Boom or bust: Indian economy story

ldquoThe world is predicting that itrsquos Indiarsquos chance to flyrdquo said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday Actually the world has been saying this for years just that Indians did not believe it Who really can We are so busy negotiating the daily hassles of commuting earning saving and paying our taxes Those damn taxesAnd every budget makes us feel like thieves It robs us of our dignity Every single rupee saved is seen as a rupee robbed from the taxman No seriously What fly Please allow us our yearly crib At least that isnrsquot taxable so far Or do I have to show my PAN card before cribbing I mean cribna hamara janmsiddh adhikaar hai Cribna is my birthright and I shall have it You get the picturelsquoBrief casersquo for middle class India In essence when you tax everything there are no savings so what is the point in giving tax relief for savings It just hurts the dignity of the middle class Yup and there are approximately 400 million of them PicPTIFirst I have to go hunting for Indianmade cell phones mixergrinder and microwave ovens because yes you guessed it they are cheaper Once they are made that is Then they will arrive in the shops then I will buy them then I will get them repaired then I will find a cheaper imported model as a standby in case the Indian model dies on me Thatrsquos the way our lives work right Back up for everythingSo why doesnrsquot any finance ministry gyani realise that when the 400million salaried middle class has to buy backups pay taxes pay EMIs there really is nothing left for savings insurance and pension that you want to give tax benefits forIn essence when you tax everything there are no savings so what is the point in giving tax relief for savings It just hurts the dignity of the middle class Yup and there are approximately 400 million of them Many donrsquot even pay taxes But holdon just think so many votes But then that is Amit Shahrsquos problem I suppose And not really a problem for another four years Yeah I know Bengal and Bihar elections are due But then that has been taken care of in the EastIndia package by the WestIndia origin Prime MinisterBack to the middle class With service tax and education cess hiked from 126 to 14 all that one had accepted as necessities now become luxuries Smartphones air travel eating out vacationshellip even a pedicure and manicure damn it So basically the government is telling us donrsquot spend more And that is good for the economy how I donrsquot get it The Indian economy may be headed for a boom but many Indians are feeling a sneaking sensation of going bustFirst take great pride in becoming alldigital Indiahellip how everything is going to be available on your handsets from postal services to weather updates for fishermen to womenrsquos security apps Then make phones so expensive that the poor and middle class find it difficult to buy them But then I guess one should be happy when one is 80plus and ldquonot eligible to take health insurance deduction is allowed for Rs 30000 toward medical expenditurerdquo Seriously you are killing me with so much kindness And my grandma who is 90plus will also figure out that you have been so generousAnd humour too You increase transport allowance exemption from R800 to R1600 per month Barely had one opened the bubbly Pepsi not champagne that you increase petrol fare and diesel prices by over Rs 3 But we should be happy I guess that some rich dudes are going to be miserable with that FERAlike law returning Those guys thought that just because they donated to the BJP campaign they could take their summer vacation in their villas in Southern France I mean you got to line up like schoolboys and shake hands with President Obama That should be enough The honesttoGod government is not going to be a grateful friendIt has just delivered an amazing gift to ED tax inspectors who must be salivating at the thought of threatening people with jail terms even for the most minor fault Itrsquos never the big fish but the small ones who will face the wrath of the new laws Sending the inspector after you now threatening with seven to ten yearsrsquo rigorous imprisonment on the suspicion of stashing away some undeclared wealth abroad Chakki peesing and peesing in India ShiningSmita Prakash is Editor News at Asian News International You can follow her on twitter smitaprakash