Letter to BS: Trust and credibility gap needs to be bridged on priority

This refers to A K Bhattacharya’s thought-provoking piece “Of Ms Gandhi and Ms Sitharaman” (June 19). To the concluding question, “Could Sitharaman (pictured) be expected to throw in more humour and wit during her Budget speech?”, after going through some of the 15,000 plus suggestions from the citizens so far uploaded at the portal dedicated for the purpose, I have no hesitation in saying the answer is a big “yes”.

Though only eight months will be left in the current financial year after passing of this Budget, Sitharaman’s Budget speech on July 5 will be indicative of the fiscal policy that will evolve during the coming five years. 

Sitharaman has been given the responsibility of bringing clarity in the government’s approach to resource management at a time when her own advisors might be speaking in divergent tones. The silver lining is, as compared to 50 years ago, today India has a large domestic resource base waiting to be exploited. Illustratively, accumulated wealth in the form of real estate, domestic gold-stock, external investments including those from NRIs and monetised wealth including agricultural income are all factors that will contribute to the country’s economic development, if the right approaches are made with positive signals.

Having said that, there is a trust and credibility gap that needs to be bridged on a priority basis. The gap has widened recently on account of the negativism infused in the public mind, especially during the days before the election. It is possible to redeem the trust in the financial sector, judiciary and other arms of the government. Hopefully, some measures to this end will find mention in Sitharaman’s Budget speech on July 5.

M G Warrier, Mumbai

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