Budget 2022-23: Avoid sharp fiscal correction, economists tell FM

According to the source, almost all economists recommended the government not to be too aggressive with their fiscal stance

Ahead of the Union Budget, economists advised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and ministry officials to avoid a sharp fiscal correction and maintain focus on public investment in infrastructure to further revive consumption and demand.

In a pre-Budget meeting on Wednesday, the economists also advised finance ministry officials that the Centre should strive for consistency and stability in tax policy, instead of tinkering with rates too much.

“The broad advice was that don’t go for a sharp fiscal correction. Keep focus on capital expenditure as the recovery of consumption, investment and demand is still shallow,” a person aware of the discussions