For 51-year-old homemaker Rupa Chatterjee, the Union Budget has brought no cheer.
A resident of Contractor’s Area in Bistupur, Rupa is most upset that despite coming to power with a massive majority, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s maiden budget does not spare a thought for the middle class and senior citizens of the country.
“We were hoping that after such a huge victory the budget would be liberal and throw up sops for the middle class and have something for senior citizens. In fact, there was opinion expressed in certain sections of the media that interest rates for senior citizens would be increased. But nothing of that sort has been announced,” rued Rupa, wife of Bank of India officer Krishnendu Chatterjee.
“To top it all, additional duty and cess on fuel (diesel/petrol) would lead to a rise in prices of essential commodities too,” she said, referring to the Rs 2 hike per litre on account of customs duty and cess.
The homemaker also felt that income tax slabs should have be tweaked to increase benefits.
“We were expecting some more sops in the tax structure for salaried persons. But nothing has happened. Instead, prices of furniture, newsprint, imported stainless steel products and raw materials for making of soap have been increased,” said Rupa, who is managing a household of four members, including her son and 85-year-old mother in-law.
She welcomed Sitharaman’s “Naari to Narayani” pitch by proposing an interest subversion programme for women’s self help groups (SHGs) across districts, but said that more should have been done in the education sector.