The important part of the Budget was the Economic Survey, which describes the government's thoughts and beliefs. And this year's survey is a revelation, particularly Chapter 2 - Micro-foundations of Inclusive Growth. It acknowledges the key goal of inclusive growth and asserts that we need a new paradigm of an enabling government, as opposed to an intrusive one. The finance minister reiterated this point. The survey differentiates between the two as follows: “In many poor nations, the government takes the stance that, when in doubt about the goodness or badness of two or more adults voluntarily conducting an exchange, stop them. An enabling state, on the contrary, takes the view that when in doubt, do not interfere. There are, of course, many actions that need to be stopped for the welfare of society at large. But the default option of an enabling state is to allow rather than stop, to permit instead of prevent.”
This is the government speaking. Are you ready? I know talk is cheap, but it is hard to understand why the government would make such a statement if it didn't believe in it. I have little doubt that the FM will achieve all he has set out in the Budget, probably even surprising himself at reaching double-digit growth before the end of this government’s term.
