Budget 2020: Best time for Modi govt to announce economic reforms?

The Budget session was inaugurated today with the President’s address. The Budget would be presented by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2020.

General Election 2019 saw the opposition try to corner the Narendra Modi government on the issues of a slowing economy, unemployment and rural distress. The voters however reposed their faith in the government and gave it an even bigger mandate.

The state of the economy however has continued to be the biggest cause of worry for the government. Not only has unemployment reached record high levels, GDP growth has tanked and India may go by a less than 5 per cent in this fiscal year. The state of the economy is what makes Budget 2020 very important.

How important is the Budget for the government politically? What can the government do to mitigate the political risk? Is it the best chance for Modi 2.0 to announce major economic reforms?

Archis Mohan, Political Editor, Business Standard joins this podcast to answer these questions and more. Listen to the podcast for the answers to all these questions