Budget 2020: Bold reform measures missing; more questions than answers

MGNREGA saw a close to 13% drop in allocation, compared to the 2019-20 Revised Estimates

With rural consumption growth sliding, the 2020-21 Union Budget was expected to take bold measures to put money in the hands of the rural folk. But Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman failed to announce any big jump in the allocation for two big flagship schemes —PM-KISAN and MGNREGA — that have the potential to boost rural incomes. While she announced a host of measures to create storage infrastructure in rural India, all of them appear to have long gestation periods.

On measures for the rationalisation of fertiliser and food subsidy too, the Budget failed to lay down a clear road map.