TISS, Mumbai

A group of students pursuing various courses in social sciences settle down on the steps of a shop sipping on ‘cutting chai’ outside their present home, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Coming from diverse places such as Kanpur, Ranchi, Jaipur, Patna, Mumbai and Pune, the students bring in their personal life experiences and their respective academic disciplines to understand the impact of several policy announcements.

“I don’t think this budget is any different from all the previous budgets over decades now. I don’t see it as a turnaround either. The defence budget continues to be higher than all other areas such as health and education put together, in the name of national security. We have a certain kind of society and we are catering to their growth. But nothing’s new about that,” says Shantanu Nevrekar, a development studies student. Syed Mazahir, a student of public health, adds the new announcements need to be examined carefully. “There has been no allocation as per the Draft National Health Policy recommendations so I am not sure how this dialysis programme or 3,000 medical stores would work,” he says, adding the insurance announcement too was open to critical evaluation and was not a real win-win for poor people.

While those watching social sectors are far from excited, the ones tracking upcoming sectors such as digitisation, start-ups and skill training are divided in their views. “We need to look beyond the announcements such as digital literacy. They have ­defined it as ability to use the internet such as searching on Google. So you will only create more users, not programmers and these computers will be provided through NGOs and corporates. So it is in keeping with more privatisation,” says Akshat Jain, 24, a student of media and culture.

The discussion of start-ups leads to the mantra of ease of doing business and further goes to the complex and contested issue of taxation. “Ease of doing business means loosening of environmental laws and labour laws and giving tax rebates and land,” says Rakesh Singh. “Even the indirect impact of keeping the shops open 24x7 needs to be highlighted. Exploitation will increase and labourers will have to work more,” says one. “Also the difference between software brahmins and hardware shudras,” laments Akshat, emphasising that there is a marked preference for ‘development’. However, when asked if the budget won’t affect the BJP’s electoral chances if it only looks like a rerun of several old budgets, considering the party rode high on development agenda, the answers were telling. “The middle class—rich caste Hindus at least—will continue to support BJP for cultural belonging.” “The BJP got such a majority because of the development agenda so they will have to show growth.” “People will have to know more. We have to push for dissemination of information.”