Budget 2022 Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman To Present Union Budget Today
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Budget 2022: A Tightrope Walk
Union Budget 2022 will be the tenth budget presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, including one interim budget presented in the general election year of 2019. It will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's fourth budget presentation.
Sitharaman will begin her budget speech in Lok Sabha at 11.00 am on Feb. 1. She has the unenviable task of lifting India from a once-in-a-generation crisis that scarred an already-slowing Indian economy. The country grapples with widening inequalities, diminishing incomes and high unemployment despite an economic recovery. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is under pressure to increase spending on everything from infrastructure to healthcare while also managing its finances.
Most economists expect the government to loosen its purse strings and target moderate fiscal consolidation. India's fiscal deficit for financial year 2022-23 is estimated to be between 6-6.3% of the GDP. Sustained momentum in tax collections, asset sales and near-record borrowings may help Sitharaman fund its higher spending.
Follow BloombergQuint's coverage of the Union Budget 2022-23 live here...
What The Economic Survey Said
India's Economic Survey for FY21, tabled in parliament on Monday on Budget 2022 eve, said the government has the fiscal capacity to ramp up capital expenditure due to the strong revival in revenues.
Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal pointed that tax and non-tax collections have rebound sharply and have even rose above pre-pandemic levels.
The survey said it expects real GDP growth to be 8-8.5% in FY23, and 9.2% in FY22. That, too, is a conservative estimate.
Read key highlights of the economic survey here.
Budget 2022 Must Reads
Growth and fiscal consolidation will have to go hand-in-hand in Budget 2022.
Here are the key stories from BloombergQuint's extensive budget coverage you to prep for the big day....
Medium-term fiscal consolidation path is important, says NIPFP's Pinaki Chakraborty.
An investment cycle is critical for economic revival. But where is it?
India's subsidy bill is likely to see a steep upward revision in FY22.
What should salaried taxpayers expect?
Fiscal path means elevated borrowings and higher bond yields.
How Modi government has fared on key promises.
Do the math for India’s budget and you have a jobs crisis
Will the budget deliver road map to a low carbon economy?
Expectations for key sectors from top brokerages.
Sajjid Chinoy on the economic 'speedometer' and what it means for policymaking.
Higher FDI limit in PSU banks under discussion. Will it help?
India set to overshoot its tax targets for first time in four years.
Taxation clarity on cryptocurrencies?
Budget memories, as India awaits FM Sitharaman’s 100-year tryst.
Rs 20 lakh crore in infrastructure funding in sight. Now, where are the projects?
Want a more fun way to know about what to watch? Try your hand at the Budget Wordle!
Budget 2022: No Indian Left Behind
India’s formal economy is booming, while the informal one, which is the lifeline of over half-a-billion poor citizens, is wrecked, writes Raghav Bahl. And that's the challenge that confronts the Union Budget 2022.
BloombergQuint published a series of stories highlighting that dichotomy in the run up to the budget.
India's rural employment guarantee scheme has failed to keep up with demand. The scheme, which was intended to be a fallback option, has become a primary source of income for many in the country's hinterland. Leelavathi's story is just one of those.
Tales Of The Post-Pandemic Jobs Struggle
There are indications that a large section of the working class has been pushed into self-employment and casual labour as regular salaried work has declined. Across cities, industries and roles, companies cut jobs as one way to save costs. 30-year-old management graduate Avijeet knows this first hand.
Long Walk Back To Cities, Paved With Debt
The pandemic-inflicted pain and struggles of India’s migrant workers may vary but their stories have a common thread—rising indebtedness with no savings or social security to fall back on. Borrowing money to survive was a recurring theme across BloombergQuint's conversations with 12 migrant workers across multiple states.
The Covid crisis forced many small retailers to go digital. It also forced those who couldn't make the transition to shut shop. Stories of Haji Iqbal and S Poddar tell the story of this divergence.