56% say Budget will push up monthly expenses

New Delhi, Feb 1 About 56 per cent of the people believe that the Union Budget tabled in the Parliament on Monday will push up their monthly expenses, while a mere 16.1 per cent are of the view that it will leave more money in their hands, according to the C-Voter Budget Insta-Poll.

The poll, which was conducted after the presentation of the Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, included a sample size of 1,200 people selected randomly across all demographics.

The surveyor gauged the responses through three parameters – whether the Budget will push up their expenses, allow them to save more or won't make any difference. The responses were then compared to the percentage gathered since 2013.

According to the survey, 56.4 per cent of the people expect that the Budget will push up their expenses, in comparison to 47.3 per cent last year, 39.7 per cent in 2019, 64.4 per cent in 2018, 54.3 per cent in 2017, 62.8 per cent in 2016, 64.4 per cent in 2015, 72.9 per cent in 2014 and 81.2 per cent in 2013.

The comparison shows that most number of people were of the view that their expenses would shoot up a year before the NDA-led BJP government came to power in 2014. The percentage has now decreased by almost 25 per cent, which is a relief for the incumbent government.

Besides this, 16.1 per cent people believe that the announcements made in the Budget will allow them to save more, in comparison to 10.8 per cent a year before the BJP government took over. About 16.9 per cent people now believe that the Budget will make no difference on their expenses.

While Sitharaman provided a major boost to healthcare and infrastructure in the Budget, there was not much relief for the middle class as there was no change in the income tax slabs this year.

( With inputs from IANS )