Budget misses the opportunity to weigh in on some big issues. It lacks bold ideas | The Indian Express

Budget misses the opportunity to weigh in on some big issues. It lacks bold ideas | The Indian Express

Written by Bhaskar Chakravorti |Updated: July 6, 2019 1:47:47 pm

The writer is Dean of Global Business at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, founding executive director of Fletcher’s Institute for Business in the Global Context. He is author of The Slow Pace of Fast Change

Budget misses the opportunity to weigh in on some big issues. It lacks bold ideas

I would give this budget a B. Nirmala Sitharaman will get another chance next year. I worry that without bolder ideas, the colour of her packaging of this year’s budget may reflect the forthcoming financial state of the country.

The shortfall in tax collections this year is likely to hit Rs 1.6 lakh crore ( billion). Illustration by Suvajit Dey

The finance minister ditched the sombre briefcase of her predecessors and went with a very handsome package, seemingly right out of a Khan Market boutique. You have to give the Narendra Modi administration high marks for inspired packaging. Unfortunately, the track record from Modi 1.0 has been that what you find inside the package is, usually, not as inspiring. This budget upheld that tradition.