Congress and BJP poll manifestos: High on largesse, low on fiscal prudence

The promises by the two main rivals at the general elections come at a time when the Centre is struggling hard to contain fiscal deficit at 3.4 per cent of GDP for 2018-19

Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have promised a host of costly giveaways to the people as they vie for power at the Centre in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. The irony is that both political outfits have vowed to remain fiscally prudent inspite of the burden that their largesse is likely to exert on the exchequer.

What the Congress has promised

For instance, the Congress' much-talked of Nyuntam AAy Yojana or NYAY -- the acronym means justice in English -- will hit the exchequer with a staggering Rs 3.6 trillion a year if and when fully