduction in allocation, and the clean water programme has also had its allocation decreased by Rs 1500 crore. Lastly, the allocation for the National Urban Livelihood Mission has been reduced by 43 per cent.

While subsidies for food, fertilizer, and fuel are being sharply reduced, subsidies for corporations – both domestic and foreign – have significantly increased. These subsidies, provided as various incentives for capital expenditure and productivity, are justified as measures for employment generation. Previously, the government introduced productivity incentives for the manufacturing sector, including foreign entities, and capital expenditure incentives for private corporations. However, these incentives lacked accountability, leading to minimal private investment and job creation.

The new Employment Linked Incentive Scheme, with an allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore, aims to promote employment and skilling, with Rs 1.48 lakh crore dedicated to education, employment, and skilling initiatives. Yet, the scheme appears to primarily subsidize labour costs for both domestic and foreign corporations. Employers will bear the costs of apprentices' stipends, labour wages, and most statutory obligations, including EPF contributions.

Interestingly, corporate tax now accounts for less than 27.2 per cent of total direct tax collections, falling behind personal income tax at 29.2 per cent for the first time, due to various rebates and concessions. Additionally, the corporate tax rate for foreign companies has been reduced from 40 per cent to 35 per cent. Amendments to the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code aim to further ease bailouts for private corporations defaulting on bank loans. Moreover, the proposed Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 seeks to decriminalise corporate offences, including non-payment of tax deducted at source, highlighting the NDA regime's strong support for both domestic and foreign private corporations.

Despite claims of ‘cooperative federalism,’ Finance Commission grants to states have decreased from Rs 1,72,760 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 1,32,378 crore in 2023-24, reflecting an anti-federal stance, particularly towards states governed by opposition parties.

The budget promotes privatisation of strategic sectors, including nuclear energy under the Bharat Small Reactor initiative, opens the economy to unrestricted FDI, privatizes defense R&D, allows venture capital in space exploration, and reduces duties on 25 critical minerals and mobile accessories. These measures are seen as detrimental to public and national interests.

CITU condemns this budget as a regressive move and urges the working class to protest against it.

AIAWU: BUDGET HARMS AGRI WORKERS

The union budget fails to address the pressing concerns of agricultural workers, who have been ignored by this government. The BJP, known for its communal vote-gathering tactics, continues to undermine the lives and livelihoods of the rural poor.

This budget is seen as favoring corporates and catering to right-wing interests rather than addressing common people's needs. The Economic Survey projected food prices would rise by 4 to 7 per cent, yet the budget fails to address this issue or strengthen the public distribution system. Food security allocation decreased from Rs 2.72 lakh crore to Rs 2.05 lakh crore compared to the previous year. MNREGA funding remains at Rs 86,000 crore, down from Rs 90,000 crore two years ago. Despite a 10 per cent increase in the total budget, these schemes have not received a proportional increase.

Regarding MNREGA, people were hoping that the allocation would be increased to Rs 2 lakh crore, but this amount is inadequate. Therefore, this budget cannot be considered pro-employment for the rural sector, and it may also result in increased migration.

With regards to PMAY, it has been guaranteed that 3 crore houses will be constructed. In the previous fiscal year, only Rs 32,000 crore was spent out of the allocated Rs 55,000 crore. We are requesting a minimum of Rs 10 lakh per house, with Rs 5 lakh each from the central government and state government.

Last year, a total of Rs 21,527 crores were spent on providing nutritious food to children under the anganwadi Poshan-2.0 programme. However, the current allocation has been reduced to Rs 21,200 crores.

Even though there has been a minimal increase in the post-metric scholarships for SC and ST students, from Rs 6,359 crores last year to Rs 6,660 crores now, it is still highly discouraging for rural students from oppressed communities. This is especially concerning considering the significant rise in the number of eligible students.

Last year, a budget of Rs 1,85,000 crores was allocated for fertilizers, but it has now been reduced to Rs 1,64,000 crores. As a result, 80 crores rural farmers and 25 crores SC and ST individuals are completely neglected.

Whether it is in the field of education, health, rural employment, or for the welfare of SC and ST people and farmers, this budget does not favor these marginalized communities. Instead, it seems to be entirely in favor of foreign capitalists. Land reforms are being implemented in a way that allows corporates to acquire people's land. Additionally, all agency areas are set to be handed over to Ambanis and Adanis for mining under the guise of the Green Revolution.

The lifting of the 58-year ban on RSS and allowing employees to join indicates that all employees are encouraged to participate in religious fundamental activities. This creates religious division in society and disrupts communal harmony.

It seems as though the budget was prepared by corporations, reviewed by religious fundamentalists, and read by Nirmala Sitharaman.

This budget is not pro-farmers or pro-agricultural workers. In fact, it is completely against workers and the general public.

Since the budget shows the heartless indifference of the ruling classes towards the poor, the All-India Agricultural Workers Union is calling for nationwide protest demonstrations on July 24th and 25th.

AIDWA: BUDGET IGNORES WOMEN’S CONCERNS

The All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) expresses its disappointment with the 2024-25 budget. The NDA government's first full post-poll budget demonstrates its complete disregard for the current social reality faced by women. As the AIDWA has repeatedly emphasized, women in this country are bearing the brunt of soaring prices and unemployment. Food inflation has averaged between 8-9.5 per cent this year. However, the government and its economists have neglected to include the increases in food and fuel prices in their calculation of the core inflation rate, which they claim is at 3.1 per cent.

Women are no longer able to find jobs that offer good working conditions and social security. Additionally, they have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing employment crisis in the informal sector. Unfortunately, public spending on employment generation schemes has been steadily decreasing over the past decade, and this trend persists in the current budget as well.

The budget shows a continued decline in public expenditure for the welfare of ordinary citizens. The total central government expenditure as a percentage of GDP has dropped from 15.24 per cent in 2023-2024 to 14.74 per cent in 2024-2025. This indicates the central government's withdrawal from its responsibility of providing basic services and its promotion of privatisation of all services.

The gender budget accounts for 6.78 per cent of the total expenditure, which is a slight increase from last year's budget of 6.2 per cent. It is worth noting that the allocation for the ministry of women and child development has risen by just over 8 per cent. However, this allocation only represents 0.57 per cent of the total expenditure and 0.08 per cent of the GDP. The largest increases in the gender budget are seen in the allocations for the Prime Minister Awas Yojana.

The neglect of hunger and malnutrition concerns is evident in the continuous reduction of food subsidies. Specifically, the food subsidy has been decreased by 34.75 per cent from the actual expenditure of 2022-2023. In addition, the allocations for Saksham Anganwadi and PM POSHAN programmes have decreased by Rs 323 crores since last year. As a result, the nutritional programmes that these schemes were initiated for will be adversely affected. It is alarming that the government has not allocated any funds under the NFSA, effectively killing the PDS. Instead, it has been replaced by an allocation under PMGKAY, with a reduced amount of Rs 6662 crore (RE). This change results in the government converting the legal entitlement of PDS into a form of charity. This action violates the NFSA, which was established to ensure food security for impoverished families. Once the government discontinues the distribution of free grains, millions of poor families will be left vulnerable to market forces.

Public expenditure on employment generation schemes has declined, with inadequate funding for the flagship MGNREGA scheme. In 2022-2023, the government spent about Rs 90,000 crore on MGNREGA due to rising demand, yet this year's budget allocates only Rs 86,000 crore, Rs 4,000 crore less than the actual expenditure.

Allocations under NRLM have increased marginally, primarily for credit guarantees for women’s SHGs, which may lead to higher loan burdens. The Economic Survey's claim of a 41 per cent women's labor force participation rate is misleading, as it includes unpaid helpers in family enterprises. The Finance Minister's promise to improve the lives of street vendors through the development of 100 haats is undermined by a 30 per cent cut in the PM-SVANidhi Yojana. The budget fails to address the critical need for livelihood opportunities.

Expenditure on social assistance schemes, including the widow pension scheme, has remained virtually unchanged in recent years. The government has not accounted for population growth or the significant increase in the number of widows following the COVID-19 pandemic. Spending on women and children's protection and empowerment under Mission Shakti constitutes only 0.067 per cent of the central budget. This extremely low allocation undermines the finance minister's claims of expanding hostels and creches.

Education and health expenditures have seen only marginal increases from the previous year's budget estimates, not accounting for inflation. The increases primarily focus on ICT, apprenticeship, and internship schemes, with a strong emphasis on digitalising education. However, allocations for scholarships have remained stagnant, potentially depriving many children, especially girls from poor families, of their right to education.

In the health sector, the focus is on health insurance and digital services rather than expanding facilities, increasing medical staff, or filling vacancies. The entire health budget constitutes just 1.81 per cent of total expenditure.

AIDWA will hold nationwide protests demanding increased funding for food security, employment, social security schemes, education, and health.

NPRD: BUDGET NEGLECTS DISABLED PEOPLE

The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) strongly protests the continued neglect of disabled individuals despite rhetoric about “inclusive India” and “Amrit Kaal”.

The budgetary support for the Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) remains virtually unchanged, reflecting the government's misplaced priorities. Allocations to the department constitute only 0.025 per cent of the total budget, significantly lower than the 5 per cent allocation across ministries that disability rights organizations and activists have been advocating for.

The lack of adequate budgetary support has resulted in flagship programs like the Accessible India campaign failing to meet their targets and deadlines set by the RPD Act for accessibility. Funding for the Scheme for the Implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA), under which this campaign falls, has decreased compared to last year.

Support for autonomous bodies such as the National Institutes, the Rehabilitation Council of India, and the National Trust-key players in rehabilitation and education-has also been reduced. This cut will affect several schemes run by the National Trust and the reduction in scholarships for students with disabilities may force many to drop out.

The government’s priorities are clear in its refusal to increase allocations for the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS). Despite growing dependence on pensions due to lack of employment opportunities, the central share has remained static at Rs300 since 2011. The scheme covers only 3.8 per cent of the disabled population identified in the 2011 census, and the government has ignored court rulings to extend AAY cards to the disabled.

While the Economic Survey 2024 rightly highlighted the rising incidence of mental health issues, particularly post-COVID, this concern is not reflected in the budget allocations for mental health.

It is striking that the finance minister's budget speech did not mention people with disabilities, one of society's most marginalised groups, exposing a dismissive and contemptuous attitude toward disability issues. The government's unwillingness to allocate funds for the disabled and other marginalized groups, despite substantial revenue increases, reveals its regressive stance.

The NPRD calls on its state affiliates to protest against the government's misplaced priorities, which marginalise the disabled and weaker sections of society.