Budget 2018: Don't ignore revenue balance and expenditure references

I’ve long been mindful of Roland Barthes’ maxim “The birth of the reader is the death of the author”. My Budget writings have been interpreted by many, including some éminence grise. So let me set the record straight and summarise my views. This was not a populist Budget. It reflected a continuing, if partially successful, attempt to maintain macro-fiscal prudence. The slippage in the fiscal deficit target for FY18 was not due to poor Budget formulation or design but a consequence of factors that were beyond the control of the Ministry of Finance. This reflects a structural weakness in the