Interim Budget to focus on Viksit Bharat

The interim budget to be tabled in Parliament on February 1 is likely to present a report card of the decade-old central government, provide relief to the middle class, announce measures to check inflation, continue key subsidies, focus on agriculture, incentivise manufacturing, strive for saturation of welfare schemes, take for-ward the mission to build a $5 trillion economy by 2027-28 and underscore the two-decade-long Viksit (developed) Bharat road map, three people aware of the preparations said.

The interim budget, also known as the vote on accounts, will be an opportunity for the government to reiterate its economic vision with a focus on women, youth, farmers and the poor, including scheduled castes and tribes, ahead of the parliamentary polls due in the summer, they said, requesting anonymity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently articulated a long-term vision for economic development in India. "Four amrit pillars of Viksit Bharat are India's nari shakti, yuva shakti, the farmers and the poor families of India," Modi said at an interaction with welfare beneficiaries on November 30.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is unlikely to announce any major new scheme on February 1. "Announcements of welfare schemes are expected later in the Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto," one of these people said.

"Being a vote on account, the interim budget is expected to announce only urgent and timesensitive tax proposals. Some tweaks are expected in direct taxes, which may provide relief to the middle class, while customs.