Only a few days are left for the country's budget to be presented. On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the country's interim budget. This will also be the last budget of the current Modi government. This is the reason why people have a lot of expectations from this budget. Everyone from the salaried class to the middle and lower class have different expectations from the Finance Minister. While there are speculations that the Finance Minister may woo the salaried class people with the budget, this budget may also be very special for the people working in your house. In this interim budget, she can make a special announcement for the domestic helpers working in homes.
They can get benefit
In view of high inflation in this financial year, Sitharaman may give some benefits to the people at the bottom of the economy. These would probably be rural people as they are suffering from inflation as well as low demand in rural areas. However, another category that may benefit from the Budget is the urban poor, the Finance Minister may open her box to not only provide them relief from high inflation but also to consolidate a new voting block.
Scheme for domestic workers
The budget may provide some form of social security to millions of domestic workers. ET recently reported that this could be a step towards universal welfare payments as envisaged under the Social Security Code, 2020, which has not yet been implemented.
Thinking about these
Some of the benefits being considered include minimum wage, pension, medical insurance, maternity benefits and provident fund. A senior government official told ET that they are considering all options but the final decision will be taken after getting the exact number of domestic workers in India.
Can join salaried
Domestic workers are included under the 'salaried' category in the Social Security Code. This means that after the implementation of the code, domestic workers will be entitled to wage-related benefits or wages defined by the government. The proposed scheme will give details of the benefits, rate of contribution and the total share of the beneficiary, employer and government.
ET has reported that the Labor Bureau under the Ministry of Labor and Employment has conducted the All India Domestic Workers Survey and is in the process of finalizing it. The government will work out the cost implications after examining the data and work profile before arriving at the outline of the proposed social security benefits.
Rural India has long been a subject of economic concern due to high inflation and weak demand. Lack of rainfall in key agricultural states has hampered the revival of rural demand seen in the first two quarters of the financial year. Abneesh Roy, executive director, Nuvama Institutional Equities, said the demand for NREGS, along with high rural unemployment, reflects rural stress. El Nino derailed the initial green shoots seen at the beginning of FY24. There are alternative avenues of expenditure like increasing aggression of small players and higher expenditure on education, medical, telecom charges.
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