Budget: The Mystery and Mystique of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ |
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The dictionary defines ‘mystery’ as something ‘one cannot understand or explain’.
The Modi government’s Economic Survey for 2025-26 and the budget statement for 2026-27 create both mystery and a heavy dose of mystique.
Mystique because the government claims the budget is really a ‘vision document’ for Viksit Bharat 2047. This implies one need not look for anything substantive in the short to medium term. Indeed there is a certain mystique about Viksit Bharat 2047, which is thrown at ordinary mortals whenever they ask simple questions like what the budget does to create more jobs, income and productivity in the economy.
There is also a deep mystery about what exactly is currently happening in the economy. Well-known economist and Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee has said India is increasingly becoming a “mystery” to the rest of the world. Banerjee asserts this “mystery” is largely a result of the sharp polarisation in the polity accompanied by a lack of transparency in institutions and waning media freedoms. The growing lack of trust and transparency in regard to data integrity is........