FM’s word: deconstructing budget speech for keywords

‘Investment’ and ‘growth’ get far less mention than budget 2014

GN Bureau | February 29, 2016


#jean dreze   #arun jaitley   #budget 2016  
Finance minister Arun Jaitley presenting budget in Lok Sabha
Finance minister Arun Jaitley presenting budget in Lok Sabha

Going purely by the number of times a keyword is mentioned (or not mentioned), it seems finance minister Arun Jaitley too has finally given up on the two big promises of the BJP: investment and growth.Budget 2016

 
According to an analysis, ‘investment’ was mentioned 34 times in the 2014 speech, but only 23 times in Budget 2016. ‘Growth’ had 31 mentions back then, but now only 20.
 
MGNREGA found only two mentions in 2014, but only one today. Jaitley spoke of ‘nutrition’ twice two years ago, but the word didn’t feature anywhere today – signaling maybe it is not on the government’s radar. ‘Social security’ is down from one mention to zero.
 
And then there are some terms dear to a section of social scientists that find no mention in either budget. For what they reveal, they are: children, integrated child development services, midday meals/school meals, maternity/maternity entitlements, national food security act, and pensions (other than for the organised sector).
 
Noted economist Jean Dreze, forwarding this analysis, adds, “The latest budget speech perpetuates a chronic blindness to basic social needs. Children are not mentioned at all and nor are (say) nutrition, social security or maternity entitlements.”
 
 
 

Comments

 

Other News

Consumer Justice at a Crossroads

Over the past four decades, India`s consumer protection landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation. What began with the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as a simple mechanism to empower ordinary citizens has evolved into a comprehensive framework capable of addressing challenges ranging from mislea

Doctors, experts call for ban on junk food ads, mandate warning labels

More than 30 doctors, medical scientists and public health professionals have urged the government to take decisive action against the aggressive advertising and marketing of junk food, calling for a watershed ban on advertisements for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) and ultra-processed foods (UPF

Asiatic Lion population rises from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025

On World Lion Day 2026, environment, forest and climate change Minister  Bhupender Yadav celebrated India’s remarkable journey in lion conservation and reaffirmed the country’s unwavering commitment to protecting wildlife and biodiversity.   In a post on soc

Railways imposed ₹5.13 crore fine for food quality and hygiene violations

Indian Railways serve about 58 crore meals every year on an average. About only 0.0008% food quality related complaints are received on average. Based on complaints during the last three years, appropriate penal actions have been taken by IRCTC. Such actions include imposition of fines amounting to ₹5.13

STHAVAR: Why every Indian built asset needs a permanent digital identity

India has built digital systems for identity, payments, taxation, documents, logistics and public services. State governments, ministries, infrastructure agencies and urban local bodies have also created portals for land records, building permissions, project monitoring, property taxation and municipal s

Saksham Skill census identifies 22,000 job-ready candidates in one Mumbai ward

A first-of-its-kind AI-enabled skill census conducted in Mumbai`s H-West Ward has identified a potential livelihood pipeline of nearly 22,000 candidates, generated over 32,000 provisional job matches while revealing that 71.2 per cent of surveyed homemakers are willing to join the workforce, according to

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter