objectives of government budget Related: Scanner Chapter 12 - Budget(...
“A government budget is an annual financial statement showing item wise estimates of expected revenue and anticipated expenditure during a fiscal year.”
Just as your household budget is all about what you earn and spend, similarly the government budget is a statement of its income and expenditure. In the beginning of every year, government presents before the Lok Sabha an estimate of its receipts and expenditure for the coming financial year.
Objectives of a Government Budget:
It should be kept in mind that rapid and balanced economic growth with equality and social justice has been the general objective of all our policies and plans. General objectives of a government budget are as under:
(i) Economic growth:
To promote rapid and balanced economic growth so as to improve living standard of the people Economic growth implies a sustained increase in real GDP of the economy, i.e., a sustained increase in volume of goods and services. Public welfare is the main guide.
(ii) Reduction of poverty and unemployment:
To eradicate mass poverty and unemployment by creating employment opportunities and providing maximum social benefits to the poor .In fact, social welfare is the single most important objective. Every Indian should be able to meet his basic needs like food, clothing, housing (roti, kapda, makaan) along with decent health care and educational facilities.
(iii) Reduction of inequalities/Redistribution of income:
To reduce inequalities of income and wealth, government can influence distribution of income through levying taxes and granting subsidies. Government levies high rate of tax on rich people reducing their disposable income and lowers the rate on lower income group.
Again, government provides subsidies and amenities to people whose income level is low. Again public expenditure can be useful in reducing inequalities. More emphasis is laid on equitable distribution of wealth and income. Economic progress in itself is not a sufficient goal but the goal must be equitable progress.
Redistribution of income:
Equalities in income distribution mean allocating the income distribution in such a way that reduces income inequalities and also there is no concentration of income among few rich. It primarily requires that rate of increase in real Income of poor sections of society should be faster than that of rich sections of society. Fiscal instruments like taxation, subsidies and public expenditure can be made use of to achieve the object.
(iv) Reallocation of resources: (D11; A10):
To reallocate resources so as to achieve social and economic objectives .Again, government provides more resources into socially productive sectors where private sector initiative is not forthcoming, e.g., public sanitation, rural electrification, education, health, etc. Moreover govt. allocates more funds to production of socially useful goods (like Khadi) and draws away resources from some other areas to promote balanced economic growth of regions. In addition govt. undertakes production directly when required,
(v) Price stability/Economic stability: (A2012):
Government can bring economic stability, i.e., control fluctuations in general price level through taxes, subsidies and expenditure. For instance, when there is inflation (continuous rise in prices), government can reduce its expenditure. When there is depression, government can reduce taxes and grant subsidies to encourage spending by the people.
(vi) Financing and management of public enterprises:
To finance and manage public enterprises which are of the nature of national monopohes like railways, power generation and water lines etc.