-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...

-Press released by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) dated 1st February, 2020 Delhi, February 1st 2020: Budget fails to increase rural demand and purchasing power which would have boosted the economy - instead, the Budget only boosts the profits of big corporates and MNCs, said AIKSCC. When the crying need in India’s economy is to increase the demand and purchasing power in rural areas, and hence rural incomes, the...

-The Hindu Investment in these areas will create demand in the short run and make the economy more competitive in the long run In recent months, the government’s macroeconomic policy has acquired a new salience in the context of reversing the current slowdown. The policy currently being pursued is intended primarily to incentivise potential investors by facilitating ease-of-doing-business and making large-scale concessions to the corporate sector. In this context, the government is...

-Newsclick.in Tax collections have plummeted and Modi Govt is scrambling to cut spending by Ministries, further deepening the crisis. For the first time in two decades, corporate and income tax collections are expected to fall in 2019-20. This is an indication of the gigantic mess created by the Narendra Modi government with its dogmatic commitment to reduce taxes on corporates and squeeze its own expenditure to supposedly boost the flagging economy. As...

-The Indian Express There is an ambiguous provision to levy income tax on “dairying”. Either the provision should be removed or it should be clarified that it does not include dairy farmers. Dairying is a part of agriculture and as per the Constitution, it is a state subject. Those in power may not yet be accepting blame for the barrage of negative news on the state of the economy, but cracks are...