India’s US$530 billion budget and China-beating 9.2 per cent growth target camouflage struggles with inflation, unemployment
- Eye-catching plans for repairing a pandemic-scarred economy have cheered the stock market, but analysts say those who need help the most will be left wanting
- While PM Modi goes big on infrastructure, he has cut outlays to the rural poor even as elections loom. Meanwhile, rising oil prices make his target look ‘optimistic’ at best
“Everybody’s working from home, they don’t need someone regularly,” Kumar said. He used to send money home to his wife, three children and parents in his home village in the eastern state of Bihar. Now, he can scarcely support himself with the few driving jobs he gets.
The budget has cheered the stock market, but for the legions of unemployed or semi-employed workers, the government’s big plans won’t make any kind of immediate difference.
While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is betting infrastructure spending can have a multiplier effect on job creation, consumption and drive overall prosperity, the reality is it will take time for benefits to trickle down to those who need it most, economists say.
The government’s budget has held back on big-bang policies to improve the lot of India’s so-called “common man” and put money in the pockets of the poorest. This is all the more unusual given looming elections in five states – seen as an important popularity test of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) midway through its second term.