An Ardent Effort To Woo Voters

The BJP-led NDA government at the centre made a fervent and full pelt election pitch in Budget 2019, fraught with sugar-coated sops for the farmer, the small industry, defence and the marginalised. What’s more! There is even something for the middle and lower middle class, a group the government had conveniently forgotten for most of its five years in rule as well as the social sector, which had its scanty attention so far. Striking a very clear populist note, interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s maiden budget made a prominent pro-poor and pro-farmer pitch to please a large part of the electorate in the election year. While there are a lot of sops and schemes, revenue generation and source of funds remains a question. What is, however, a matter of worry is the increasing fiscal deficit. The finance minister stated that the fiscal deficit for 2019-20 will be at a higher...