Budget of Hope is daunting task

Already dubbed as a “Budget of Hope”, the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has a daunting task in trying to fulfil the varied aspirations of different sections of society as he unveils UPA-II’s first Budget on Monday.

From the middle class to corporate honchos, everyone is looking for some magic from the finance minister, who could instil confidence in the economy by taking care of their “legitimate” demands. But going by the current economic reality, Mr Mukherjee’s hands are tied, with low growth (6.8 per cent) and a high fiscal deficit (5.5 per cent). Under these circumstances, the most experienced minister of the government will have to strike a balance between earnings and expenditure.

The finance minister could abolish the fringe benefit tax in the Budget, but to compensate for the revenue loss he might well roll back the two per cent cut in service tax announced in the Interim Budget in February.

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Steep hike in oil prices

In a surprise move, the Union government bypassed the Cabinet to raise the price of petrol by Rs 4 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 2 a litre with effect from Wednesday midnight. In the state, the hike was Rs 4.44 for petrol and Rs 2.17 for diesel.

The petroleum minister, Mr Murli Deora, told reporters that the hike was necessitated because of rising international crude oil prices which have doubled to $70 a barrel. Mr Deora only consulted party leadership and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to decide on the hike. The decision was rushed through since the Parliament’s Budget session is to begin on Thursday and the government wanted to act before that. The weekly Cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday.

Mr Deora said the government will not raise the domestic LPG and kerosene prices though the public sector oil companies are losing Rs 92.96 per cylinder and Rs 15.26 per litre of kerosene respectively.

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Akula land deals to be probed

The Ranga Reddy district administration has initiated an inquiry into the land dealings brokered by Mr Akula Rajaiah, who reportedly facilitated the sale of thousands of acres of land to the Ramalinga Raju family and their associates.

The CID says Mr Rajaiah is untraceable. It wants to question him for his land dealings with the Raju family.

The Ranga Reddy collector, Mr Dana Kishore, told this newspaper that revenue officials had been instructed to keep a tab on Mr Rajaiah’s land dealings. The collectorate has also filed an appeal with the Land Reforms Appellate Tribunal to register a case against Mr Rajaiah.

The administration had in 2007 issued notice to Mr Rajaiah questioning his role in land sales. He replied that he had only dealt in land as a general power of attorney (GPA) holder.

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