The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
Sometimes major events completely disconnected may be data points for the plans of the different powers around the world. The challenge is to discern what purpose they serve? More critically, what are we moving towards?
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
Ironically, the money set aside for the poorest of the poor in India – in Billions of Dollars – could very well be contributing their bit to high Gold prices in the world!
Fact 1: Sixty per cent of the beneficiaries are non-poor.
Fact 2: The non-poor receive 17 per cent more workdays than the poor.
Fact 3: The MGNREGA non-poor are in the top third of the consumption distribution of rural Indians — at the 66th percentile compared to the 14th percentile for the poor beneficiaries. The poor who do participate are right in the middle of the poverty distribution, so at least this aspect of the programme is working well. Presumably, they are also doing whatever work is being done. It is unlikely that someone belonging to the top third of the distribution is indulging in desperate backbreaking work for low wages.
Fact 4: The expenditure patterns of the poor and non-poor beneficiaries are revealing. The poor spend Rs 62 per household per year on jewellery. The non-poor MGNREGA beneficiaries spend close to eight times that amount, or Rs 487 a year. For the MGNREGA non-poor, fully 14 per cent goes towards purchase of jewellery, compared to only 2 per cent for the MGNREGA poor.
Fact 5: On an all-India basis, some Rs 8830 crore were paid as wages to the MGNREGA non-poor; and some Rs 1260 crore went towards jewellery purchases.
Worth looking at are the Facts 1 and 5.
The Indian tax payer is seemingly financing roughly $260 million Jewellery Purchases under this scheme which is ostensibly billed for the “poorest of the poor”. No wonder, the Gold prices are so high.
I understand that Bhalla’s analysis is statistical based on proportions of expenditure basket of the group the money goes to. I also understand that my question may be rhetorical in the title of this post. But the level of plunder that is orchestrated by this scheme by the UPA Government is NOT.
It doesn’t matter what the money is being spent on, but the money isn’t going where it should. It is probably doing worse than fueling World’s Gold Prices – its fueling India’s runaway inflation and bankruptcy.
The Indian budget every year has always been an eagerly awaited event. For many decades, the best minds in economics, finance, tax, business and industry throng the media house to analyze the provisions shared by the Financial Minister.
When the US Ambassador threatened India's "Strategic Autonomy" policy over India's friendship with Russia - much more than meets the eye was at stake. Let us unpack how the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed the US and the world. And why are we here anyway?
This visit of India left me with many questions. Many observations and inputs from different people and sections. Food for thought that I have tried to contemplate on and make sense of. Sharing all that with you.
When you analyze the last 60 years of the economic miracles of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia versus the continued impoverished Indian economy, you get very interesting lessons. Can Indians have the wherewithal in them to do in one generation so that the coming generations may rise?
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