Bhubaneswar, Feb. 24: The man on the street seems to be happy that the Budget presented by finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei today lays emphasis on cheap rice, social security and old age pension.

The reactions to the hike in the monthly pensions for the aged, the physically challenged and widows from Rs 200 to Rs 300 have been overwhelming.

“Any welfare state should first think of addressing the needs of the most vulnerable groups. I am happy that the government thought of raising the old age pension amount,” said Bharat Sahu, a retired government employee.

Urmila Rout, a widow, said: “Call it populist if you want, but this Budget is good news for people like us for whom even an increase of Rs 100 in the pension amount matters.”

The hike in pension amounts for these three groups would benefit 37 lakh people. Even more significantly, the budget has set aside Rs 918.19 crore for social security schemes, which means that many other disadvantaged groups would reap the benefits.

However, former minister of state for finance, Panchanan Kanungo had a different take on the issue.

“The people going gaga over the government’s supposed generosity fail to realise that while the pension hike would entail an additional financial burden of only Rs 150 crore, they have raised the valued added tax to generate around Rs 400 crore. So, it’s no big sacrifice,” he said.

There is no denying the populist overtones of the budget, which appears to be specially tailored to address the demands of women and the poorer sections that constitute the main vote bank of the Biju Janata Dal. The government has raised the allocation for the immensely popular Rs 2 a kg rice scheme from Rs 1,083 crore to Rs 1,140.57 crore with the obvious objective of bringing more people under its umbrella.

The budget, which has made an allocation of Rs 2,723.69 crore for the women and child welfare department, has kept schemes such Mamta for pregnant women, integrated child development (ICD) and women self-help groups in focus. While Rs 540 has been set aside for ICD, the state would be contributing Rs 270 crore for the implementation of Mamta scheme under which cash is transferred directly to the accounts of pregnant women. The women self-help groups would be promoted with an allocation of more than Rs 48 crore.

No wonder women have lapped it up. “It’s good that the government continues to think of our welfare as we constitute the most vulnerable section of the society,” said Mrugyakhi Mallick, a homemaker.

There have also been positive reactions to the announcement about the proposed expenditure of Rs 100 crore on Mo Kudia Yojana to provide houses to the poor and an allocation of Rs 113 crore for the repair of panchyat roads.

The allocation of Rs 1516.16 crore for agriculture, an increase of 42.6 percent compared to last year, has been hailed by farmers who constitute another sizeable chunk of voters. “Agriculture has been neglected for a long time. It needed a boost,” said Prabhat Mishra, a farmer.