Budget (1): Text ignores the context

LAST WEEK WAS filled with Budget talk. The Union Budget has become more than an Annual Statement of the estimated Receipts and Expenditure of the central government for a financial year. It is now the principle vehicle to convey to the people the policies and programmes of the government. People look to the Budget for specific proposals as well as signals.

The voiceless, however, remain voiceless. They have no access to the decision-makers in the government and rely upon the political parties and the MPs to act as a bridge. A dominant government with a majority in the Lok Sabha is usually self-obsessed and does not consult the political parties or the MPs.

CEA reveals context

People and experts look to the Economic Survey (ES) that is presented on the eve of the Budget for an update on the economic situation. As usual, the ES for 2022-23 in Chapter 1 contains the 'outlook' for the next year. This year, the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), after wandering without direction, summed up the crux of the 'outlook' for 2023-04 in two paragraphs that are reproduced below (emphasis mine).

1.30. Even as India's outlook remains bright, global economic prospects for the next year have been weighed down by the combination of a un e set of challenges expected to impart a few downside risks.

Multi-decadal high inflation numbers have compelled central banks across the globe to tighten financial conditions. The impact of monetary tightening is beginning to show in slowing economic activity, especially in Advanced Economies.