Modi govt's maiden budget hinges on restart, repair, reform

July 7, 2014

New Delhi, July 7: Investors have very high hopes for the new pro-business Modi government's maiden budget on July 10. It has three priorities: restarting a stalled investment cycle, repairing the government's fiscal health and reforming the supply side of the economy.

Addressing all three will be a daunting task. But with a mix of honesty and creativity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley just might pull it off.

Fiscal repair is where honesty is needed the most. Admitting that last year's actual deficit was more like 5 percent of GDP, not the 4.5 percent announced by the previous government, would be a good start. That lower number was an accounting artefact; using it as a baseline for fiscal correction will either mean intolerable austerity or a return to book-keeping shenanigans. Instead, the focus should be on boosting revenue.

Speeding up privatization is one way to achieve that goal: the government is contemplating an ambitious asset sales target of $11.7 billion, Reuters reported on July 6. That's almost equal to the proceeds of the past four years. A creatively designed amnesty for bringing back wealth parked illegally in overseas tax havens could also help. Using the proceeds to invest in infrastructure and recapitalize state-run banks could ease the immediate resource crunch. The investment cycle would restart.

For a more sustained fiscal fix, the government will have to switch public spending from subsidies and handouts to facilitating jobs and investment. This will require supply-side reforms. Investors are expecting an ambitious plan for skilling up India's 435-million-strong workforce. Freeing employees from archaic labour laws is the next step.

Making the corporate tax regime more predictable, for instance by scrapping the retrospective amendment to tax laws introduced in 2012, will also help improve the business climate. Easing restrictions on foreign investment in defence, railways and e-commerce would help to deepen the country's manufacturing base.

By the time he presents his next budget in February, Jaitley will have had a chance to make reluctant state governments drop their objection to a long-delayed federal sales tax, which could well become the Modi government's most important legislative reform. For now, though, a judicious combination of restart, repair and reform should be enough to keep investors happy.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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