Ashima Goyal, a part-time member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, described the general budget as hopeless and lack of foresight. Goyal says that it was shocking not to mention the word 'slowdown' in the finance minister's three-hour budget speech. However, Goyal also praised the measures to ease the fiscal deficit target and simplify the income tax. She said so at an event on Sunday.
Goyal said, 'There was no talk on how this time budget will be helpful in dealing with the slowdown. Sitharaman was in a dilemma over the use of the term 'slowdown' during the budget-making process, as it could offend someone. However, the Finance Minister managed to strike a balance.'
Goyal also raised the issue of budget targets. She said that the increase in revenue target is very high. At the same time, there was a need to revisit the subsidy model. Emphasizing the food subsidy, she said that people's consumption habits have changed.
GDP growth is estimated to be 5% in the current financial year (2019-20). It is the lowest in 11 years. Growth is declining due to a decrease in domestic consumption and global reasons. GDP growth was just 4.5% in the September quarter.
