Budgetary Thrusts

Romesh Thapar FOR six dreary months, the country has been waiting for the outlines of a Congress(I) programme. Electioneering was obviously in the way. So, everyone waited for the budgetting. Apart from the fact that the prices of many critical agricultural and industrial inputs have been raised through active lobbying in the Capital, and the hikes in the prices of petroleum prices have boosted transport costs, the first budget for the Railways sent a shock through the system. But we have to pay for inefficiency and neglect. Naturally, the main Budget sparked a million speculations.