'Am Not in Favour of Directly Stimulating Consumption'

India should prioritise income growth rather than directly boosting consumption, says T.V. Somanathan, Union finance secretary. In an interview with Parth Singh, he says that the Union Budget emphasises job creation and addresses existing skills gaps.

- Parth Singh

You have supported various groups, such as the start-up sector, through this Budget. However, the middle class feels let down.

There are considerable benefits for the middle class in this Budget, particularly in terms of tax reliefs on salaries and changes in income tax slabs. Additionally, several other schemes have been announced, including education loans for those who do not otherwise receive benefits under existing government schemes. This will cover the entire residual middle class.

Skilling loans and the new internship programmes are among the initiatives that will benefit the middle class. Overall, the middle class has received significant support from this Budget.

How do you plan to utilise the underperforming labour-intensive sectors to create 8 million jobs a year? An estimate suggests that we are creating 4–5 million jobs annually.

The answer to your question lies in the way you have formulated it. You mention that labour-intensive sectors need more support. The fact that our three new schemes are entirely targeted at the amount of labour employed means that these sectors have a comparative advantage.

The more labour-intensive you are, the more benefit you will get from these schemes. These are not schemes based on investment or production subsidies. If you are an MSME [micro-, small- and medium-enterprise], in footwear or in textiles, you will automatically benefit more from these schemes due to their designs. The idea is to support sectors that employ more labour.