Youngistaan Budget 2014

New Delhi: Nearly 47.8% of the Indian population is currently below the age of 29 and by 2021 it would touch the 50% mark. It is expected that by 2020, 20% of the workforce in whole world would be Indians and soon India will have 136 million graduates compared to 23 million in China and 11 million in the US. Since youth is turning out to be the integral part of the Indian economy, the views and expectations of youth from the upcoming budget requires special attention and needs to be taken into account effectively.

The young working class hopes for a tax relaxation from the upcoming budget. “A good amount of money is deducted from my salary as tax making it reasonably difficult to survive properly and lead a comfortable life,” says Ritesh, a young employee in a medical firm. Eradication of the lopsided tax system is also in high demands as the Finance Minister gets ready to present his maiden Budget on July 10. “Revamp the Income Tax System. Tax the rich, spare the poor. Give tax expectations for the low/middle income groups to boost savings and investment,” says Umesh Kumar, a Marketing professional.

While the salaried class is hoping high on several expectations, Students also hope for something to come their way. While the relaxation in the indirect taxes – charged on every product purchase – is the top priority for them, getting relaxation in passing of educational loans also makes its way in the students’ expectations list.

 “Government should work on making the procedure of education loans easier with deducting the current rate of interest, which is presently 10.5%-12%,” says Priti Raj, a 3rd year Engineering student. The government should also consider to in lowering the rail fares as we have to travel a lot, she added.

“The government should work on making more and more colleges and universities that can create new avenues of employment in the nation, says Pratyush, a 12 standard student. 

“Addressing difficulties faced by the students for admission in government institutions, the centre should raise the number of colleges under government universities”, says Arshita, a Medical aspirant seeking admission in a government college

While the list of expectations and the hopes are too high among the people, it would be really interesting to see what Arun Jaitley has in his kitty, when he will present the Budget in the Parliament.