60.9% say the middle class expected more from Budget 2021

New Delhi, Feb 2 The middle class expected much more from the Union Budget 2021 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, as per the C Voter Budget Snap Poll 2021.

The most decisive verdict of the poll conducted with a sample size of 1200 respondents is that 60.9 per cent said that as the middle class they expected more from the Budget while 26.5 per cent said no.

To articulate the worries over inflation, 59.6 per cent said that inflation will increase after the Budget while 25.2 per cent said otherwise.

To the majority, the country's fiscal deficit stands at 9.5% and is a big concern. 59 per cent said it is a big concern while 27 per cent said it is not.

The focus of the Budget for 2021 is not clear to many respondents. As many as 28.6 per cent could not identify the main focus of the exercise while 27.4 per cent said it was farmers and 22 per cent said it was health, 13.9 per cent said it was to collect money.

However, people are happy with the increased outlays for health. 47.4 per cent said they are happy that the government has increased the health budget by 135 per cent while 35.1 per cent said they are not happy.

A slim majority of 40.9 per cent said that the angry farmers will not be happy with the announcements while 40.2 per cent said yes.

Similarly, a slim majority of 41.9 per cent said the Budget presented by the Finance Minister has not met their expectations while 40.8 per cent said it has met their expectations.

A majority of 44.2 per cent are disappointed that there has been no change in the income tax slab while 40.7 per cent said they are not disappointed.

The message that has gone out is that more announcements have been made for the election-bound states with 46.4 per cent respondents saying yes and 36.4 per cent answering in the negative.

Almost two thirds agree that through this budget, the government has tried to give a message that health is of utmost importance. 62.5 per cent agreed with this proposition while only 24.7 per cent said no.

The majority does not feel that this budget indicates that the treasury of the government is empty with 44.2 per cent saying so but the worrying number is that a high percentage at 42.2 per cent thinks the treasury is empty.

( With inputs from IANS )