India's interim budgets: A woeful tale of inconsistency the past 20 years

While development priorities have taken the back seat, govts' own housekeeping, such as police and pensions, has held on to the purse; even higher defence spending has been on wages and pension bills

Data from India's four interim budgets of the past 20 years show no consistent direction of policies among the outgoing governments. So, issues like trimming of the fiscal deficit, raising of investment in the agriculture sector, or policing expenses have swung up and down over the years. 

In every budget of the Central Government, the finance minister presents a list of items in which there would be the largest change in expenditure in the forthcoming year. 

In an election year, this display of numbers is significant since it shows the hand with which the incumbent government expects to face the