The front flags abysmally low spending on education, health, agricultural infrastructure, and other people-centric sectors
LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI – The Union budget would further weaken people’s purchasing power and aggravate recessionary trends, inflation, and the overall economic crisis in the country, the All India People’s Front (AIPF) said on Monday.
Reacting to the Union Government’s budget of ₹53.47 lakh crore presented in Parliament on Sunday, the National Working Committee of the AIPF said in a statement that the fiscal strategy clearly prioritises corporate interests while shifting the burden of resource mobilisation onto ordinary citizens.
AIPF National President SR Darapuri, IPS (Retd), pointed out that the estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the financial year 2026–27 stands at ₹393 lakh crore, while nearly ₹16 lakh crore of the budget’s resources are being mobilised through borrowings and other liabilities. “This has led to a rapid increase in national debt, with as much as ₹14 lakh crore being spent solely on interest payments,” Darapuri said.
He further noted that corporate tax contributions amount to ₹12 lakh crore, which is significantly lower than the ₹14.6 lakh crore collected through income tax, largely paid by the middle class. “This clearly shows who is bearing the burden of sustaining the economy,” he said.
According to the AIPF, the much-touted increase in capital expenditure largely benefits corporates and the wealthy, as investments are concentrated in sectors such as national highways and railway corridors. “Spending on education, health, agricultural infrastructure, and other people-centric sectors remains abysmally low,” the statement said, adding that while the common man is made to shoulder the cost of resource mobilisation, public expenditure on their welfare has stagnated.
A comparative analysis of budget shares, the AIPF said, reveals only marginal increases in education expenditure—from 2.54 per cent to 2.60—and health—from 1.94 per cent to 1.95—both below the prevailing rate of inflation. At the same time, allocations have declined in critical sectors such as rural development (from 5.25 to 5.10 per cent), agriculture and allied activities (from 3.13 per cent to 3.04), food subsidy (from 4.62 per cent to 4.25), and fertiliser subsidy (from 3.31 to 3.19 per cent).
“These figures show that the government has effectively abdicated its responsibility towards social security,” Darapuri said.
The AIPF also highlighted severe underutilisation of funds in flagship schemes. In the much-publicised internship programme, only ₹526 crore was spent out of the allocated ₹10,831 crore, leading to a sharp reduction in the budget to ₹4,788 crore. Similarly, only ₹4,900 crore was utilised out of ₹7,089 crore allocated for Eklavya Model Residential Schools, while under Skill India, merely ₹200 crore was spent against an allocation of ₹2,700 crore.
The budget, the AIPF said, fails to address even basic demands such as filling large number of vacant government posts, ensuring dignified wages for scheme workers, and restoring the old pension scheme for government employees.
Concluding its reaction, the AIPF said the overall direction of the budget is aligned with the interests of corporations and the wealthy elite. “What the country needed was progressive taxation on corporate wealth and high-income groups to reduce dependence on debt and increase investment in job creation, social welfare, MSMEs, and agriculture,” the statement said. “Instead, this budget will further erode people’s purchasing power, weaken social security, and push the country towards a deeper economic crisis.”
