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An Interim Budget, presented barely four months before a general election, is never weighed as a policy document. But when acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal presented his financial outlay in Parliament on February 1, he broke all conventions by presenting what many experts called a full-fledged Budget. In it he announced tax exemption for the middle class, long- and short-term relief for farmers and small entrepreneurs and a pension scheme for workers in the unorganised sector. It rained sops that day in the Lok Sabha.
That being the case, the Budget was subjected to closer analysis. One section of the population that received less attention than it deserved was children. A perusal of the Budget promises by child rights organisation CRY is revealing. According to the organisation’s CEO, Puja Marwaha, the interim Budget “failed to address the expectations” of children as they were “neither a part of the Budget speech, nor were they visible anywhere in the 10-point vision for 2030.” This speaks volumes for the misplaced priorities of the government given that children constitute 40 per cent of the population and represent the future of the nation.
Thus, the overall Budget outlay for children was just 3.25 per cent of the total, a minuscule 0.01 per cent increase over the last fiscal. In absolute numbers the increase amounts to ₹9,358 crore — from ₹81,235.63 crore in 2018-19 to ₹90, 594.25 crore in 2019-20. This is a marginal increment once inflation and population increase are factored in.
The paucity of funds is reflected in the proportions allocated to key areas like education, health and child development — they either declined or remained stagnant. Only child protection bucked the trend. It will receive 2.14 per cent from the budgeted amount for children in 2019-20; last fiscal its share was a meagre 1.66 per cent.
Critics of the government have accused it of presenting a Budget with elections in mind. So, were children ignored because they are too young to vote? Well, those in power must remember the kids of today are the voters of tomorrow.
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