Right intent

Right intent

With continued emphasis on education and healthcare, AAP government does well on allocation
Historically the Indian political class has given stepmotherly treatment to education and healthcare, which has contributed greatly to India falling behind in the comity of nations. It is a welcome step, therefore, that the Delhi government has broken the mould by allocating close to a quarter of its overall budget to education. On Monday, finance minister Manish Sisodia presented a Rs 65,000 crore budget with spending tilting towards education, health and transport. Also, keeping in mind the current public health challenge, the budget specially allocated Rs 50 crore to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak.

Interestingly, the AAP government wants to establish at least five ‘schools of excellence’ in all of the city’s districts. Also, it aims to benchmark its school education against global standards by participating in the PISA test in 2024. The Delhi government has also decided to join the national health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat and increase the bed capacity of its hospitals. Emphasis on education and health is called for all the more in a state where services dominate economic activity. Investment here will provide the best possible returns socially and economically.

On the other hand, irrational elements in the subsidy policy have begun to show up as a manifestation of patronage. The electricity allocation has gone up on account of the complete write-off for consumption up to 200 units a month. Given this, it’s resource misallocation to have another subsidy for lawyers’ chambers. Delhi recorded a revenue surplus last year but the economy faces huge challenges now and some subsidies are unjustifiable. On balance, the Arvind Kejriwal government deserves credit for intent. But it should also facilitate, rather than obstruct, private investment in education and health which can provide much needed quality, diversity and depth to these critical sectors of the economy.