A Washed Up Budget 2019

Over the last three weeks or so, the top of the line discussion at all forums has been the Union Budget 2019-20. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s first budget has been discussed threadbare on how it has failed to address the core issues and take measures to revive the economy. The stock markets gave an immediate thumbs down to Sitharaman’s maiden attempt at fiscal maneuvering and that sentiment is yet to be corrected. Over the last week or so too, the BSE benchmark index Sensex has just fallen with the occasional and momentary gain. On the day of the Budget, July 5, the Sensex reacted immediately, falling by close to 400 points. The next day, when the fine print started getting clear, the reaction was more pronounced and severe. The Sensex fell by 900 points during intra-day trade and closed almost 800 points down. And that trend has continued as more provisions of the...