Now the Hard Part

The government has put the growth plan in place by announcing a bold and new-age Union Budget. Now the mega task before the government lies in the execution of the plan

- Shivanand Pandit

INDIA has seen bold budgets, realistic budgets and reformist budgets over the years. In the midst of amazingly high public anticipation regarding Union Budget 20212022, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who promised a “like never before budget”, presented the first-ever paperless budget.

Attempting to accelerate India’s growth after a once-in-a-century tremor, the finance minister pressed a few right buttons. While presenting the Budget, she has fundamentally come clean on the Budget arithmetic. By declaring higher fiscal deficit numbers of 9.5 percent of the GDP and 6.8 percent of the GDP for fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022, respectively, she has placed the convincing assessments of revenue receipts and recognised “off-balance sheet” expenditures.

The Budget’s emphasis on increasing public investment by 34.5 percent in fiscal year 2021-22 as compared to the current fiscal year 2020-2021 is impressive. The finance minister, while presenting the Budget, mentioned that the government will borrow an extra Rs 80,000 crore for the purpose in the next 60 days. Achievement of this target would significantly depend on tax revenue realisations, disinvestment proceeds, sale of rail and road assets and the government’s capacity to nurture resources from the market, without raising interest rates for the private segment. Though the Budget obtained high marks from various industrialists, much more remains to be done. Let us look at a few disappointments delivered by this promising Budget.