-The Indian Express The budget needed to break new ground, provide a THRust to a slowing economy. This budget lacks innovation. Economics has never been a strong point of the NDA government. Its only two major economic forays, demonetisation and the GST, have both turned out to be pretty disastrous. It was futile, therefore, to expect much from the Union Budget for 2019-20. Even so, one is surprised by the budget’s...

-Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) brings out a draft version of this publication within 24 hours of the presentation of Union Budget in Parliament every year. The objective of this publication is to facilitate an informed discussion on the Union Budget, particularly around social sectors, agriculture, employment and vulnerable sections of the population. 2019 being the general election year, our Parliament witnessed two...

-The Indian Express One notable thing was the absence of emphasis on doubling farmers’ real incomes by 2022. Perhaps the reality that this is an uphill task has dawned on the government — it may not achieve even half the target. In her first budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reminded us of the famous quote from M K Gandhi, that the “soul of India lives in villages”. She also said...

-TheWire.in The survey also conferred a lot of credit on the Centre’s move in 2015 to implement direct benefit transfer and Aadhaar-linked payments when it comes to workers' wages. New Delhi: In tacit acceptance of the sudden surge in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) following the demonetisation move of the government in 2016, the Economic Survey (released this July 4) has called for using...

-Down to Earth Nine states, which have fertility rates well below the replacement rate, will have an aged population by 2030s India’s population growth rate will decline faster than assumed, according to the Economic Survey 2018-19. In fact, the fertility rate in many states has reached the replacement rate. “India is set to witness a sharp slowdown in population growth in the next two decades,” analysed the Economic Survey. "The country will enjoy...