Budget 2013-14 Highlights

THE ECONOMY AND THE CHALLENGES

1. Getting back to the potential growth rate of 8 per cent is the confrontation facing the country.

    

2. The slowdown in an Indian economy has to be seen in the context of reducing global economic growth from 3.9 per cent in 2011 to 3.2 per cent in 2012.
3. Though, no reason for pessimism. Of the large countries of the world only China and Indonesia growing rapidly than India in 2012-13. In 2013-14, only China projected to expand faster than India.
4. Range from 2004 and 2008, and again in 2009-10 and 2010-11 the growth rate was over 8 per cent and crossed 9 per cent in four of those six years.
5. 11th Plan period had an average growth rate of 8 per cent, highest during any Plan period, fall under the UPA Government.
6. A high growth rate can again be fulfilled through cooperation.
7. ‘Higher growth leading to inclusive and continuous development’ to be the Mool mantra.
8. The government believes in inclusive development with attention to improving human development indicators especially of women, the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, the minorities, and some backward classes. This Budget to be a testimony to that obligation.

Fiscal Deficit, Current Account Deficit and Inflation for Budget 2013-14 Highlights

1. Budget 2013-14 Highlights to create economic space and find resources to fulfill the objective of inclusive development.
2. Dr. Vijay Kelkar Committee made its suggestions to Government in September 2012. A new fiscal consolidation way with fiscal deficit at 5.3 percent of GDP this year and 4.8 percent of GDP in 2013-14 announced by the Government.
3. Foreign investment in an obligation in view of the high current account deficit (CAD). FII, FDI, and ECB three prime sources of CAD Financing. Foreign
4. The investment is consistent with our economic motives to be encouraged.
5. Development must be economically and ecologically feasible and democratically legitimate.
6. The battle against inflation should be fought on all fronts. Attempts in the past few months have brought down headline WPI inflation to about 7 percent and core inflation to about 4.2 percent.
7. Food inflation is worrying but all possible steps to be considered to augment the supply side to meet the growing demand for food items.
8. Government expenditure has both good and bad outcomes and the trick is to find the correct level of Government expenditure.
9. Encounter with a huge fiscal deficit, Government expenditure rationalized in 2012-13. Some economic space retrieved. Space to be used to further the Government’s socio-economic objectives.

THE PLAN AND BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS

1. Revised Estimates (RE) of the expenditure in 2012-13 at 96 percent of the Budget Estimates (BE) cause of slowdown and austerity measures.
2. In 2013-14, BE of the total expenditure of Rs.16,65,297 crore and of Plan Expenditure at Rs.5,55,322 crore.
3. Plan Expenditure in 2013-14 to expand at 29.4 percent over Revised Estimates for the current year.
4. All flagship programs fully and adequately funded and sufficient finances provided to each Ministry or Department consistent with their capacity to spend funds.
5. Budget for 2013-14 to have one overarching goal of creating opportunities for our youth to receive education and skills that will get them decent jobs or self-employment.

SC, ST, Women and Children

1. Allocations for Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan increased continuously over the allocations of the current year. Finances allocated to these
2. Sub Plans may not be diverted.
3. Rs.97,134 crore assigned for women related programs and Rs.77,236 crore allocated for programs relating to children.
4. Ministry of Women and Child Development to design programs or plans that will address the concerns of women belonging to the most vulnerable groups, involving single women and widows.
5. A supplementary sum of Rs.200 crore proposed to be provided to the Ministry to begin work.

Minorities

1. A rise of 12 percent over the BE and 60 percent over the RE of 2012-13 to the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
2. Allocation of Rs.160 crore to the corpus of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation to grow its corpus to Rs.1,500 crore during the 12th Plan period.

Disabled Persons

1. A sum of Rs.110 crore to the Department of Disability Affairs for the ADIP scheme or plan in 2013-14 against RE 2012-13 of Rs.75 crore.

Health and Education

1. Health for all and education to all remains first.
2. 37,330 crore assigned to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
3. New National Health Mission will avail of an allocation of 21,239 crores.
4. 4,727 crore for medical education, training and research.
5. 150 crore offered for the National Programme for the Health Care of the Elderly.
6. Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy are being mainstreamed. Allocation of 1,069 crores to the Department of AYUSH.
7. 1,650 crore allocated for six AIIMS-like institutions.
8. Allocation of 65,867 crores to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, an increase of 17 percent over the RE of the current year.
9. 27,258 crore offered for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA).
10. A rise of 25.6 percent over RE of the current year for investments in Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).
11. 5,284 crore granted to Ministries/Departments in 2013-14 for scholarships to students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, Minorities, and girl children.
12. Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDM) to be provided 13,215 crores.
13. The government committed to the creation of Nalanda University as a center of educational brilliance.

ICDS

1. 17,700 crore allocated for ICDS in 2013-14 representing an expansion of 11.7 percent over 2012-13.
2. Allocation of 300 crores in 2013-14 for a multi-sectoral program aimed at overcoming maternal and child malnutrition. Program to be implemented in 100 districts in 2013-14 to be scaled to cover 200 districts the year after.

Drinking-Water

1. 15,260 crore granted to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
2. 1,400 crore offered for setting-up of water purification plants in 2000 arsenic and 12000 fluoride-affected rural habitations.

Rural Development

1. Allocation of 80,194 crores in 2013-14 for Ministry of Rural Development marking an increase of 46% over RE 2012-13.
2. Proposal to carve out PMGSY-II and allocate a portion of the finances to the new program that will benefit States such as Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Rajasthan.

JNNURM

1. Rs.14,873 crore for JNNURM in BE 13-14 as in opposition to RE of Rs.7,383 crore. Out of this, an important portion will be utilized to support the purchase of up to 10,000 buses, mainly by the hill States.

AGRICULTURE

1. The average yearly growth rate of agriculture and allied sectors was 3.6% during XI Plan against 2.5% and 2.4% in IX and X plans respectively.
2. In 2012-13, total food-grain production will be around 250 million tonnes. The minimum support price for every agricultural production has expanded significantly under the UPA Government.
3. Rs.27,049 crore allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, an increase of 22 percent over the RE of the recent year.
4. Agricultural research provided Rs.3,415 crore.

Agricultural Credit

1. For 2013-14, the target of agricultural credit kept at Rs.7 lakh crore.
2. Interest subvention scheme for short-term crop loans to be continued scheme enlarged for crop loans borrowed from private sector scheduled commercial banks.

Green Revolution

1. Bringing the green revolution to eastern India a marvelous success. Rs.1,000 crore granted in 2013-14.
2. Rs.500 crore allocated to start a program of crop diversification that would promote technological innovation and motivate farmers to select crop alternatives.
3. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and National Food Security Mission offered Rs.9,954 crore and Rs.2,250 crore respectively.
4. Grant for the integrated watershed program increased from Rs.3,050 crore in 2012-13 (BE) to Rs.5,387 crore.
5. The allocation made for a pilot program on Nutri-Farms for introducing new crop diversification that is rich in micro-nutrients.
6. National Institute of Biotic Stress Management for addressing plant protection issues will be initiated at Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
7. The Indian Institute of Agricultural Bio-technology will be initiated at Ranchi, Jharkhand.
8. A pilot scheme to replant and rejuvenate coconut gardens implemented in some districts of Kerala and the Andaman & Nicobar enlarged to the entire State of Kerala.

Farmer Producer Organizations

1. Matching equity allocations registered Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) up to a maximum of Rs.10 lakhs per FPO to enable them to leverage working capital from financial institutions.
2. Credit Guarantee Fund to be generated in the Small Farmers’Agri Business Corporation with an initial corpus of  Rs. 100 crore

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