Budget 2021: Focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat, writes Prof. Niranjan Roy

Feb. 1: Atma Nirbharta is not a new concept, rather a notion for the resurgence of Ancient India, which was mostly self-reliant and the nerve centre of global trading activity. The idea of ‘Atmanirbharata’ as enunciated by the Union Government in recent days,  is perhaps ethically moving forward to a new and improved life, a life that is more pleasant than the specialised round of work or factory, a life that brings challenges back to work and the use of everyday initiative. It means undertaking full responsibility for strengthening the necessary infrastructure to transform the economy from take-off to maturity and to an age of high mass consumption. This is quite in tune with economist Rostow who tried to analyse the growth of an economy focusing on different stages.

Kautilya planned a sustainable living framework for the economy which guarantees  economic, social, political and cultural existence free of stress, a threat-free yet conductive product pattern. This is precisely the model envisioned by the Government of India. The global pandemic of Covid-19  posed challenges for the Indian economy, which has already been affected due to global slowdown. The nationwide lockdown has brought economic activity to a halt, resulting in a disruption in production, consumption and investment. The multiplier effect of this disruption led to affect private consumption, investment and international trade to a great extent.

Interestingly the management mechanism of Covid-19 pandemic in India has been praised  all across the globe. At the same time, the predictions based on Economic survey 2020-21 led to optimism about rebounding economic growth in India in coming days. Under the circumstances the union budget 2021, the first budget of a new decade is aimed at  playing a significant role in respect of boosting the economy from all fronts, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, capital investment and others. There are expectations that Covid-19 could be ‘blessing in disguise’ for Indian industries.

India has the capacity to emerge as a potential alternative choice for cost-efficient and quality products. There are possibilities of large scale foreign investments in the country in the manufacturing sector. The budget proposals for 2021-22 rest on six pillars, (1) Health and Wellbeing (2) Physical & Financial Capital, and Infrastructure (3) Inclusive Development for Aspirational India (4) Reinvigorating Human Capital (5) Innovation and R&D and (6) Minimum Government and Maximum Governance. The Finance Minister announced a new centrally sponsored scheme, PM Atma Nirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, with an outlay of about Rs.64,180 crores to develop capacities of primary, secondary, and tertiary care Health care. The new scheme will strengthen the existing national institutions, and create new institutions, to cater to detection and cure of new and emerging diseases.

This is in addition to the existing scheme of National Health Mission. Separately a sum of Rs. 35,000 crores for Covid-19 vaccine in BE 2021-22 has also been provided in the budget. These provisions will lead to a remarkable change in the creation of capacity expansion and strengthening of health sectors in the coming days.

Another significant area which received attention in this budget is physical infrastructure development. The development of Greenfield infrastructure has been given importance with enhanced allocation to Rs 5.54 lakh crore, while at the same time laying the ground for asset monetisation via a National Monetization Pipeline at Rs 1.75 Lakh crore divestment goal. It is to be noted that more than 13,000 km length of roads, at the cost of Rs. 3.3 lakh crores, has already been awarded under the Rs. 5.35 lakh crores Bharatmala Pariyojana project of which 3,800 km have been constructed. FM announced that by March 2022, another 8,500 km road project will be awarded and complete an additional 11,000 km of national highway corridors. The beneficiary states are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam. For further augmenting road infrastructure, more economic corridors are also being planned as announced by the FM. Similarly, the emphasis has been given on creating the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and Eastern DFC with ‘Make in India” initiative in the railway sector.

The development of agriculture with emphasis on diversification has been the topmost priority of the present government. To materialise this objectives Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) has been proposed on certain items including urea, apples, crude soybean and sunflower oil, crude palm oil, Kabuli chana and peas. This will have a far-reaching impact on strengthening and creation of agricultural infrastructure like APMC, E-NAM etc. The allocation for credit flow through NABARD has also been increased.

To strengthen the capital market, a host of measures has been announced in the budget to attract FDI, disinvestment of PSU banks, one general insurance firm along with IPO of LIC. These reforms will address the long pending issues of cleaning NPAs in banks. At the same time for strengthening the MSME sectors industries, a number of steps have been announced along with financial support of Rs. 15,700 crores to this sector, more than double of this year’s BE.

The expenditure on education has also been increased in the budget with an emphasis on strengthening school education focusing on the enhancement of quality.

It is to be noted that India is already on the march towards reaching a five trillion economy. The measures announced in this budget will go a long way in achieving the target.

The government’s attempt to revive the economy and create a strong foundation by spending on infrastructure, investing in struggling sectors, tiny and medium-sized enterprises, and focusing on an economic growth centred around employment through education, upskilling and innovation, has indicated a holistic approach to addressing financial gaps. These have been reflected clearly in this budget.

The Finance Minister has rightly given the effort to utilise immense national natural and human resources to transform Atmanirbhar Bharat. At the same time, India should also emerge as a strong economy in the world in the coming days.

**Prof. Niranjan Roy is the Head, Deptt of Economics, Assam University. His area of specialisation is Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics & Social Sector Issues.