Budget Opinion: Expert takes and verdict on Modi's election budget

In her interim Budget speech, the FM said the government will roll out a comprehensive scheme targeting affordable housing for the middle class, and emphasised commitment to addressing rural housing needs.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on February 1, presented the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's last budget before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In her interim Budget speech, the FM said the government will roll out a comprehensive scheme targeting affordable housing for the middle class, and emphasised commitment to addressing rural housing needs. The Budget 2024 speech also mentioned the extension of the Ayushmann Bharat scheme to include all ASHA and Anganwadi workers, the roof-top solarisation scheme initiated by Prime Minister Modi, and the Modi government's achievements in poverty alleviation.

Here's what experts think about PM Modi's election Budget:

Interim Budget seeks to decouple budget-making from long-term policy goals

Gaurav Choudhury, Consulting Editor, Network18

FM Sitharaman’s interim Budget 2024-25 sought to strike a distinction on accounting and policy making. Annual budgets, by definition, need to be just that: a plan on how to spend and how to earn. This includes borrowing too. Governments, like households, cannot finance all their expenses from current earnings. For instance, a family mostly buys a house on a loan. It is an asset that is funded over the medium term and has inter-generational needs.

A good marker of prudent public finance management is to gauge how much borrowed money is being spent on financing asset creation, such as roads and ports, which will not only serve generations of people but also unleash strong economic multipliers.

Budget speech checks all the boxes for government in an election year

TK ARUN, Senior journalist

The interim budget has served as a platform to highlight the achievements of the outgoing government and present a vision of the glories it hopes to achieve in its next term. Nirmala Sitharaman did not disappoint on either count.

The Budget Speech celebrates the achievement of the government over the past ten years, listing out the advances made by the economy in sector after sector, and enumerating the number of schemes launched by the Centre and funded by the Centre.

Budget on agriculture reflects rectitude even if general elections are near

Siraj Hussain, former Union Agriculture Secretary & Advisor, Food Processing, FICCI

Since the elections are so close, no one was really expecting serious reforms in the agri-food sector. In recognition of India’s federal constitution, the Finance Minister did well to highlight that the reform process will be continued in consultation with the state governments.

The FM rightly took the credit for handsome hikes in the Minimum Support Prices and proactive management of food inflation, in challenging geopolitical circumstances, with the Russian war on Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza continuing unabated.

It was somewhat ironic that the FM took credit for the continuation of the commitment to distribute highly subsidised food grains under the National Food Security Act, 2013. The Act allows the Government to raise the issue price after three years.

Banks' profits get a strong leg-up from India Budget

Aparna Iyer, Deputy Editor, Moneycontrol Pro

Who knew a budget could do wonders for banks’ profitability by not doing anything? India’s public sector banks had no expectations of getting capital from their largest shareholder, the government, and the interim budget stayed true to that. But the budget has ensured that a happy bond market translates to a neat boost to banks’ profitability through trading gains.

Why Budget 2024 will rank as a good budget

Anupam Manur, Professor of Economics, Takshashila Institution

Ceteris paribus, a boring budget is a good budget and this one definitely fits the bill. The impressive part was the resistance on the part of the government to introduce any big, populist measures aimed at strengthening their position before the upcoming elections. As the name suggests, this is an interim plan until the real deal in July 2024, which the Finance Minister seemed very confident of being the one to present. The interim budget speech by FM Sitharaman for 2024-25 sounded largely like a report card of past achievements rather than a plan proposal for the upcoming year.

GoI’s intent and targets for Infrastructure in Budget exemplifies Ram Se Rajya, Development Se Desh

Sandeep Hasurkar, Author of `Never Too Big To Fail: The Collapse of IL&FS’, ex-investment banker

At the Prana Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, Prime Minister Modi enunciated his views on the principles of governance and development as “Ram Se Rajya, Dev Se Desh”. On his return to New Delhi the same day, he followed it up by announcing the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana, a rooftop solar programme for 1 crore households.

It was an appropriate tribute that a potentially game-changing, decentralised, sustainable solar energy programme for primarily rural households was announced on the day of the consecration of the Suryavanshi Ikshvaku deity. Budget 2024 is the economic blueprint of that philosophy.