-The Indian Express Focusing on private asset creation will only exacerbate its design and implementation failures. In his budget speech, Arun Jaitley shied away from taking a tough stand on the MGNREGA. In a seemingly non-controversial comment, he emphasised that "wage employment would be provided under MGNREGA through works that are more productive, asset creating and substantively linked to agriculture and allied activities". The subtext, however, is controversial. As argued below, far...

-Outlook India To the social subsidy whiners, please check corporate write-offs column The TV anchor asked eagerly of Arun Jaitley whether he would take hard decisions or, in the case of a bad drought, revert to loan waivers and (obviously wasteful) subsidies. The finance minister replied that it depended on the situation as it unfolded but he hoped he wouldn't have to return to such steps. "We hope so too," said...

-The Hindu Business Line A Budget for agriculture A Budget is, generally speaking, a poor instrument for correcting food inflation. But this one conveys a clear intent to target the economic roots of the malaise by addressing supply side concerns. It also takes a long-term view of issues affecting the sector, transcending short-term production concerns. On the demand side, the simple economic response of reducing consumption can hardly apply, without compromising on nutrition....

-The Hindu   The national discourse is so superficial that it only talks of foreign direct investment, investment allowance, tax sops and the like which are just about a twentieth to a sixth of the national economy. It did not even notice paragraph 102 in the Union budget speech which is about half of India's economy. Commentators see facts hidden in budgets as the "devil's in the detail." This presumes that only...

-The Tribune Chandigarh: There is nothing much for Punjab in the Union Budget. In fact, it has left important issues pertaining to state's fiscal health and economy untouched. As far as Punjab is concerned, the Union Budget is disappointing," said eminent economist Sucha Singh Gill. The Budget has left state's debt issue untouched. When Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister, he had proposed to set up a special committee at the Union Government...