Centrally Sponsored Schemes and India’s Shifting Federal Balance
The State governments across India are increasingly facing backlash when it comes to welfare provisioning, with the most criticism centered on finances and fiscal stress on individual States. While concerns about shrinking fiscal space are often raised, these are not unusual. In fact, this is how States are meant to function. In our fiscal federalism, […]
The Economic Survey 2020-2021: Growth Does Not Necessarily Work for the Poor
Dedicated to the Covid Warriors, the 561-page-long Economic Survey of India for the year 2020-21 was placed before the Parliament of India on January 29, 2021. The survey, being an analysis on the macroeconomic status of the economy, estimated the Covid-induced economic contraction at 7.7 percent of the GDP during FY 2020-21, with the GDP […]
Union Budget and the health of Democracy
I am writing this note after listening to the Finance Minister’s speech, which was accompanied by the thumping of the ruling party on the floor. After listening to the very carefully crafted rhetoric that was put before the citizenry, I (as a citizen of this country) want to present my position vis-à-vis the much-emphasised spending […]