AIKS on Union Budget 2025-26: Budget is an Attack on Livelihoods of Farmers, Workers and Poor
The Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman is anti-poor and tailor-made for the corporate cronies and the rich. Even as the contribution of agriculture and allied sectors to the GDP has increased to 16 per cent the budget allocation for agriculture and allied activities is lower than the Revised Estimates of 2024-25. While the Revised Estimates of 2024-25 was Rs. 376720.41crores the 2025-26 allocation is only Rs. 371687.35 crores. When inflation is accounted for, this is a huge cut in allocation. Real expenditures for agriculture and allied activities have steadily fallen since 2020-21; farmers are clearly not the priority of the BJP-led NDA Government. There is nothing in the budget to ensure legal guarantee of MSP, expand procurement or free farmers from indebtedness. Even the Parliamentary Standing Committee recommendation to ensure remunerative prices has been thrown to the winds.
The increased share of agriculture sector in employment rising from 44.1 per cent in 2017-18 to 46.1 per cent in 2023-24 indicates a reverse migration from urban areas as there are no employment opportunities. In an extremely insensitive manner, the budget allocation for the MGNREGA has been kept at just Rs.86,000 crores. There is no emphasis for generation of employment in the countryside. The Government is stopping all funds to the National Institute for Rural Development and there is zero allocation in the budget for it; this also is a telling reflection on the BJP-led NDA Government’s apathy towards rural development and the rural poor. Food subsidy is lower than the allocation made in 2024-25. The allocation for distribution of pulses to State/Union Territories for Welfare Schemes is zero, while the last Budget had allocated Rs.300 crores. The much-hyped exemption of income tax up to Rs.12 lakh is aimed at quick electoral gains; increasing prices, high levels indirect taxation, increasing food, health, education, travel expenses will all bring to nought if at all any benefit is accrued through this exemption.
The allocation to the Flagship Programme of the Government, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for crop insurance has seen a drastic cut from Rs.15,864 crores to Rs.12,242.27 crores. There has been no increase in allocation to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and the Scheme has had no adjustment even for inflation since 2019 when it was first initiated. Fertiliser subsidy has been cut from the Rs.171298.50 crores to Rs.167887.20 crores, a cut of Rs.3,411.30 crores. The hollow claim of a Six-Year Initiative of Atmanirbharata Mission for Pulses is exposed when the total allocation for the Mission is merely Rs.1000 crores. This claim ironically comes from a Government that just 10 days ago extended duty-free imports of arhar/tur and are incentivising farmers in Mozambique and other countries. In 2024 imports of pulses almost doubled to 60 lakh tonnes (between January and November). There is also nothing new in the claim that NAFED and NCCF will procure pulses for the next 4 years to ensure price stability; it only exposes the fact that the private sector will not be willing to buy at MSP. A Dhan Dhyan Krishi Yojana has been announced claiming that it will cover 100 districts with low yields and benefit 1.7 crore farmers but there is no separate allocation for it. It only is a rehashing of existing programmes. No allocation has been made for Price Stabilisation Fund for Rubber or for mitigation of the Wild Animal Menace.
AIKS calls upon units across the country to burn copies of the Budget and make the SKM-JPCTUs protest on 5th February a massive success.
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Ashok Dhawale Vijoo Krishnan
President General Secretary
