When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rises to present her maiden budget on Friday, the burden of expectations will be weighing on her—expectations from her party's core supporters and voters who gave the government a massive mandate. She will also have to keep in mind the wish list from the RSS-affiliated bodies.
The new Narendra Modi-led government, ever since it took over around a month ago, has given enough clues on what's on its mind for the first year of its tenure which will set the tone for the remaining four years. The budget is likely to have measures to boost agriculture, farm incomes, unorganized sector and small businesses. Job creation is another area which Sitharaman is likely to address by encouraging self-employment schemes. The suggestions to have something for these sections of the society have come from the Sangh bodies like the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, Bharat Mazdoor Sangh and Bhartiya Kisan Sangh.
The government will try to address youth, women, poor and farmers who have overwhelmingly voted the Modi government back to power. There are high expectations that as a thanksgiving gesture Sitharaman will have sops and higher investments targets.
As the BJP tends to look at the cultural aspect of the governance, more funds are likely to be allocated for the development of indigenous knowledge systems in education and health. Both these sectors are likely to get investment boosts for setting up new institutions including hospitals and medical colleges so that every district will have at least one institution even if it's with public-private partnership. As Ayushman Bharat has been Modi government's pet scheme, the finance minister is likely to allocate funds for creating health infrastructure.
The BJP has credited its electoral success to various welfare schemes the Modi government had launched during its first tenure. Free LPG cylinders to women, pucca houses, Mudra loans and toilet construction were among the popular projects it had launched. Sitharaman is likely to provide more funds so that 100 per cent target is achieved in providing free LPG to all rural households, in addition to piped water for rural areas.
Apart from the wish lists received from various stakeholders, Sitharaman will have BJP's election manifesto to look into before presenting the budget.
