How Budget signals policy continuity, explained in 8 charts
Under pressure from the disappointment in the Lok Sabha polls, the government got a massive boost for its 2024-25 budget in the form of a windfall dividend transfer by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With help from that revenue gain, the Centre chose to focus on cutting the fiscal deficit, and offer some tax relief to boost consumption, but only with a marginal increase in revenue expenditure. Did the budget manage to fire on all cylinders, or did it just showcase policy continuity? Mint breaks it down: After an unexpected loss of majority in the elections, the temptation to deliver a pro-welfare or a populist Budget could have run high for the ruling party.
But on D-Day, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman chose to keep her moves mixed. The top priority, it appeared, was to cut fiscal deficit, thanks to a generous revenue windfall from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This created space for some relief for taxpayers—but the increase in budget size when compared with the interim budget was minimal, especially for some sectors related to the most vulnerable Indians.
The Centre is aiming the spending–revenue gap at 4.9% of GDP, 20 basis points lower than the goal set in February. That’s thanks to an additional ₹1.39 trillion received in the form of “dividends and profits"—that includes the RBI bonanza. Nearly half of this gain will go towards higher revenue spending.
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