Union Finance Minister Mr. Yashwant Sinha, presented his Government's budget for 1999 - 2000 on Saturday. By presenting the budget in the morning, instead of afternoon, he broke the "Videshi" link of the budget day. But could he really invoke "Swadeshi" in his budget?

He tried his best. While ending his budget speech, he recited a Hindi couplet and in between quoted some Hindi film titles. Whatever new scheme he announced, all have been christened in Sanskrit. By shedding the old names like "Jawahar Rojgar Yojana", or "Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana", all the self-employment programmes have been merged to have a common Sanskrit title: "Swaran Jayanti Gram Swa-Rojgar Yojana". A scheme for the weavers has been named after "Pandit Din Dayal Upadhyay", one of the architects of Sangh Parivar, votary of "Swadeshi".

But beyond the change of titles of certain projects and schemes, is there anything particular in the budget, which may be called "Swadeshi"? Not only he in his budget speech, but also his finance department, in its Economy Survey released two days ago, linked the country's present economic crisis to the global hostile economic environment. But everybody knows, the economic turmoil that engulfs today some countries in other part of the globe, some of which Mr. Sinha himself has named in his budget speech, owes its origin in World Bank / IMF prescription of reform. India also adhered to that prescription during the current decade, which landed her in the vortex of severe economic crisis. Mr. Sinha's government could not discard that prescription. Instead, it followed the same prescription very faithfully. So what is obvious that has happened.

The LPG - liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation - which signified the prescription, has spelt death-knell at the self-reliance (in somebody's parlance "Swadeshi") economy of the country. Mr. Sinha's second budget could not help re-invigorate self-reliance. The titles of certain scheme have been Sanskritised and Hindinised, but the main thrust of the budget proposal is aimed at LPG as prescribed by WB / IMF. That is, mere change in the time of presentation of budget could not break its "Videshi" link.

Mr. Sinha solaced himself in the so-called comfortable foreign currency reserve of the country. But what he has concealed is that out of two billion US dollar addition to our foreign currency reserve, about 1.5 billion US dollar is of NRI deposits in the banks for which we are paying interest at the rate of 20% per annum. And, the principal amount has to be paid as soon as it is called back by the depositors. Then, at whose beck and call this so-called "comfortable foreign currency reserve" is?