[HumJanenge] A tinkerer's budget

The budget was a non-event. It is a tinkerer's budget; I impose a few crores here, I give reduce a few crores there. It is completely lacking in vision, and fails to even acknowledge the burning issues of food price inflation (agricultural chain productivity), corruption, mal-governance. One would have liked the thousands of babus that eat up hundreds of crores in salaries and benifits to have produced a document better than an accounting document, eg. a thrust in agricultural chain productivity vis-a-vis world standards:  a dramatic funding of watersheds, soil and water conservation, linkage of babu salaries to increased productivity by, say 50% in 5 years, formation of agricultural co-ops; dramatic increase in canning of foodstuffs (and zero taxes thereon); improved seeds, farmer training, etc, etc. One would also have liked to hear about doubling or trebling of resources to justice delivery system, so that errant are punished swiftly, and crime carries some real costs that are several fold higher than acquisition price. It is many months, if not years, since the issue of huge corruption monies came up.  Other than a few being put behind bars for a few days, there is nothing elese by the government to show for.  This applies equally to BJP, except for Mr. Nitish Kumar (long live Mr. Nitish Kumar.)  All this goes to show that we should not expect anything much from the government. God help India, for it is headed for very troubled times in the coming decade or so. Regards, Victor