Expect Private Investment Cycle To Pick Up

The government's budgetary strategy focusses on modification and moderation, a fine balance between the long term and the short term

- SANJEEV KRISHAN

THE FINANCE MINISTER'S approach to the Union Budget 2025-26 embodies the well-known adage 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.' Since the onset of Covid-19, the government adopted the Keynesian approach of pump-priming the economy through high capital expenditure in successive Budgets. While this strategy stimulated growth for three fiscals, the incremental returns on these investments began to taper off in FY25, largely due to lower investments from the private sector and a consumption slowdown resulting from stagnating wage growth coupled with inflation.

Grappling with this reducing growth rate over the last seven quarters, the government's budgetary strategy focusses on modification and moderation, striking a fine balance between the long term and the short term. It seeks to address the demand side of the GDP equation, putting more money in the hands of citizens while prudently managing capital expenditure (capex). The government has provided Indian taxpayers with ₹1 lakh crore through income tax cuts while maintaining its capex at 3.1% of GDP in FY26. With revenues from income tax exceeding budgeted estimates for four consecutive years, this shift was well-deserved by the average Indian taxpayer.