Why I didn't like the budget: A student's view of Budget 2012

Dear Finance Minister,

I hated hearing that long budget speech of yours. Who wants to know if there was an increase in the paddy yield? All I cared about was going to the US, getting a foreign degree and making some money. But do you care?

You are now giving my parents second thoughts about sending me abroad. So what if there’s no service tax on pre-school and high school education? That’s in India. Of course I am not bothered!

You increased the service taxes on all other things from 10 percent to 12 percent. This obviously means my father has to pay more for my GRE tuition and TOEFL tuitions.

For all you know, he might just decide to keep his money in his savings account for it to grow; as you announced that will give him higher income tax exemptions on it and maybe he’ll send me to a college in India. That’s not what I want.

He’s already talking about reducing my pocket money and now you have given him good reason to do that.

The education loan I would take to study abroad won’t come cheap. On top of that, eight years is all I have to repay back the loan. Eight, just eight? Couldn’t you, our finance minister, increase it to 10 years, at least?

Yes, I know you are allocating funds to research centres in India, but I still want to go abroad to study.

You promised to ensure better flow of credit to us, by proposing a Credit Guarantee Fund. But when will that be set up? I want to go abroad the next year as soon as my I am done with high school, but this ‘credit thing’, I am sure, will not be set up so soon. The way India functions it will take another five years. Can you promise you will set it up this year?

You also proposed to set up more schools in rural areas. Ok, I understand development. But what about women’s development? Girl child education and all that? Nothing.

No easy loans even for the girls, while the interest rates will continue to remain at par with the boys.

And even if I forget education abroad for a moment, what about that bike that my father was supposed to give me next month? You’ve  made that expensive too. And now that will have to wait too.

Sincerely patient,

A student who did not like your budget