Taxation and budget, it is often said, are the key instruments through which the government of the day implements its social,-economic and political agenda. Three years after it assumed power at the Centre, the UPA government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh is, however, not sure if it can implement its agenda. Any government could have been exuding a sense of accomplishment if it has achieved an average annual growth rate of 9 per cent for three successive years. That has also meant that the finance minister had the luxury of realising more revenue than his budget estimates. That is a dream situation for any government which is committed to pump-in massive investments in the neglected rural sectors and social welfare projects.
Yet, when he stood up to present his three-year report card on Tuesday, the Prime Minister was a “concerned” man; the entire UPA was indeed in search of a success formula to show it has cared for the aam aadmi before it is time for another election which would in effect be a referendum on the UPA’s record. The new emphasis is on “inclusive” growth — a growth pattern that sustains the trend of higher growth rate, more employment, reduces poverty and promotes human development. On Thursday, the Prime Minister virtually raised his hands that his government’s higher spending in rural (agriculture in particular), education and health over the last three years have not yielded the desired results. It is a partial admission of his inability to use the traditional budgetary instruments to produce desired outcomes, including control over inflation.
This is why he pleaded with the burgeoning private sector to share the government’s responsibility of building a more inclusive society in which the poor and left-out regions of the country also get a share of the cake. High growth rate makes no sense if the poor remain on the margins and the unemployed still unemployed while the rich gets richer. It is however a moot question if the private sector, operating in a competitive environment and driven by the profit motive, would go beyond symbolic gestures in addressing the government’s concerns and sharing its responsibilities.
