Post-Budget requests piling up on FM's table

BUDGET RESPONSE: There were complaints after the Budget that not many would benefit from the loan-waiver.

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New Delhi: Vidharbha may finally get what it's praying for. After hundreds of suicides, a loan waiver that really makes sense to the farmers.

There were complaints after the Budget that not many would benefit from the loan-waiver.

Vidharbha is essentially dry land and yield is too low. The ceiling for loan waiver has to be increased beyond two hectares.

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is being projected by the party as its next icon and his word is not just mantra for the party, it's also a command for the Government.

So, expect Chidambaram to accede to this demand. Also on the list of expectations is a waiver extension to weavers.

The tragedy of the Indian weavers is being described as a silent killer with the percentage of suicides higher than the farmers.

It's not just Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh weavers who would benefit. A waiver for weavers might mean a lot to states having a Congress mass base like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

A loan waiver for weavers may cost the government roughly Rs 1100 crore. But waiver requests have been flooding UPA government, especially the Prime Minister's office.

Pleas have been made on behalf of fishermen on the west coast, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Then there is a waiver demand for backyard poultry farmers from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

The Finance Minister may not please everybody in his response but these issues may be addressed later during the run-up to the polls.