Something for everyone

A day after presenting his maiden Budget which was aimed at setting the tone for an entire year of elections, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh...

A day after presenting his maiden Budget which was aimed at setting the tone for an entire year of elections, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh spoke to NAVIKA KUMAR of The Indian Express. Jaswant announced his decision to stick to his Budget proposals without bowing to political pressures.

8226; There has been criticism of your Budget on the grounds that while it gives sops to the rich, with cars and AC prices coming down, it has raised the prices of fertilisers for farmers. How do you react to this criticism by a former Finance Minister and do you think you are ready to reconsider any of these decisions?
I think this is an unfair criticism. My colleagues in Parliament should reflect on the entire fabric of complex ideas in the Budget rather than pulling out a single thread. There is a lot of emphasis in the Budget on agriculture and rural development. There is a move to bring about a technological revolution in agriculture through drip irrigation, agriculture credit through Post Offices is a new approach to cover maximum farmers and spreading the self help groups culture immensely popular in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Further the interest rates for agriculture credit will now be at least four per cent lower than before with a cut in PLR. The rest, agriculture is a State subject and the Centre can only act as a catalyst.

With this if there is a modest increase in prices of 1-2 per cent in fertilisers to cover the 44 per cent increase in naphtha prices, it is reasonable. Anyway the forum for discussion on the issue is Parliament and no decision will be taken outside it.

We have also addressed two crucial agriculture sectoral problems on plantations and sugar.

8226; You have announced a 50 paise cess per litre of petrol and diesel but Petroleum Minister Ram Naik has okayed a Rs 1.50 hike, do you think this is internal BJP-party politics to make the Budget look harsh?
I don8217;t think that the decision to hike petrol/diesel prices needs any involvement of the minister, it is taken by the oil companies. If you ask this question then you must be linking it to the Budget exercise and so will the common man. But I can8217;t tackle all fronts and will concentrate on what I have to do. I hope people will look at steps taken on health insurance, infrastructure, on debt management and debt retirement which will be remembered more. In any case international prices of oil are at a high of 36 per barrel but this is temporary and may come down.

8226; You have virtually dumped the Kelkar Commission8217;s recommendations on doing away with tax exemptions despite the solid economic logic. Did politics overpower you?
Kelkar Committee8217;s recommendations on Direct and Indirect Taxes were in two parts8212;tax rates and administrative reforms. Almost 90 per cent of the second part has been accepted and is under implementation. For the rest, these decisions have to evolutionary rather than revolutionary. How could I have done away with exemptions on housing as this sector grew by 30 per cent as a result of these.

As far as taxing agriculture is concerned, this is a State subject and no suggestion for this was made. What was suggested however was that urban farm owners should be taxed and I admit we ignored this.

Story continues below this ad

8226; You have announced a lot of projects in infrastructure sector on roads, ports, airports and convention halls, but the power sector which has been the missing link in the last few years hasn8217;t been given any impetus. The announcement on mega power project status could be a non starter as the 18 earlier such projects which are languishing. Do you think the government is helpless in pushing this sector forward?
I wouldn8217;t say the government is helpless but we have our limitations. States have to take the initiative and move on. Sadly that has not happened. There is limitation in the Budget speech on mentioning things for every sector separately. I wanted a very short speech but my officials kept urging to include this and that and ultimately it became very long and maybe there wasn8217;t enough on the power sector. But I have announced duty cuts on equipment.

8226; You have tried, for the first time, to discipline ministries8217; expenditure by imposing quarterly cash limits. Do you think this is workable in the long run and there wouldn8217;t be pressure on you to revoke the system?
I have not said that there is no money for ministries and their projects. What I want to change is the Budget as an exercise in numbers, it has to do with physical achievement of targets. Money will be available for ministries on a quarterly basis with details on what projects it would be spent on and till that is completed, the next tranche will not be released. The expenditure secretary has held meetings with various ministries and we are sure this will work.

8226; Are you worried about traditional ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 for every Budget announced by a Finance Minister and the reaction of capital markets which tend to show the success that a Budget has received?
Investors have been traumatised by the the capital market after two major scams and one vanishing company over the last 10-11 years. I can8217;t overnight instill confidence. I have to keep trying and it will take time. Worry in Hindi is 8216;chinta8217; and there is a saying that 8216;chinta aur chita mein ek bindi a farak hai8217; there is a difference of a point between worry and deadbody. No I don8217;t worry about these things, I just want to do the task I set off for and leave it at that.

With Santanu Ghosh