Politically correct

Made by political compulsions, Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget is meant for political outcomes

- PRATUL SHARMA

A LOT HAS CHANGED in a few months, and it was clearly evident in the Modi 3.0 government's first budget.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented an interim budget on February 1 against the backdrop of the confidence that the BJP-led government would return to power with a larger majority, and her speech dwelled on the achievements of the BJP's decade-long rule.

On July 23, Sitharaman''s speech presenting the full budget was just 30 minutes longer than the previous one, and conveyed a succinct message reflecting the new political landscape.

With an apparent hint of course correction, the focus shifted to job creation, putting more money in the pockets of the middle class, and giving the rural economy a boost, signalling that the government was sensitive to their distress. According to a survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, unemployment rate in India rose sharply to 9.2 per cent in June 2024 from 7 per cent in May. The budget's job pitch may provide relief to the youth and the middle class.

The political intent of the budget outweighed the big-ticket reforms the government had promised before the 2024 polls. But what marks the   continuity from the interim budget is the promised fiscal consolidation— with the targeted fiscal deficit going down to 4.9 per cent of the GDP from the 5.1 per cent set in February—and the infrastructure push. Also, the finance minister did not quote any poet, just like the interim budget, and kept her speech short.