Sir — The article, “Winning hearts” (Feb 4), by Swapan Dasgupta essentially hails the bluffs by the finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Union budget for 2021-22 as revolutionary. At the same time, he is critical of all economists who do not blindly support the policies of the Narendra Modi government. This is not expected of a learned man.

The claim that there is a 137 per cent increase in the health budget this year is untrue. While Sitharaman announced a total outlay of Rs 2,23,846 crore in the health budget — it was only Rs 67,112 crore last year — this was a result of clubbing several allocations together. This outlay includes Rs 35,000 crore for the Covid-19 vaccine drive, Rs 60,030 crore for drinking water and sanitation, and an allocation of Rs 2,970 crore for the Ayush ministry, among others. The finance minister also introduced a new scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, and announced that Rs 64,180 crore will be spent over the next six years. This means that only Rs 10,696 crore will be spent on the implementation of the scheme per year. When it comes down to numbers, there has been little increase in the amount being allocated to the health ministry.

It is unfortunate that India continues to rank abysmally low — the country ranked 145th out of 180 countries in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 — when it comes to public health expenditure. Dasgupta has praised the government for keeping the post-Covid economic situation under control. But the last few months have been devastating for the common people. The economy was already in tatters pre-Covid as a result of demonetization and other ill-thought-out economic policies. While Dasgupta is upbeat in his observations about the budget and its potential to bring relief to the people of the country, the reality could not be further from the truth.

Somak Ghosh,
Calcutta

Sir — The year 2020 was undoubtedly one of the most difficult for millions of people around the world. As the Covid-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt, many lost their jobs and struggled to make ends meet. The Indian government stepped in at a crucial juncture and dealt with the pandemic well. To boost the economy, the government had to be bold and come up with an efficient and generous budget.Its plans of raising Rs 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment in public sector companies is going to be closely monitored, especially the disinvestment in the Life Insurance Corporation, the largest financial institution in the country. It is hoped that this move will financially benefit the nation both in the short as well as the long term. It seems to be the best budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman so far. Now hopefully proper execution will follow suit.

Rahul Chouhan,
Ujjain

Sir — Swapan Dasgupta’s blanket adoration of the Union budget for 2021-22 is unfortunate. The budget leaves much to be desired. Moreover, if economists also gloss over the inadequacies of the budget, there will be no hope for any improvement.

Sounita Ghosh,
Siliguri

Inspirational figure

Sir — It was wonderful to read about Pabitra Sarkar, the 43-year-old athlete representing India in international meets for veterans. Sarkar, who was a footballer in his youth, had to give up sports to meet the financial needs of his family. He worked for years in a Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages factory in Siliguri before he got the opportunity to relive his dreams. Since then, he has received many accolades. Sarkar’s pursuance of a career in sports later in life proves that it is never too late to achieve your dreams.

Ronit Sinha,
Calcutta