MANGALURU: It was a mixed reaction in the coast for finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget which one the one hand left middle class smarting from a bouquet of cess,’ while on the other hand, people opined that given the constraints of a recession combined with the worst pandemic the FM could have done little to present a bold budget to accelerate growth and revive consumer demand.
Dr B Srinivas Kakkilaya, physician, while appreciating the allocation to healthcare sector said although it is termed as the biggest ever allocation for healthcare at Rs 224000 crore, the budget document reveals an allocation of only Rs 71269 crore compared to Rs 65012 crore spent last fiscal, with the rest meant for water and sanitation! ``With 70% Indians already infected, the additional Rs 35000 crore for Covid vaccine may not be spent. Announcement of Rs 64,180 crore for PM AtmaNirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana for six years, hence for now, it s only an announcement,’’ he surmised.