Mainstream Weekly

Union Budget 2024-25 : Twists and Turns | Atul Sarma

Atul Sarma — 2024-08-03T19:10:42Z

Backdrops: Global and internal
The Interim Budget was presented on February 1, 2024. The shelf life of the full budget for 2024-25 is barely six months. This budget has been presented in the backdrops of geo-political uncertainties and high policy rates in developed countries that affect the inflow of FDI at one level and global growth (3%) resilience and softening inflation at another.
On the domestic front, the Indian economy has recorded a high growth of 8.2% in 2023-24 even if the (…)

- 2024

Budget 2023-24: Continuity with Change | Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder

Atul Sarma — 2023-02-10T18:47:21Z

by Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder *
Budget 2023-24 has been presented in the face of multiple challenges: slowing global growth, elevated core inflation and food prices, and looming recession in advanced countries. At another level, this being the last full budget before the general election in 2024 as also approaching election in nine states has its temptation to make it as voter friendly as possible.
Nevertheless, the budget has restrained itself in offering any direct freebie. It has (…)

- 2023

Challenges and Policy Options for Budget 2023-24 | Atul Sarma & Shyam Sunder

Atul Sarma — 2023-02-03T23:25:15Z

by Atul Sarma & Shyam Sunder *
Budget 2023-24 is expected to be prepared under the shadow of multiple challenges such as slowing global growth, elevated core inflation even with tamed energy and food prices, and looming recession in Europe and other advanced countries. At another level, this being the last full budget before the general election in 2024 has its own challenges to make it as voter friendly as possible.
The performance of the Indian economy in the immediate past would (…)

- 2023

Balancing Growth and Inflation | Atul Sharma, Shyam Sunder

Atul Sarma — 2022-07-08T18:15:57Z

by Atul Sharma, Shyam Sunder *
India's economy recorded growth of 8.7 % in 2021-22. Several agencies such as OECD, Moody's and IMF slashed India's growth for 2022-23. Of late The World Bank lowered for the second time GDP growth forecast for 2022-23 to 7.5% from 8% in April and from 8.7% in January, 2022. Even the RBI has cut its growth forecast to 7.2%. The edging down the forecast has been attributed to “headwinds from rising inflation, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions (…)

- 2022

Towards Prudent Fiscal Management in Assam | Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder

Atul Sarma — 2022-06-10T22:31:43Z

by Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder *
Despite the state government's claim on fast growth in recent years, Assam's per capita income is just 65.9% of all States average per capita income, or 70.9% of Northeast hill states (NEHS) average income in 2018-19, not to speak of the highest income state or even amongst the top five highest income state. Even in 2021-22 the state's per capita income stood at 70.1 % of the national average per capita income. Clearly, the fiscal policy and its management (…)

- 2022

Lessons from a tale of two reforms | Sarma & Sunder

Atul Sarma — 2022-02-12T06:58:11Z

by Atul Sarma Shyam Sunder*
The Modi government at last climbed down to repeal the three farm laws on November 29, 2021 that provoked more than a year-long farmers' protest starting from August 9, 2020. The protest allegedly took a toll of 600 human lives and public and famers' loss of ₹ 5000 crore as estimated by a study conducted by two economists associated with the Panjabi University at Patiala. The study also found that contrary to the claim that big farmers are the protesters at (…)

- 2022

Invigorating Agriculture Cooperatives | Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder

Atul Sarma — 2021-10-29T17:52:55Z

by Atul Sarma and Shyam Sunder *
After curving out a separate ministry for cooperation out of the ministry of agriculture, the minister for home and cooperation announced in the first national cooperative conference held on September 25, 2021 that the centre together with states will expand the number of primary agriculture cooperatives from the existing 60,000 to three lakh in the next five years. Explaining that the new “ministry has been created to bring transparency and strengthen, (…)

- 2021

Asset Monetisation as Instrument for creation of Greenfield Assets | Atul Sarma & Shyam Sunder

Atul Sarma — 2021-10-01T18:34:18Z

by Atul Sarma & Shyam Sunder*
As is well known, India is hugely deficient in its infrastructure both in terms of quantity as well as quality, which not only impedes efficient functioning of the economy but also raises cost of production. In this context, the government's intent to meet such deficit is quite legitimate. However, Covid-19 induced challenges leading to slump in GDP growth, government revenue shrinkage yet inevitable compulsion to expand government expenditure including (…)

- 2021