IDEAS FOR BUDGET 2025

EXPERTS EXAMINE WHAT FINANCE MINISTER NIRMALA SITHARAMAN CAN DO TO PROVIDE A STIMULUS TO THE INDIAN ECONOMY.

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OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, the Indian economy has grown sharply amid a global slowdown. Much of that has been due to prudent fiscal management. However, GDP growth in Q2 FY25 has fallen to 5.4%—the slowest in seven quarters—driven by an industrial slowdown and a moderation in investment demand.

Since Covid, India's economic growth has been driven by rising public investment. Private investment is yet to pick up and urban consumption is slowing. Rural demand is expected to drive improvement in consumption based on a good kharif crop this year.

At such a juncture, what are the options before finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she prepares her record eighth straight Union Budget—including one interim budget—in a row? To understand this, Fortune India organised a Pre-Budget Roundtable with some of the brightest economic minds to present new ideas for Union Budget 2025. The panelists comprised Amitabh Dubey, research and monitoring wing, communication department, Indian National Congress; Cyril Shroff, managing partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; Gopal Krishna Agarwal, national spokesperson for economic affairs, Bharatiya Janata Party; Sunil Kumar Sinha, professor of economics, Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh, and Yezdi Nagporewalla, CEO, KPMG in India. The discussion was moderated by Fortune India editor-in-chief Sourav Majumdar, and deputy editor Ashutosh Kumar. Edited excerpts:

What should be the top priorities for the FM in the Union Budget?