Key Points
While the BJP led NDA government has presented an interim budget for 2024-25 in Feb this year, the electoral number game has completely changed the equation with a thin majority for the government in the 18th Lok Sabha..
The BJPs own tally has crashed below the 272-mark, and the dependence on coalition partners is all set to change the Budget priorities...
In the just-concluded fiscal year 2023-24, the National Statistical Office (NSO) provisional estimates pegged the real GDP at 8.2 percent , which is much higher than many expected at the start of the year..
The CPI inflation projection is at 4.5 percent for 2024-25.. Clearly, these positive developments on the economic front make a case for a higher nominal GDP in the Union Budget, which will improve the fiscal deficit and tax collection figures as they are pegged to it...
In the Budget 2024-25, the government must find a fine balance between capex and funds for boosting rural consumption as any cuts in govt capex would impact the growth momentum in the short and medium term..
