All eyes are on the budget session of the Parliament starting today. In this session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present the last full budget of the second term of the Modi government. Now little more than a year is left for the Lok Sabha elections. In such a situation, where the general public is expecting relief from her, the party also expects that she will come up with such a budget, due to which the BJP will not have to face the displeasure of any section of the voters, but will create a positive feeling for the party in them. Obviously, these expectations are increasing the difficulties of the Finance Minister. It should also be remembered that she is going to present the budget at a time when domestic and international challenges remain. In the last budget, he was faced with the challenge of recovering the economy from the economic problems caused by the Corona epidemic, so this time in the shadow of the Ukraine war and the global recession, the Finance Minister is expected to bring such a budget, which will take India on the path of rapid economic growth. Keep growing The boom in India’s exports in the last financial year has slowed down due to the decline in economic growth in America and Europe.
Unemployment is a big issue. The tension on the border with China is not taking its name. There is a crisis of trust with Pakistan as well. In such a situation, the army would be expecting a good increase in the defense budget from him, on the other hand, there would be pressure on him to increase the expenditure on welfare schemes in view of the general elections. After all, the BJP itself has been admitting that it has benefited from this in the past elections. Meanwhile, problems remain on the inflation and employment front. Inflation figures have come down a bit in the past, but it is still above the comfort zone of the Reserve Bank. At the same time, the prices of many essential things are running much higher than last year. For example, the retail price of flour which used to be Rs 20-25 per kg till a year ago, today averages between Rs 30-35 per kg. Similarly, the price of milk has increased by about eight rupees per liter last year. High prices of petrol and diesel are also increasing the burden on common customers. The Finance Minister will also have to take care of these things in the budget. However, if seen at the macro level, many positive things are visible. The GDP rate is estimated to be 7 per cent this fiscal, which is the fastest growth among the world’s major economies. But problems with exports, widening current account deficit and fiscal deficit remain. So the question is, will the Finance Minister be able to deliver an electorally beneficial budget with good economics?
