Nagas are really not good with numbers, generally speaking. We generally tend to be afraid of numbers. True, there are exceptional cases but most of us simply find it difficult to process number-based information. Whatever be the reason for this drawback, we need to work on this disability. In this day and age, when everything is about numbers, we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to this. It is as if we are faced with some sort of a mass dyscalculia, figuratively speaking. Dyscalculia literally is a learning disorder or disability that affects a person’s ability to understand number-based information and math. People who have dyscalculia struggle with numbers and math because their brains don’t process math-related concepts like the brains of people without this disorder.

 

We simply find numbers boring. And what can be more boring than understanding the numbers behind the budget, be it union or state. As is the case with any number-based information, Nagas have over the years shown very little interest in understanding and discussing the state budget, let alone the union budget. However, the budget is the financial blueprint of the state and every citizen should understand it as it gives a rough picture of how much money the government expects to raise during a financial year and how it intends to spend the same. It is a statement of the government’s receipt and expenditure. Citizens, particularly those who are very active during elections, should be able to not only know but also explain the government’s budget outlay. Besides, academics and students of economics should make conscious efforts to study the budget, research on it and publish their findings – perhaps even organize talks or workshops to dissect and analyze the budget. Moreover, since there is no real opposition in the state Assembly, it is now left to the economists, concerned citizens and intellectuals to critique the budget. Unfortunately, seldom do we even come across people engaged in intellectual sparring on the topic of the budget.

 

Nagaland has not seen a finance minister for more than 20 years now and the chief minister is by default the minister in charge of the finance department. It is amusing to see the most important department of the government without an independent minister in charge but let us save that point for another day. The Chief Minister on Monday presented the 2023-24 budget and, no surprises, it was a deficit budget. It seems laying deficit budgets has become a rule by convention. Apart from critiquing and criticizing the government’s economic policy as reflected in the budget, which is the hallmark of a vibrant democracy, it is also important to study the budget and not only find the flaws but also suggest corrective measures to the government. For instance, the state of Nagaland according to the CM earned revenue of Rs 1,092.21 crore in state GST during 2021-22. How, then, can that revenue be enhanced by say 5% year on year? 59% of the state’s budget is spent on salaries, wages and pension while 10% is spent on loan repayment and interest. Only 24% is spent on development while the remaining 7 % is spent on other recurring expenses. That, in a nutshell, is what the CM called a ‘balanced budget’.

 

Mokokchung Times

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