The union budget for the year 2000-2001 announced by the Finance Minister of India, Mr. Yashwant Sinha on 29^th February 2000, has been an exercise to exploit the common mass of our country.

The curtailment of subsidies on food items by 12% as also on fertilizers which obviates an escalation of prices of these agricultural articles is bound to impose a heavy burden on the poor people thus making the problems of acute poverty and unemployment even more excruciating. In this context the provision of subsidy benefit to people living below the poverty line is a farce because prices of wheat and rice have been raised to Rs. 4.10 and Rs. 5.10 per Kg. respectively. Earlier their prices were 2.50 and 3.50 respectively. Even though the quota of food items for the people below the poverty line under rationing system is doubled from 10 Kg. To 20 Kg. the rise in their prices will sideline this benefit owing to the shrink in the purchasing power of these people. Besides, the Economic Survey has shown a heavy fall in the production of food grains by 40 lakhs tonnes as also in industrial production. Added to these adversities is the decrease in outlay for agricultural and rural development in this year’s budget.

Land reform policies are conspicuous by their absence in this year’s budget. The Finance Minister has recommended the formation of a committee to review the use of land, but one may easily raise the question that how can land be utilised in the proper manner without land reform measures. Proper use of land can never be done if the major proportion of land is under the acquisition of Zamindars and thereby the peasants get exploited and deprived.

A 8% hike in excise duties of the daily necessities of the general public which will result in an increase in prices of these commodities, a cut in import duties, dividend tax hike, a 1% cut in interest rate on providend fund, a meagre 26% of government share holding as upper limit in the public sector, privatisation of public sector banks, a rise in the foreign investment limit in Indian companies and above all a monstrous fiscal deficit amount of Rs. 1,11,275 crores are all black spots of the budget which are going to adversely affect the interest and living standards of the common people and some of which are manifestations of pro-American capitalism too.

Moreover, according to the central government itself, about Rs. 2,00,000 crores is being hoarded in the form of black money through evasion of Union taxes. If there is a drive to unearth this amount and divert it to the improvement of social sectors like primary education, health care etc. as well as of public distribution system, then our economy would have been spared of the treacherous measure of selling our public sector units to private hands.

Again, persistent fall in employment coupled with rise in the GDP growth rate is simply an indication of the fact that there has been concentration of wealth amongst the elitist class of our country.