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BUDGET
2018 - 19 |
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| Budget
2018-19: No money where the mouth is |
| Feb
20th 2018,
C.P. Chandrasekhar |
|
Support
for Budget 2018-19 is missing across the income and
wealth spectrum. While the Finance Ministers’ big talk
backed with small money no longer fools the vulnerable,
the governments’ image of being “reformist” has also
taken a hit among speculative foreign and domestic investors,
as a reaction to the new tax reforms. |
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| The
Budget and Education |
| Feb
20th 2018, Jayati Ghosh |
|
The
thrust towards privatization in Budget 2018-19 is
evident in the pattern of education spending, which
has been brought down to less than 3.5 percent of
the government budget, against a promise of 6 percent
in the 2014 electoral campaign. So, any real changes
are clearly expected to be financed by private participation,
implying declining spread, reduced access, and increased
inequality.
|
|
| On
the Health Scheme in Budget 2018-19 |
| Feb
13th 2018, Subrata
Mukherjee & Subhanil Chowdhury |
|
Neither
the union budget nor the National Health Policy 2017
presents any clear and convincing health sector road
map. If it is serious about providing health care to
even bottom 40% of the population, not only should the
government increase its current budgetary allocation
substantially but also strengthen the health infrastructure
at all levels including a strong regulatory mechanism.
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|
| The
2018-19 Union Budget |
| Feb
3rd 2018, Prabhat Patnaik |
|
The
strategy of the current budget seems to be simple:
make immense noise about "helping the victimized"
but do not give an extra paisa from the budget towards
that ends. With the expenditure squeeze being carried
out to reduce fiscal deficit, the share of central
government spending in GDP is in fact budgeted to
fall.
|
|
| Budget
2018: The Finance Ministry’s Grey Shades of ‘Pink’ |
| Feb
2nd 2018, Jayati Ghosh |
|
Even the
vaguely "pink" effort in the Economic Survey
is whitewashed in the finance minister’s Budget speech
that is heavily based on stereotypical gender roles
for women, and even that completely disappears when
we get to the actual budget allocations. |
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| Where's
the Money, Mr Jaitley? |
| Feb
2nd 2018, Jayati Ghosh |
|
This
government is especially good at optics, at managing
public perceptions to persuade people that it is working
for them, rather than doing so. So it is no surprise
that Arun Jaitley's pre-election Budget Speech went
on about how much his government cares for the people,
the poor, for farmers, for women, for people running
small and micro enterprises, and so on. |
|
| Did
the FM Deliver for Farmers? |
| Feb
2nd 2018, Jayati Ghosh |
|
For
those with short memories, let's remind ourselves
that Arun Jaitley has been promising "top priority
to farmers" for a while now.
|
|
| The
Budget and the Farmers: The government's dilemma in 2018 |
| Feb
1st 2018, Jayati Ghosh |
|
Budget
2018 is expected to be famer-oriented, with persistent
agricultural distress and near-stagnant farmer income
contrary to the promises made by the government. But,
even as the election come near, the scale of increased
spending that is required for all of this is unlikely
to be met, given the self-imposed constraints of "fiscal
responsibility". |
|
| Window
Dressing Budgetary Figures |
| Jan
31st 2018, C.P. Chandrasekhar |
|
Budget
2018-19 will feature a window dressed Revised Estimate
to ensure that the fiscal deficit is on target. The
government’s decision to sell its stake in HPCL to ONGC
is only one more step in that direction. |
|
| Budget
2017-18: The macroeconomic perspective |
| Mar
3rd 2017, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
One
reason why the government chose fiscal consolidation
instead of an expansionary budget in the wake of demonetisation
is its erroneous belief that demonetisation in itself
would deliver fiscal benefits.
|
|
| Budget
2017-18: Blinded by neoliberalism |
| Feb
27th 2017, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
All
that this government has is its unfounded belief that
mere reform in the form of the demonetisation, digitalisation
and the GST would deliver growth rather than recession.
|
|
| In
the 2017 Budget, the Government has Compounded its Folly |
| Feb
6th 2017, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
Not
only has the damage caused by demonetisation remained
unaddressed, but even the opportunity provided by demonetisation
has remained un-utilised in the 2017 Budget.
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|
| Budget
2017-18: Utterly Ordinary |
| Feb
2nd 2017, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Coming
soon after the drastic demonetisation, there were many
expectations riding on this Budget, but none of these
expectations has been met in this utterly ordinary budget.
|
|
| A
Disappointingly Ordinary Budget for Extraordinary Times |
| Feb
2nd 2017, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Budget
2017 is remarkable in its absence of any of populist
measures that are directed towards the welfare of the
masses. What is surprising is that it does not address
some of the most important macroeconomic concerns today.
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|
| Budget
2017 must Support those Worst Hit by Demonetisation |
| Jan
31st 2017, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
To
counter the contractionary forces unleashed by demonetisation,
Budget 2017 should direct fiscal resources to informal
activities that have seen the greatest decline and to
poor people who have been hardest hit.
|
|
| Will
We Miss the Budget Opportunity? |
| Jan
31st 2017, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
economic slowdown, induced almost entirely by demonetisation,
necessarily requires significantly enhanced public spending;
but it doesn't appear to be forthcoming.
|
|
| Budget
2016-17: Signs of paralysis |
| Mar
16th 2016, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
The
divergence between the rhetoric and the actual allocations
in the Budget 2016-17 depicts the ruling party's inability
to use the fiscal lever to push for growth and welfare.
|
|
| Budget
2016-17: Hype is all |
| Mar
15th 2016, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
Behind
all the hype about a pro-poor budget, the actual provisions
of the government for the major social sectors are found
to be too paltry to improve the lives of the poor.
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|
| Agriculture
in Crisis |
| Apr
1st 2015, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
India
is on the brink of a major agricultural crisis resulting
from natural causes and poor policy of the present government
in the field of agriculture and social sector.
|
|
| The
Modi Government's Economic Strategy |
| Mar
19th 2015, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
In
its pursuit of pushing ahead with the neoliberal agenda,
the government is willing to adopt measures which, as
evidence suggests, would fail as strategy.
|
|
| How
Not to Treat Agriculture |
| Mar
19th 2015, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
Union Budget 2015 indicates that the government is going
beyond what could be called benign neglect of agriculture
to policy moves that are likely to harm its viability.
|
|
| Statistical
Jugglery, Reverse Redistribution and Corporate Absolutism |
| Mar
13th 2015, Amiya
Kumar Bagchi |
|
Statistical
jugglery practised by the government in order to please
big investors and the bid to privatise important public
sector units need to be resisted at all costs.
|
|
| The
Myth of Increased Resources for States |
| Mar
12th 2015, Sona
Mitra |
|
The
Government's claim of increased resources to the States
is misleading unless the resource pool is substantially
increased to cover for cuts in the Centrally Sponsored
Schemes.
|
|
| Budget
2015-16: Bonanza for the corporate |
| Mar
9th 2015, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
Budget
2015 is a major step towards increasing the class power
of capital; it is the true expression of the ideology
of a neo-liberal State without any attempt at a human
face.
|
|
| Lost
Between Intent and Belief |
| Mar
3rd 2015, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
The
budget session is being undermined by the Finance Minister
as hypothetical revenue figures make the allocation
figures redundant under fiscal conservatism.
|
|
| Bipan
Chandra (1928-2014): A tribute |
| Nov
5th 2014, Mritiunjoy
Mohanty |
|
In
his tribute to the great historian of modern India,
the author says that Bipan Chandra's analyses were always
meticulously argued, insightful and empirically rich.
|
|
| Banking
with a Difference |
| Aug
12th 2014, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
Democratic
forces in BRICS and other countries have to ensure that
the BRICS bank acts differently from existing development
banks to be a true alternative as expected.
|
|
| Budget
2014-15: The continuing neglect of the 'rural' |
| Aug
4th 2014, Arindam
Banerjee |
|
The
Budget fails to address the real issues and problems
of a crisis-ridden agriculture sector, while expanding
expenditure to support farmers and workers is the only
way out.
|
|
| New
Macroeconomic Consensus Rules Budget 2014-15 |
| Aug
4th 2014, Rohit |
|
The
author critiques the macroeconomic framework that underlies
the fiscal consolidation approach of the Union Budget
for 2014-15.
|
|
| Social
Spending under the Modi Government |
| Jul
25th 2014, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
A
decline in real terms in the budget allocations to the
crucial areas of public spending is a sign of the new
government's lack of respect for the rights of their
citizens.
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|
| The
Budget and BJP's Economic Policy |
| Jul
25th 2014, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
The
Union Budget for 2014-15 is a deflationary budget in
the name of "fiscal consolidation," and chalks
out a strategy to make India a labour-intensive manufacturing
hub.
|
|
| How
"Buoyant" are Central Government Taxes? |
| Jul
22nd 2014, C.P.
Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh |
|
The
authors here suggest that the fiscal optimism is misplaced
while projecting substantial increases in tax revenues
despite many tax sops in the Budget for this year.
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|
| Onward
March towards Privatisation and Insecurity |
| Jul
21st 2014, Amiya
Kumar Bagchi |
|
The
trend towards privatising public assets in order to
augment private profits at public cost continues unabated,
as is evident from the first budget of the Modi government.
|
|
| Corporate
Karza Maafi at Rs. 36.5 Trillion |
| Jul
21st 2014, P.
Sainath |
|
Since
2005-06 a cumulative amount of Rs. 36.5 trillion has
been given away to corporate sector in terms of various
sops in corporate income tax, excise duty and customs
duty.
|
|
| Union
Budget 2014-15 |
| Jul
15th 2014, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
The
basic fiscal strategy of the Union Budget 2014-15 is
to increase transfers to the rich and the affluent,
while reducing the outlays earmarked for the poor.
|
|
| No
Sign of Change |
| Jul
11th 2014, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
The
people of India, who have voted for a change, are likely
to be disappointed by the NDA government's first budget
as it signals no change on the economic policy front.
|
|
| The
Neo-liberal Paralysis |
| Mar
6th 2013, Subhanil
Chowdhury |
|
India's
commitment to neo-liberalism and enticement of global
finance capital forbid it to undertake any policy aimed
at ameliorating the current condition of the economy.
|
|
| Is
this Really a Budget for Women? |
| Mar
6th 2013, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Many
of the policies implicit or explicit in the Budget statement
have implications that are adverse for most women because
they involve cuts in essential public spending.
|
|
| Bad
Economics, But Worse Politics |
| Mar
6th 2013, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
There
is nothing in the budget to reverse the stagflation,
even as the opportunity to take effective measures aimed
at showing concern for the common man has been missed
too.
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|
| The
Dangers of Fiscal Austerity |
| Mar
4th 2013, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Despite
fiscal austerity measures proving to be counterproductive
in dealing with economic contractions worldwide, the
Indian government is poised to implement similar policies.
|
|
| Niggardly
on Essential Spend |
| Mar
1st 2013, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Given
that the Indian electorate would soon see what the real
implications of the budget 2013-14 are, it is surprising
that his own party let Chidambaram get away with this.
|
|
| A
Recipe for Continuing Stagflation |
| Mar
1st 2013, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Budget
2013-14 will deliver neither higher growth nor improved
conditions of life—instead it is likely to worsen the
stagflationary tendencies in the economy.
|
|
| Budget
2012: The price of reform |
| Mar
28th 2012, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
By
hiking indirect taxes that would be passed through to
buyers, and slashing subsidies that would raise the
prices of petroleum products and fertilisers, the Finance
Minister has exposed a nation already reeling under
the effects of a prolonged price rise to another bout
of cost push inflation.
|
|
| An
Inequitable Path: The ritualistic exercise in fiscal management |
| Mar
23rd 2012, Amiya
Kumar Bagchi |
|
Ignoring
all the evidences of the fact that growth does not trickle
down, the Budget 2012-13 has emphasised the target of
raising the rate of growth at any cost without bothering
about the majority of Indian population. Instead what
was needed for managing the economy was a progressive
system of taxation, employment creation and universalisation
of the public distribution of food grains.
|
|
| Employment
and Social Spending in Budget 2012-13 |
| Mar
21st 2012, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Highly
regressive in both taxation and spending terms, the
Budget 2012-13 has managed the remarkable feat of upsetting
almost everyone and making no aam aurat and aam aadmi
happy. It provides conclusive proof of the UPA government
having lost its way as it seems to have forgotten the
importance of its own ''flagship schemes''.
|
|
| The
Great Fuel Subsidy Hoax |
| Mar
20th 2012, C.P.
Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh |
|
In
his Budget Speech, the Finance Minister signalled his
intent to reduce subsidies, particularly the fuel subsidy,
by an estimated Rs 25,000 crore. In this article, the
authors consider the retail prices of petrol and diesel
in India relative to some other countries, and examine
the validity of the claim that the petroleum sector
is actually a burden on the exchequer. |
|
| The
Return to Orthodoxy |
| Mar
20th 2012, Prabhat
Patnaik |
|
The
2012-13 budget represents a return with a vengeance
to neo-liberal orthodoxy and a snuffing out of the ''Left-inspired''
(UPA-I) and the ''Keynesian'' moments. India will have
to bear the impact of the global crisis in an exacerbated
manner because of its own ''drive to austerity'' that
is being heralded at the expense of the people.
|
|
| Budget
2012-13 |
| Mar
17th 2012, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
Highly
regressive in terms of taxation, the Budget 2012-13
will obviously lead to rising prices with continuing
shortfalls in employment. Hence it emerges that the
greatest losers from this budget will be the Indian
consumers, particularly the poorer sections.
|
|
| |
| Mar
10th 2011, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| Cash
transfers cannot and should not replace the public provision
of essential goods and services, but rather supplement
them. However, the current tendency is to see these
as a further excuse for the reduction of publicly provided
services. In India, where much of the development project
still remains woefully incomplete, the urge to adopt
this latest international development fashion involves
several risks. |
|
| |
| Mar
10th 2011, C.P.
Chandrasekhar |
|
| This
budget is afflicted to a far greater degree than before
by a kind of cynicism that leads to policy paralysis.
It lacks any focus or strategy whatsoever, and sticks
to fiscal conservatism. Thus while paying lip service
to ''inclusion'', it delivers little of it, since very
few of the incremental expenditure allocations are significant
when measured as a ratio to GDP. |
|
| |
| Mar
9th 2011, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| The
budget allocations for the education sector are not
sufficient for fulfilling the commitments made by the
Centre in the sector. In particular, it seems that the
financial burden of ensuring the right to education
is to be thrust on the state governments, which might
find it difficult to raise the required resources. |
|
| |
| Mar
7th 2011, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| The
Budget certainly benefits the Indian elite class, but
the conditions of the majority of people whose lives
continue to languish in dreadful conditions are not
going to get better. This is because it has not addressed
the two major issues that matter for most people, namely
food inflation as well as productive and gainful employment. |
|
| |
| Mar
7th 2011, Jayati
Ghosh |
|
| The
Budget is remarkable for its effective rejection of
the interests of the common people. Instead of focusing
on measures that will increase food supply and food
distribution, the government has curtailed allocation
for food subsidy. In the case of employment, the presumption
seems to be that economic growth on its own will deliver
more jobs; but this is not likely. |
|
| |
| Jul
2nd 2007 |
|
| The
recent high output growth figures in India have not
been accompanied by commensurate growth in employment.
Making growth inclusive with respect to employment generation
is thus one of the most formidable challenges facing
the Indian economy today. Against this backdrop, a seminar
was organized to clearly bring out that growth per say
need not solve the problem of economic development defined
broadly in terms of social opportunities. |
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