Indian budget

Please refer to the Indian budget announced on Feb.1. The number one problem troubling all Indians is the high inflation in prices of daily-use items like milk, vegetables, staples, cooking oils, etc. This pivotal concern of ordinary citizens has not been addressed or even discussed adequately.

Whilst the official figures of inflation range between three to six per cent, at the street level, daily necessities including cooking gas, cost eight to ten per cent more, than the previous year.

The vulnerable sections of Indian society receive free food grains and financial subsidies very month. So they have some protection from the escalating prices. It is the middle classes which face the brunt of continuous inflation. They pay high taxes, receive no reliefs and yet have to maintain a certain living standard.

The middle classes of India are really squeezed. Unfortunately their woes have been ignored in the recent budget.

Rajendra Aneja,

Mumbai, India