Lok Satta Party national president Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today expressed his regret that the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in his Vote-on-Account Budget for 2014-15, had totally ignored the requests for many infrastructure projects which aim to address regional imbalances in Andhra Pradesh, and that there was not even a mention of the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor.
In a media statement, Dr. JP described the overall budget as gloomy and disappointing.
"The only silver lining is that the Finance Minister has shown signs of fiscal consolidation after years of dithering. He has limited the fiscal deficit in 2013-14 to 4.6 percent of the GDP by deferring some liabilities.
"What is most disturbing is the fall in manufacturing and mining - two economic sectors which give a boost to the economy and create employment. At a time when tens of millions of young people have remained unemployed, the much-advertised National Skill Development Corporation has imparted skills to a mere 77000 people.
All that the government has done in the last one year is to contain the damage caused by prolonged policy paralysis," opined Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan.
Dr. JP said that agriculture has recorded commendable growth thanks to good monsoons, but not due to any of the government's efforts.
Dr. JP said, "The finance minister has sought to conceal the UPA government?s fiscal profligacy, the shallowness of public policy and the absence of resolve to strengthen the economy. However, the fact remains that this is a desperate attempt to defend a weak record in a decade of lost opportunities." (INN)
filed in:Lok Satta Party, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, P Chidambaram, UPA, Budget