It is a fact that the farmers of the country are facing a crisis of such enormity that some of them have been driven to desperate measures to the extent of suicide. Every year, an average of almost 1,50,000 cases of farmers committing suicide is reported in India. This 60,000 crore scheme will bring respite to these farmers. This, however, is a short term measure. What is really needed is an investment in agriculture to uplift the condition of the farmers in all respects such as irrigation, technological up gradation, provision of proper seeds and fertilizers, etc. Some provisions have been made in this budget for seeds and fertilizers, the success of which will depend on the system of delivery adopted by the different states.

In total, the budget allocation for the North East will increase from Rs 14,365 crore in 2007 -08 to Rs 16,447 crore in 2008 – 09. Stating that the North East region and especially Arunachal Pradesh and the bordering areas face special problems that can not be tackled in the usual course or through normal schemes, the Finance Minister said that the government proposes to identify the urgent need of these areas and address them through a special mechanism. He also announced his proposal to set apart a sum of Rs 500 crore in a fund dedicated to this purpose. Also, allocation for flood control projects for the North East region and Sikkim has been hiked to Rs 14.20 crore from Rs 58.39 crore. The Special Purpose Tea Fund that was set up last year for re – plantation and rejuvenation has been earmarked Rs 40 crore. This package was set up with the intention of reviving the ailing tea industry. The Finance Minister has also proposed to set up centres for development as mega clusters in the handloom sector. The government proposes to invest about Rs 70 crore in developing each cluster. An initial amount of Rs 100 crore was earmarked. However, there are some key areas in which the budget falls short. For example, the special centenary grant of Rs. 20 crore to the Tocklai Experimental Station at Jorhat is a meager sum compared to the amount of Rs 100 crore grant initially applied for. The Tocklai Station at Jorhat of the Tea Research Association will celebrate its centenary in 2010. It is in the process of upgrading its facilities and expanding its activities to cover the North East region, North Bengal and Darjeeling. Incidentally, both the projects are in Union Minister of State for Fertilizer and Chemicals, Bijoy Krishna Hendique’s Parliamentary constituency. The Federation of Industry and Commerce of North East Region (FINER) said that the budget would be of help to the North East as it would enable it to reap the benefits of an enhanced budgetary allocation. However the allocation made for the region falls short in view of the prevailing regional imbalances prevalent in the region for the last few decades. FINER also called upon the leadership of the North East to pressure for more funds out of the allocation made available at the national level. It also expressed its disappointment over the fact that there was no mention about abolition of the Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) and measures for restoring of the Tax Free Zones spirit enunciated by the North East Industrial Policy.

While looking at the budget from a North East perspective, we find that the focus of the government is on connectivity. First, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar, DoNER minister announced on 19th March 2007 the air connectivity of intra regional nature. Then, in the railways budget, railways minister Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav announced that all the state capitals of the North East will be connected by railway by the year 2010. Now, Mr. Chidambaram has announced the SARDP – NE programme envisaging development of road infrastructure has been set a target of 300 kms of road construction in 2008 -09. Last fiscal year, 180 kms of road had been constructed. Connectivity is the key to development and this has been rightly recognised by the concerned authorities. We only hope that in this case, words are turned into action.