Sunday, Budget, and the Art of Selling Dreams

See All News by Ravish Kumar

Hello.

Tell me—did the budget ruin your Sunday?
Or are you already feeling Monday on a Sunday?

There’s an old saying in the stock market: nothing bad happens on a Sunday.
Well, congratulations. That record has been broken too.
The Sensex fell by nearly a thousand points.
Eight lakh crore rupees disappeared into thin air.

To call this budget “good,” even the most loyal TV experts had to work overtime.
They twisted words, stretched logic, and stitched together forced optimism.
And even after all that hard work, they still couldn’t find much to praise.

So finally, they found duty.

Yes—duty.

Three kinds of duties were announced in the budget.
The same duties the Prime Minister reminds us of in every budget speech, every village speech, every national address.

Earlier, they were called targets.
Before that, vision.
Then foresight.
Now—duty.

The budget has slowly stopped being a financial document.
It has become a long speech.

And this didn’t happen suddenly.
For years, budgets have been moving in this direction.

First, Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Then Amrit Bharat.
Then Viksit Bharat.
Then New India.
So many versions of India were launched, finally someone remembered—oh yes, duty.

We even renamed buildings.
The Finance Ministry now operates from Kartavya Bhavan.
Ministers, however, are still not called Kartavya Mantri.
That reform may come later.

The Finance Minister delivered a long speech — what vision lies ahead for which sector.
Seaplanes.
Waterways.
Textile parks.

Listening to it, you felt a strange familiarity.
Like hearing an old song on repeat.

Seaplanes?
Weren’t they launched during the Gujarat elections?
Big dreams were shown.
Then the seaplane quietly stopped flying.
Since 2021, it hasn’t taken off.

Now we’re talking about air taxis on the Sabarmati riverfront.
And suddenly—seaplanes are back in the budget.

Before you start dreaming again, remember: you’ve already seen this dream.
And you’ve already seen it crash.

Last year, with great enthusiasm, the PM Internship Scheme was announced.
It was said to change the future of India’s youth.

This year, its budget has been cut by 95%.

From ₹10,830 crore in estimates
to just ₹526 crore in revised figures.

In October 2024, companies offered 1.65 lakh internships.
Only 33,000 students joined.

This is not a statistic.
This is a reality check.

But let me pause here—
because there’s an announcement you probably didn’t notice.

People were expecting tax relief on insurance premiums.
It didn’t happen.

So let me say something boring—but important.

Health insurance is also a form of savings.
Illness doesn’t come with advance notice.
You can’t carry cash in a bag when emergencies strike.

Today, there are plans that cover diabetes, BP, thyroid, asthma from day one.

And term insurance — the purest form of life insurance — the earlier you take it, the cheaper it is, and the premium stays locked for life.

Every earning member should have one.
It ensures your family doesn’t collapse financially if you’re gone.

This isn’t budget advice.
This is life advice.

Now back to the budget.

We’re told Amrit Sarovars will be developed for fish farming.
Please, visit one in your district.

In 2020, we were told every district would revive ponds.
75 ponds per district.

It’s 2026 now.
Look around.

You’ll understand budgets differently after that visit.

Smart Cities failed.
So now we have City Economic Zones.

Labels change fast in this government.
Reality doesn’t.

Delhi itself is gasping for breath.
But we’re promised new urban dreams — so that you keep dreaming every Sunday.

Make in India?
Skill India?

Curiously absent.

Manufacturing was talked about loudly in 2014 and 2015.
This year, the Finance Minister forgot to even mention Skill India.

The CAG says thousands of crores were misused.
So perhaps silence is safer.

Manufacturing’s share in GDP has fallen from 19% in 2006–07 to about 14% today.

China moved ahead.
India is now sixth in Asia.

If India had made even one product that scared China, we would have heard about it daily.

But there isn’t one.

And yet, we are now told—
India will manufacture containers.

China makes 95% of the world’s containers.
India makes a few thousand.

China makes 50 lakh containers a year.
India plans to scale up from 3,000.

This is called ambition.

Or maybe—budgetary fiction.

The same story repeats with lifts, fire-fighting machines, boring machines.
Global companies dominate.
We enter late.
Very late.

And then there are waterways.

Twenty new waterways in five years, we’re told.

India has been announcing waterways since 1988.
In 2016, it finally started.
In 2023, Parliament was told—63 waterways couldn’t start
due to lack of funds and staff.

Out of 111 notified waterways, only 29 work.

But speeches flow smoothly.

AVGC—animation, gaming, comics—labs in schools, colleges.

Children already learn this on YouTube. What they need is freedom.

In a country where videos invite FIRs and threats, creativity cannot flourish.

Write this down and keep it in your pocket.

The government is chasing trains that left the platform long ago.

Like that school sentence we once translated:
“By the time I reached the station, the train had left.”

That sentence now fits the budget perfectly.

For twelve years, slogans filled pages.
Now even slogans are tired.

If this budget ruined your Sunday, don’t feel bad.

At least you spent it understanding why.

Good day.
I’m Ravish Kumar.

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