-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...

-PSainath.org The revenues foregone in 2013-14 could fund the rural jobs scheme for three decades or the PDS for four and a half years.  It was business as usual in 2013-14. Business with a capital B. This year's budget document says we gave away another Rs. 5.32 lakh crores to the corporate needy and the under-nourished rich in that year. Well, it says Rs. 5.72 lakh crores but I'm...

-Outlook For every rupee in government kitty, as much as one-fourth will come from market borrowing in 2014-15, lower than the current fiscal ending March 31. The government's dependence on debt has come down from 27 paise in the previous Budget to 25 paise in the coming year, reflecting ease of pressure on revenue collections. As per the proposals presented today by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the interim Budget, net borrowings of...

-The Economist Government borrowing generates inflation, widens the external deficit and crowds out much-needed investment. Can India now overcome its debt addiction? INDIA has grappled with its public finances for long enough. When presenting its first budget after independence in 1947, the finance minister of the day insisted that the country was not living beyond its means. Yet every budget since has failed to produce a surplus. India borrows more heavily...

-Economic and Political Weekly The proposed legislation on the National Food Security Act has been steadily watered down since it was fi rst mooted in 2009. The Parliamentary Standing Committee that examined the 2011 Bill has disappointingly continued with "targeting". If the government passes the bill incorporating the committee's suggestions, a historic opportunity to combat hunger and malnutrition would be lost. Ankita Aggarwal (aggarwal.ankita87@gmail.com) is a Research Scholar at the Centre for...