In this cover piece for Mint, Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Executive Director, Artha Global, analyses the implications of the Union Budget for 2024-2025. He contends that it has two main intersecting themes — continuity in the headline fiscal strategy combined with a pivot in the fine print. Excerpts below:
“Budget 2024 is based on a credible set of numbers. The assumption that the underlying economy will grow by 10.5% this fiscal year is believable. So is the modest tax buoyancy of 1.05, which means that the government expects its net tax collections to grow in tandem with the economy rather than outpace it.”
“That the fiscal deficit target for the ongoing year is now 0.2 percentage points lower than what was announced before the elections indicates that a new era of coalition politics will not send the government off its chosen fiscal road, despite the need to selectively shower money on states where key allies have a political base.”
You can read the full article here.
Image sourced from Mint.
