Will Budget-2022 herald a new perspective for rural youth?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget for 2022-23 on February 1, 2022. It is expected that the upcoming Budget, in many ways, will be a landmark owing to the despondency the country waded through during the last financial year.

This budget will be different in many ways. It can lay the potential foundation for a long-term socio-economic growth path to achieve the dream of transforming India into a healthy economy.

The social sector of India is facing challenges due to several reasons. One of the major reasons for this is the multi-dimensional impact of Covid-19. Their various effects have adversely affected human life and the health of every corner of the country. The circumstances created due to these reasons have given rise to a new society and a new kind of needs. This is a year to reboot and reorganise the social and CSR sector which has run a rough patch because of the pandemic in the previous two years.

Skill University

The budget must focus on employment generation through special skilling programmes and entrepreneurship development schemes. As India aspires to become a versatile economy, it should in the same proportion equip its youth by giving them future skill training so that they are better equipped to take up jobs in the changing environment. Government must look at floating a scheme of establishing Skill Universities and allotting funds and providing an enabling environment for the same. A Skill University Policy along with financial support for skilling will ensure the workforce in India is future-ready. India needs a ready-to-work skilled workforce to drive the economy and social sector. Need-based skilling may provide a new ray of hope to youths.

Microenterprises in rural India

The budget must also find ways to boost a wave of new micro-enterprises in rural India to create more employment opportunities outside agriculture. Building the entrepreneurial capability of rural youth through business training, easing the norms to start businesses, and creating a fast loan disbursement mechanism for micro-enterprises in villages can help infuse new entrepreneurial energy in villages. In this regard, there is a need to conduct special awareness campaigns to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among the rural youth of India. Rural youth will have to be provided with a new perspective to find employment and self-employment opportunities around them. The upcoming budget should be liberalized for the youth and it should be a youth-centric budget. This budget should perfectly strike a balance between the aspirations of the Indian youth and the needs of the ever-growing economy.

Unspent CSR amount

There is still a need to bring clarity regarding the unspent CSR amount. Unspent CSR amounts should be spent for constructive purposes. We have given great importance to money in CSR, whereas we should emphasize solving the inequalities prevailing in the society. Money is important only when it solves any societal problem. It is, therefore, not a good policy to allow the unspent money to be carried forward to the next year. Special provision should be brought in this budget regarding the expenditure of unspent CSR budget.

Public-private partnership for social sector

The government needs to give importance to the concept of Public-Private Partnership in the social sector. The government should involve social organizations and private sector institutions in the government's priority works and schemes. We should promote Public-Private partnerships on subjects like education, health, skill development, water conservation, environmental protection, and women entrepreneurship development. By doing this, the participation of citizens in the social sector will increase. The provision should be included in this budget so that the powers vested in Public-Private Partnership can be harnessed more and more.

Social stock exchange

The spirit of innovation is developing very fast among our youth. They want to contribute to solving the problems of society. All this is not possible without financial resources. In our country, funds should be easily available to do social good and there should be a good system to do it. The concept of the social stock exchange can become a very beneficial and multipurpose system for a democratic country like India. With such a system, the general public will be able to invest in the good works of society. The government should think in this direction and bring its provision in this budget. Funding for socially relevant products and services in India is challenging.

(The author is the founder of India CSR Network)