-Business Standard/ NIPFP Strap: It recognises that the medium-term fiscal arithmetic does not afford space for expansionary fiscal policy In my column on the FY20 Budget (A silent fiscal crisis, July 5, 2019), I had warned that the government faced a structural fiscal constraint that was concealed by using incorrectly optimistic numbers for revenue receipts. This year’s Budget is transparent. But the government continues to be heavily fiscally constrained due to inadequate...
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Explained: What ails the credibility of India's Budget numbers -Udit Misra
-The Indian Express Advancing the Union Budget by a month has not helped fiscal marksmanship In the first part of this series on the Union Budget, we explained how the nominal gross domestic product (which is the market value of all goods and services produced within the domestic boundaries of India) is the key number that determines the shape and form of the Union Budget. In short, the nominal GDP for the current...
More »With savings rate falling, phasing out exemptions may hit it harder -Udit Misra
-The Indian Express The savings rate, expressed as a percentage of the gross domestic product, reflects the pool of investible funds within the country that are available for the government and private businesses to use for investment purposes. The government’s plan to gradually get rid of all exemptions and deductions under the personal income tax regime — in a bid to provide lower taxes and a simplified tax architecture as well as...
More »MGNREGA allocation is way off the mark to uplift the rural economy & address economic downturn, say Right to Work activists
The Union Budget 2020-21, which was presented by the Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 1st February, 2020 has failed to impress civil society activists and farmers' rights groups (click here and here). Through their press releases and notes, members of CSOs were demanding as well as suggesting the Union Government for hiking the budgetary allocation for schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Pradhan Mantri...
More »Explained: How the government plans to reboot the economy with this budget -Udit Misra
-The Indian Express Boosting consumption by leaving people with higher disposable incomes is the key strategy The fine print of the Union Budget for 2020-21 notwithstanding, the central strategy of the government seems to be to boost the disposable incomes of the Indian consumers. * What was the problem slowing down the economy? Typically, there are four engines of GDP (gross domestic product) growth. These are as follows: Consumption of the private individuals (or...
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