Budget-making during recovery

The challenges before the coming Budget are more daunting than those in 2021

When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her last Union Budget, the odds were heavily stacked against her. The Indian economy was going through its worst contraction and the uncertainty over the next Covid wave was looming large. But her Budget speech recognised both the challenges and the importance of bold steps to tackle them. In retrospect, the Budget for 2021-22 turned out to be a decisive one, launching new initiatives and transparent accounting, even while remaining committed to the broad goals of fiscal consolidation.

In her 2021 Budget, she had announced an ambitious national monetisation plan and a massive national