Will Nirmala Sitharaman Give The Economy A Booster Dose?

One may be perceived as alarmist, but expectations are that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unleashes reforms in her maiden Budget that match the 1991 opening up of the economy True, the crisis may not have reached the 1991 proportions, but there are tell-tale signs.

Joblessness is at a 45 year high; there is widespread rural distress; investments are declining, and yes even there are claims of bloated growth figures. India is definitely staring at a definite slowdown.

Given the circumstances, the Finance Minister must vigorously push public spending, especially on infrastructure. Investment levels need to rise and so do consumption levels. A new industrial policy has already been spoken of. The PM has already stressed how he wishes to see at least 50,000 startups in the next five years.

Can one expect the FM to be bold and reforms-oriented in her maiden Budget? Accelerating the growth of the economy and creating employment are arguably the two biggest concerns.

Farm distress is for all to see, but then agriculture is a state subject.

M Govinda Rao says, with the capacity utilization in the industrial sector reaching very high levels, much of the growth in the industry has to come from new investments. This requires increasing public investments, and banking reforms need to be made real -- to make them lend more.