Different strokes in transparency

More clarity on Customs duty changes could have made the Budget more transparent

The Union finance ministry has rightly come in for praise for its transparency in acknowledging the extent to which it has met government expenditure by using extra-Budgetary resources such as bonds, which are fully serviced by the government, or by borrowing from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF). Meeting government expenditure with the help of such extra-Budgetary resources hides the actual size of the fiscal deficit. Hence, both its disclosure and gradual reduction in the use of such resources are welcome developments.

The process of disclosure began with the first Budget that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented for 2019-20. The details