I heard her announcing that the budget is constructed on the 6 pillars of health and well-being, physical, financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D and minimum government and maximum governance. I caught the Minister talking about incentives for gig workers and night shift facility for women, which meant more women could enter and stay in the workforce, thanks to safety and security measures that employers are to provide. I listened carefully to the tax proposals but didn’t find anything specific to women and children. I was a bit nervous wondering what will I speak on the radio that evening. As they say, one hears only what one wants to. Only when Dr. Shankaranarayana (who incidentally is a qualified Company Secretary !) highlighted ‘Mission Poshan’ did I realise that I am guilty of focussing on the ‘India’ side of the Budget and ignoring the ‘Bharat’ side. Poshan 2.0 scheme in an umbrella scheme covering the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyaan, Scheme For Adolescent Girls and National Creche Scheme, with an outlay of Rs. 20,105 crore.

It struck me that there is lot more to focus than just corporates and tax proposals. My thoughts travelled back to how my maid’s daughters looked forward to attending school only because of the mid-day meals scheme that ensured milk, eggs and a hot meal. With the pandemic shutting down schools, meals were the first calamity. Many such children were forced to go hungry and back to villages to work in the fields or worse still – to be married away underaged. That evening I connected the dots and emphasised on how Mission Poshan 2.0 could also get the children back to schools, how the spurt in girl-child marriages during the pandemic could be quelled through some of the schemes. The reasons and triggers for malnutrition, school drop-outs, child-marriage, early motherhood, failing health, poverty, rising debts – all are closely intertwined in a complex web that requires both Government intervention and societal efforts. The next morning when Lakshmi, my house-maid announced that while she didn’t understand most of what I spoke about the Budget, but caught my statement on child-marriage and malnutrition, I felt my 10 minute talk on the radio was worth it. I re-emphasised to her as to why she must allow her daughter to choose education and financial independence over marriage and children.

The Union Budget 20-21 is already a fortnight old but not old enough to be stale. Its impact is expected to be long term as per some experts who term it as a growth-oriented budget, an investment budget, a forward-looking budget, a historic budget, a bold budget and what not. As always, there are a few others who feel the whole budget exercise is redundant and must be scrapped like many other colonial vestiges of the past. Well, without taking any sides, our associate CA R Krishnamurthy has presented a dispassionate, comprehensive round up of the direct and indirect tax proposals in the Budget. A careful reading is recommended to understand the intricacies. Without a professional’s help, the provisions are neither easy to interpret nor implement.

There is a booster vaccine dose for One Person Companies, Small companies & Startups as you will get to read in the regulatory updates that this 254th issue of Samhita carries. Balaji suggests some good usages of phrases in English to express opinions and disagreements – it counts to say it. But it certainly counts to learn how to say it effectively ! Communication (in Latin) after all means ‘to share’. For any previous issues of Samhita and the readers’ feedback, please visit http://www.sharadasc.com/resource-center/.

Happy Reading,

S.C. Sharada