New Delhi: Complete detachment of economics and politics may never happen, said Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in an interview, adding that economics is likely to play in the minds of the people during elections.
Saying that “inclusive development” is playing in the minds of the people, the finance minister expressed hope and confidence that voters would “bless” the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the upcoming general election with another term.
“Complete detachment of economics and politics may not work because I would think, just as we would like it to work when it is all good, people do remember when it doesn’t work,” Sitharaman told Mint.
Her remarks follow her presentation of the interim budget, which stood out for its absence of any big-ticket populist proposal. Analysts noted it showed the government’s confidence in winning the next general election.
In the interview, Sitharaman said public opinion on the government depends on factors like economics, governance, performance, understanding the importance of inclusive growth and government services to deliver basic requirements.
Exuding confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is well placed to return for a third consecutive term, the finance minister said: “Economics, if it is good, it is going to play in the minds of the people during the election. Like the way now inclusive development is playing in the minds of the people, and therefore they are willing to bless us again. I would believe strongly that they would bless us again.”
The statement on the correlation of elections and politics also gains significance given the government’s decision to repeal the new farm laws in 2021 following a months-long protest by farmers in the national capital and other parts of the country.
The interim budget steered clear of too many major announcements and showed the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation along with infrastructure-backed growth, although the country is going to polls in the next couple of months.
While presenting the interim budget for FY25, Sitharaman mentioned the government’s focus on four priority sectors—women, farmers, youth and the poor—but did not make any populist announcement.
The fiscal deficit for the current financial year has been revised downwards by 10 basis points to 5.8% of GDP. The finance minister assured that the government will continue with the momentum and bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by FY26.
Continuing with the push on capital expenditure for FY25, the Union Budget has pegged a capex of ₹11.11 trillion, a 17% increase.
On the welfare scheme front, the Union Budget proposed to build an additional 20 million houses in the next five years under the PM Awas Yojana (Grameen). The finance minister also promised a new housing scheme for the urban poor and middle class.
She also said the new rooftop solar scheme recently announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would enable 10 million beneficiary households to get up to 300 units of free power every month.
The budget also proposed to bring in another 10 million women under the Lakhpati Didi scheme, which currently supports 20 million women, to get financial assistance through self-help groups.
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Published: 05 Feb 2024, 09:00 AM IST