After a sweeping election victory, Indian Government is hoping to use the Union Budget to restart reforms across a range of sectors and tackle the country’s economic woes. The Budget comes at a crucial juncture - growth has slowed to a 5-year low of 5.8% in the first quarter of 2019 and the economy has been going through a difficult phase - prompting many to look at the Budget as a roadmap to boost recovery.
Union Budget 2019 aims to push for growth while ensuring mechanisms for fiscal stability are in place, the financial budget will have to tackle rising unemployment, decelerating consumption, a truant monsoon and weakening credit markets. With banks cautious of lending due to rising non-performing assets (NPAs), private investments have taken a setback - resulting in unemployment and a decrease in job creation. The interim budget earlier this year failed to address the deepening employment crisis in the country, with funds allocated for job schemes decreasing to ₹60,000 crore for the financial year.
The Union Budget should aim to support investments by providing allocations for public expenditures, while enabling incentives for private investors. In order to strengthen the economy, the Finance Minister should target the following key areas to drive change: