India's fiscal experiments

The decline in economic growth and the expected revenue shortfall have raised the importance of the Union Budget 2020-21 considerably. The way the government manages its finances in the next fiscal year will significantly affect the Indian economy in the medium term. The government will need to take a call on whether it wants to support growth — which is expected to slip to 5 per cent in the current year — or contain fiscal slippage. The way the government manages expectations will also be crucial. At a broader level, the fiscal situation today looks more acute, though the challenge