‘THE INDIAN ECONOMY IS ON A GROWTH PATH'

As the euphoria over a Union Budget that reached out to almost every sector of the economy began to settle in, BW Businessworld caught up with Union Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat Karad, for an insight into the thinking that had influenced the exercise. In an exclusive interview with BW Businessworld Editor-in-Chief Annurag Batra, Karad said apart from strengthening the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Ayushman Bharat missions, the budgetary allocations had been driven by the government’s aim of “taking care of the people, and the development of the economy”. Excerpts:

- Annurag Batra

Union Budget 2022-23 has been received well and caters to almost all sections of society. Can you please give us a sense of the process that had gone into this exercise?

On 1 February Hon’ble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Ji presented the budget in the Lok Sabha. The budget used to previously be brought to the Lok Sabha in a leather bag, but that tradition was discarded by the Finance Minister, and she published the budget digitally, using an Indianmade tab. She took this bold step in 2019 and has been presenting the budget digitally since then.

Before the presentation of the budget, usually, the entire team gets together and distributes sweets at the Halwa ceremony. This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that system was ruled out, but the budget-making team had a discussion, and we went to the Hon’ble President and met him. The Finance Minister discussed the budget and took permission from him. We then went to the Cabinet meeting, and after that, presented the budget. This is the system of presenting the budget, by first completing all the formalities.

Who were the stakeholders you had in mind for this year’s budget, and what went behind the scenes on who it impacts and why. Also, the budget came 21 months after the onset of the pandemic, and just before some Assembly elections. Even so, it was shorn of populism. What was the thought process that inspired the budget?