Poor Man's Budget

Should we be victims of mere populism or wasteful expenditure?" Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister, had asked while presenting the first Budget of the Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in July 2014. He was referring to the funds the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had earmarked for social security schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), as BJP had dubbed these as mere populist schemes without any tangible benefits. Five years later, the same question stares at the stand by finance minister Piyush Goyal who presented the last Budget of the NDA government, as he seems to have done exactly what Jaitley feared, be overly populist.

The Interim Budget 2019/20 is all about handouts