New Delhi: The Department of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) organized a Panel Discussion on the Union Budget 2024-25 on 06th August 2024, at the Model Class Room of the department. The event commenced with opening remarks by Prof. Asheref Illiyan, Head of the Department, who outlined the all-encompassing nine priorities presented by the Finance Minister in the union budget 2024-25. The distinguished panellists of the event were: Prof. Pulin B Nayak, former Professor, Delhi School of Economics, and Prof. Arun Kumar, former Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning (CESP), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The session was moderated by Professor N. A. Azad, former Professor, Department of Economics, JMI.
Prof. Pulin addressed the gathering with retrospection on the Indian economy’s journey to a three trillion economy and commented on the current state of the economy. He flagged his concern regarding the labour market in the economy where jobs growth and real wages have been sluggish which may have contributed to widening inequality. He emphasised that the budget usually allocates insufficient funds to the health and education sectors. India conventionally spends a significantly lower share of its GDP on social sectors compared to other countries which is true for this budget as well. He highlighted reduction in funding for University Grants Commission which may adversely affect public institutions of higher education. He also argued that growth of private universities will not be able to fill these gaps as the quality control of private higher education institutions is a major issue. He also commented on quality issues in primary education in India. Prof. Pulin concluded his speech by emphasising the need for more fund allocation to social sectors like education and health etc.
The second speaker, Prof. Arun Kumar, established the context by providing an overview of the economic and political underpinnings of the current budget. He highlighted the fact that the budget usually becomes confusing for common people because it often states projected 5-year expenditure instead of the exact amount that the Government is actually planning to spend in the immediate year of the budget. Further permission for loans are also announced as part of the budget statement.
Subsequently, he elaborated that allocations in the budget are not going to help the informal sector , as most employment related announcements are mainly going to help the formal sector. It was important to keep the informal sector in consideration during the budget process as it provides employment to 75% of the non-agricultural workforce in India. With regards to fiscal consolidation Prof. Kumar highlighted that budget should have explored new sources of revenue growth instead of curbing expenditure on social sector given the high levels of inequality the country is facing While summing up he iterated that the budget focuses on supply side policy options to boost the economy and employment but most experts indicate that Indian economy faces lack of effective demand implying that budget may not succeed in stimulating the economy.
Prof. N. A. Azad moderated the session, facilitating comments and further discussion on the panellists’ presentations. He underscored that despite challenges India has advantages of the largest young population in the world and has been emerging as the best destination for foreign investment. The event concluded with a detailed question-and-answer session, where the audience raised comments, concerns, and questions.
The event was enthusiastically attended by students, research scholars, and faculty members from various departments and centres of the university. The event concluded with a formal vote of thanks proposed by Dr Zakaria Siddiqi, Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, JMI. The event was coordinated by Dr.. Vasim Akram and Dr Md Kashif Khan of the Department of Economics, JMI.
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