Budget bets big on growth: FM squeezes subsidies, raises capex again

Asset sale to get Rs 1.75 trillion; transparent budgeting gets a leg-up

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her speech outlining the Budget for 2021-22 by reiterating a simple fact: This Budget exercise was undertaken under circumstances never seen before. The unprecedented contraction of output and therefore of revenue has knocked India off its fiscal consolidation path. The Narendra Modi-led government, which has prided itself on its fiscal responsibility, will now be forced to amend the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act to take into account a fiscal deficit of 9.5 per cent of GDP during the pandemic year — which will only slowly be reduced, with a target of 6.8 per