



Sachchidanand Shukla: A well-formulated budget that pays India’s future due consideration
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The stakes couldn’t be higher for Union Budget 2026-27. Global shocks and domestic frailties demanded a stroke of fiscal artistry—prudence on the fiscal path fused with audacious growth bets and prioritization of the medium term over the short term.
The budget has done precisely that by opting to augment India’s strategic resilience over the medium term and remain steadfast on fiscal consolidation and debt reduction. How does one describe this budget? It comes across as: Contextual: The liberal order that powered growth for decades is under stress. Nations are erecting new walls and there is a clear move towards bipolarity that may not serve India’s economic interests, even as newer technologies are acquired and bigger dollops of capital are absorbed.
Amid all this, how can India achieve its goal of becoming a developed economy? The budget has provided the answer—via measures that boost atmanirbharta or self-reliance while maintaining strategic resilience in an uncertain world. Credible with a focus on continuity: For 2026-27 (budget estimate), nominal GDP growth has been pegged at 10%, versus 8% in 2025-26 (as per the first advance estimate), mostly in line with expectations. The government has also fulfilled its commitment made in 2021-22 to reduce its fiscal deficit to a level below 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26.
In 2025-26 (revised estimate), the Centre achieved a fiscal deficit of 4.4%, the same as it had budgeted. For 2026-27, the deficit is expected to further decline to 4.3% of GDP. Central government debt is slated to go down from 56.1% of GDP in 2025-26 (revised estimate) to 55.6% of GDP in 2026-27, in line with a debt consolidation path aimed at a debt-to-GDP level of about 50%,
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