Budget for the victims: Some silent crises for Ms Sitharaman to address

A consumption boost through continued pay-outs for another year to those at the bottom of the pyramid, and still more money for the employee guarantee scheme should be in order, writes T N Ninan

A finance minister usually knows where the shoe pinches. Revenue is short, the deficit is too high, inflation is not where it should be, nor economic growth... the usual list. The minister also knows which wheels of the economy are squeaking, and this year they have been squeaking more loudly than is usual. The problem is that those who have lost their wheels altogether, so to speak, are the silent ones who can’t squeak at all amidst the Delhi cacophony — the millions who have been pushed back into poverty by the pandemic. This number for India is said to