There is a quick need for India to align the existing union budget with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stated a presentation by Shailesh Haribhakti, a renowned Chartered Accountant. It stated there needs to be a targeted intervention.
The goals of SDG-aligned budget are the universal basic income and services available to all by 2023; India’s SDG ranking to 50 from 117 by 2024; and USD 10 trillion economy by 2027.
Tweaking the 17 SDGs in a way that could meet India’s needs, the presentation terms them as ‘India’s 17 moonshots’.
It stated the top priority should be given to focus on the most disadvantaged by making universal basic income and services available to all. It should look at raising the per capita rural GDP income to USD 5,000.
Other solutions provided are:
Find and feed every hungry Indian;
Empower every woman;
Make all last mile irrigation deliver water;
3-D print 10 million homes;
Dramatically reduce inequalities through Implementation of the 4 social security codes;
Health Care: Digitize, Telemedicine, Vaccination, and Home care;
Quadruple farmer income, Agri-preneurial revolution in food and grain trade, enable remigration to villages;
Implement National Education Policy;
Pivot power to 90% renewable energy;
Deliver decent work for all by bringing accountability to center stage;
Massive industry innovation and technology adoption for 10X productivity;
Make all rural and urban interventions climate resilient;
Reimagine all spaces, Reignite real estate;
Taxation : Extreme simplification, 35% tax to GDP ratio; and
Extremely efficient judiciary
The presentation suggests that the entire willing woman population should be employed. It also stated every state government should look at implementing the four social security codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupational safety and health. Commenting about agriculture, it stated by 2020, agriculture should be independent of monsoon. In the case of irrigation, it stated, the budget should make provisions whereby all incomplete irrigation projects are completed in six months’ time.
In the education sector, it suggested private and global investments should be welcomed. “Learning and teaching to be brought to every Indian from the best source in the world”. By 2023, it suggests India should achieve 100 per cent net enrolment ratio in elementary and secondary education through phygital schools.
In the case of taxation, the presentation stated, personal income tax should be simplified. “Make tax filing as unnecessary as we pivot to tax determination.” Other suggestions include ultra-simplification of GST via no exemptions and no composition; three rates for entire economic activity : 0,10,15; uniform laws for all states; and encouraging external trade by pivoting to a simplified and low import duty regime.
It also talks about e-courts, robo judges, algorithm-driven decisions, speech to text enablement. “No pendency beyond six months,” was also suggested.
