Budget 2012-13 misses big picture: Yashwant Sinha

The ninth budget of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) misses the big picture and fails to address challenges like inflation and high economic growth, former finance minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha said Friday.

“This budget is not for the aam aadmi… there is no big picture… it pays lip service to vital sectors like infrastructure and power,” Sinha told reporters after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the union budget for 2012-13 in the Lok Sabha.

According to Sinha, it failed to address major challenges like providing better quality of life for the people, controlling inflation, bringing down high interests rates and ensuring high economic growth.

He also said Mukherjee’s budget does not indicate how the government will bring down the fiscal deficit projected at 5.1 percent next year, as it will have a cascading effect on the Indian economy.

He said the budget’s target of Rs.5,14,000 crore market borrowings will affect private sector investment and in turn slow down industrial production.

“The Rs.45,949 crore gain projected from indirect taxes is unprecedented as it would affect the economic growth in the long run,” said Sinha, adding that “the impact of the global financial crisis on Indian economy is marginal”.