-TheWire.in While the revenue deficit is estimated to increase in the Union Budget in comparison to the interim one, the fiscal deficit shows a decline thanks to the increase in capital receipts especially through disinvestment. A comparison between the Interim Budget (IB) presented on February 1, 2019, and the full Union Budget (FB) presented before parliament on July for the current fiscal year (2019-20) throws up some intriguing questions. While most commentators have...

  During budget presentations, budget documents, which are provided, carry updated data and information related to various departments and ministries of the Central Government such as on revenues, expenditures, deficits etc. Recently economists like Dr. Rathin Roy and Prof. Jayati Ghosh have expressed concerns about the Ministry of Finance for not uploading updated and appropriate budgetary data and figures on the website www.indiabudget.gov.in following the 2019-20 Union Budget presentation by the...

-The Hindu Business Line There has been a spike in income inequality in the post reforms period with wealth concentrated at the top deciles India has somehow nurtured a widely shared impression that it has a well established statistical system with reliable databases compiled through effective methods of data collection through its network of central agencies and periodic nation-wide surveys. However, India is one of the very few countries which does not...

-The Hindu Only a fast-growing economy can generate surpluses needed to create jobs and sustain social safety nets Now that the general election is over, the time has come to pay serious attention to the economy. The national income numbers continue to be controversial. No serious policy decision can be taken with ambiguous numbers. Nevertheless, even with the new official numbers it is clear that growth is slowing down. As in the...

Recent studies and media reports have confirmed that Indian farmers are facing non-remunerative and sometimes falling prices. A past news alert by the Inclusive Media for Change team indicated deflation in wholesale prices of 8 kharif crops (viz. maize, arhar, moong, urad, groundnut, soybean, sunflower seed and Niger seed) on average between 2016-17 and 2018-19. Based on data analysis, that news alert also demonstrated how the rural areas have witnessed...