Page 64 - EducationWorld March 2023

Cover story II

as committing to the fiscal consoli- these two premier industry represen-
dation glide path. Most importantly, tative bodies. Critics say that FICCI
a historic outlay for public capex is a and CII are special interest lobbies
continuation of the heavy lifting since rather than nation-building organisa-
the time of the pandemic and will have tions.
a multiplier effect across myriad sec- Curiously, although MSMEs (me-
tors of the economy besides crowding dium, small and micro enterprises)
in private investment… The finance generate 6.11 percent of the country’s
minister has imparted confidence industrial output and employ 30 mil-
that growth remains a priority with- lion workers, they don’t seem to have
out compromising on fiscal consoli- a rep organisation. A prolonged search
dation,” says Subhrakant Panda, of the Internet didn’t yield an address
president of the Delhi-based Federa- for eliciting the collective response of
tion of Indian Chambers of Commerce MSMEs to Union Budget 2023-24.
& Industry (FICCI, estb.1927), a major However according to Sohini Mit-
representative organisation of Indian ter writing in the online edition of
industry which has membership of Business Today (February 1), MSMEs
over 100 chambers of commerce and are also pleased with the Union Bud-
500 corporates countrywide. Sitharaman: negligence tradition get 2023-24. “The Finance Minister’s
T HE REACTION OF THE Del- the foundations for the long-term vi- the MSME sector, which was one of
2023-24 Budget has brought cheer for
hi-based Confederation of
the worst affected in the pandemic.
sion with focus on agriculture and
Indian Industry (CII), a
rival big business lobby rural development, technology and Many micro, small and medium enter-
prises, which were still reeling due to
R&D, sustainability, urban reforms,
which has a membership of 9,000 cor- encouraging private sector invest- the Covid-19 impact can expect some
porates countrywide, is equally posi- ment through the Ease of Doing Busi- relief in terms of finances as well as
tive. However, please note that FICCI ness and inclusive development,” says ease of doing business. The govern-
and CII tend to acclaim every Union Chandrajit Bannerjee, Director- ment has announced an extra corpus
Budget for public relations reasons. General of CII in an elegant formal of Rs.9,000 crore in the revamped
The consensus in India Inc is that statement issued after the budget was credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs,
it’s advisable to comment on the silver presented to Parliament and the na- which will enable them to avail ad-
lining of even populist anti-industry tion on February 1. ditional collateral-free credit of Rs.2
budgets because — despite liberali- It’s noteworthy that Bannerjee who lakh crore. It will also reduce the cost
sation and deregulation of 1991 and has been DG of CII for 15 years doesn’t of credit by 1 percent. Also, MSMEs
since — finance ministry babus who have a word to say about education now stand to get 95 percent of forfeit-
design the Union Budget, have suffi- and human resource development. ed amount from the government and
cient residual power to throw a span- This suggests that within FICCI and other undertakings for contract failure
ner in the works of any corporate or CII, there’s inadequate awareness of during Covid-19,” writes Mitter.
conglomerate countrywide. the critical connection between edu- But although finance minister Sith-
“The continued thrust on capital cation and industry productivity and araman seems to have pleased India
expenditure will boost overall eco- that building strong bridges between Inc with her Budget 2023-24 tax and
nomic productivity, crowd in private the academy and industry is neces- spending proposals, following a long
investment, and drive growth through sary. Repeated requests for interviews and negligent tradition of North Block,
a multiplier effect. Capex spending is and inputs by your editors are blocked Delhi, she has paid scant attention to
budgeted to rise steeply for the third by trendy public relations managers of the vitally important education sector.
year in a row. This is in line with CII The Centre’s provision for educa-
recommendations… While supporting The Centre’s provision for tion at Rs.1.12 lakh crore is a mere 7.7
growth with equity, the Budget does percent higher than in 2022-23 barely
not fall short on the fiscal consolida- education in Budget 2023- covering inflation. This allocation ag-
tion imperative. The projected fiscal 24 at Rs.1.12 lakh crore is a gregates to a mere 0.37 percent of the
deficit of 6.4 percent in 2022-23 and GDP of Rs.301.75 lakh crore forecast
5.9 percent for 2023-24 is very much mere 7.7 percent higher than for 2023-24.
in line with what CII had suggested, in 2022-23 barely covering Although it’s true that a substan-
and will help India weather the global inflation tially greater share of national expen-
uncertainties... The Budget lays down diture for education is borne by state

66 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2023