Schemes and taxes.

In the Union Budget 2023-24, "Of the Rs 45 trillion total expenditure, Rs 10 trillion was allocated for capital expenditure, primarily for infrastructure, representing a 33% increase from the previous year." In contrast, healthcare got Rs 891.55 billion and education got Rs 1.12 trillion. Investment in infrastructure creates jobs immediately and is a great opportunity for photo ops which are useful for winning elections. But, "A population that is undernourished, poorly educated and unhealthy cannot fully harness the benefits of advanced highways or industrial parks," wrote Rajeshwari UR. That is not entirely true. While direct spending on education and healthcare may not look much, the Central and state governments provide a plethora of subsidies in direct cash transfers and in kind. The Centre's subsidy bill peaked at Rs 7.58 trillion (3.8% of GDP) but is expected to be lower at Rs 4.28 trillion this year. TIE. The Central government lists 320 Direct Benefit Transfer Schemes (DBT) from 54 ministries. dbtbharat.gov.in. As for the states, "The Economic Survey of 2022-23 had pointed out that as of December 2022 there were more than 2,000 such schemes run by state governments." Through DBT, "India is moving towards a universal basic income," wrote Vivek Kaul. The government finances these handouts through taxes and borrowing. In this year's Budget "the gross and net market borrowings during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs 14.01 trillion and Rs 11.63 trillion respectively." pib.gov.in. All this borrowing adds to government debt. The government's internal debt from market borrowing was Rs 163 trillion on 31 March 2024 and is projected to increase to nearly Rs 176 trillion on 31 March 2025. inidabudget.gov.in. The government can reduce its debt load by collecting taxes and by generating inflation. High inflation increases goods and services tax (GST) collections and direct taxes as workers demand higher wages. Also the value of debt falls. Economics Help. The Reserve Bank has been helping the government by tolerating consumer price (CPI) inflation at around 6%. RI. The government is constantly seeking to increase the tax load on citizens. Inflation indexation on capital gains from the sale of equities and properties was removed the Budget. ET. The Budget aimed to collect net tax receipts of Rs 25.83 trillion, thus setting a target for the tax officials. To meet their targets, officials resort to excessive demands and to harassment and bullying. No wonder Indians are groaning under the violence of tax terrorism. ET. "The government is making a concerted effort to recover direct and indirect tax arrears amounting to over Rs 46.57 trillion. HT. Whether these are genuine or an attempt to extract money under pressure is not known. While taxpayers are treated with contempt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has written off Rs 16.11 trillion in unpaid bank loans in the last 10 years, wrote Jawhar Sircar. Cronies all? Those who can, escape. Around 4,300 millionaires were expected to leave India in 2024, less than 5,100 that left in 2023. Mint. Thousands of schemes and taxes by terrorism. By a scheming government.