-Livemint.com Taking into account a likely shortfall in revenue and off-budget spending, the real fiscal deficit could be as high as 5.5% of GDP in the current fiscal Mumbai: As India’s economic slowdown has intensified, so has the debate on whether the government should stick to fiscal consolidation or run a higher deficit to push growth in the upcoming budget, due on 1 February. However, data on revenue available so far suggests that...

-The Indian Express As India inches towards its goal of universal healthcare, there is a need for the budget to try to ensure that healthcare sector requirements are well funded and the budget contains provisions that energise accessible, affordable and quality healthcare. Here's what the government can do to boost the healthcare sector. India’s annual healthcare spend hovers around 4 per cent of GDP with high out of pocket expenditure and low...

-The Indian Express There are many things that the government can do to improve ease of doing business for kisan and industry. The budget season is upon us, with a flurry of submissions being made to the finance minister from all quarters. The budget itself could result in a fine-tuning of tax rates and allocation adjustments against various expenditure heads/ministries. There are implications from these for all sectors. And no less...

-The Hindu The country’s hybrid seed model for cotton favours seed companies over farmers Genetically Modified (GM) pest resistant Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market since their introduction in 2002. These now cover over 95% of the area under cotton, with the seeds produced entirely by the private sector. India’s cotton production in 2019 is projected as the highest ever: 354 lakh bales. Bt cotton’s role in increasing India’s cotton...

-The Hindu The Budget needs to provide direction to India’s tottering economy and a boost to aggregate demand and investment The forthcoming Union Budget will determine whether India’s economic engine gets the steam needed for a rebound, or the current economic situation becomes even worse. Not just the future of the economy, the future of the country’s youth depends on the Budget. The unemployment rate at 6.1% (Financial Year 2017-2018) is the highest...