How have the Modi government's budgets fared in the last 10 years? One way to answer that question would be to compare them with those of the previous governments. But another way would be to evaluate the Modi budgets inter se. The latter exercise could be more useful in the current context. Since not much has changed in the Modi government after the last general elections (even the top budget team in the finance ministry has remained the same!), it would be instructive to assess how the budgets of the last 10 years looked at basic fiscal governance issues and how these could be an important pointer to the kind of Budget that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to present on July 23.
Let us begin with the size of the government. The total expenditure of the Union government in 2014-15 was as large as 13.34 per cent of gross domestic product or GDP. Over the next four years, this was brought down to 12.25 per cent of GDP by 2018-19. Notably, this reduction was achieved through a welcome squeeze on revenue expenditure, while capital expenditure remained broadly unchanged during these five years at between 1.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent of GDP.
The pre-Covid year of 2019-20 and the Covid year of 2020-21 saw an understandable spike in government expenditure to 13.4 per cent and 17.7 per cent of GDP, respectively, fuelled largely by a rise in revenue expenditure and a small increase in capital expenditure. But what ignited hope was the government's decision in the following three years to steadily reduce its total expenditure to 15 per cent of GDP by 2023-24.
Bu hikaye Business Standard dergisinin July 10, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Business Standard dergisinin July 10, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Avoid partial payout: Buy health cover with fewer sub-limits
At a recent Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) summit, Satyajit Tripathi, member (distribution), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), highlighted that grievances in general insurance, especially health insurance, mainly revolve around claim payments.
'Largecaps appear reasonably valued'
Investors entering equities should come in with a long-term horizon to ensure short-term fluctuations amid high valuations do not derail the wealth generation, says DEEPAK SHENOY, chief executive officer and founder of Capitalmind.
Sustained FPI activity lifts Sensex, Nifty
Equity benchmark index Sensex rebounded nearly 100 points to hit a lifetime closing high on Monday and Nifty scaled an intraday record level, propelled by bargain hunting in energy, utility and banking stocks amid sustained foreign fund inflows.
Investors may book partial profit: Brokerages
Analysts on Monday attributed the blockbuster debut of Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd (BHFL) on the bourses to its strong fundamentals and the brand 'Bajaj', and said it could emerge as a long-term wealth creator.
Interest, trust of investors humbling: Sanjiv Bajaj
Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv, on Monday said he expected 12-15 per cent credit growth in the housing finance industry, amid the strong tailwinds in the economy.
Trent may replace Bajaj Finserv in Sensexrejig in December
Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd's impressive stock market debut has brought cheer to the 100year-old Bajaj Group, but the conglomerate faces the prospect of Bajaj Finserv being removed from the benchmark Sensex index.
Sebi withdraws earlier statement on staff unrest
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday said it was amicably addressing the concerns of its protesting employees on \"internal\" matters, as it withdrew an earlier press release that claimed that its staff's complaints were influenced by external elements.
The clash of 'will'power: The jury is still out
Following courtroom drama, experts analyse which one will dominate legal proceedings
FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE
Why New Delhi is underlining the role of border villages as custodians of India's frontiers
A fine balance
Markets in agriculture must be allowed to function