Fiscal doves in India: right and wrong

The idea that fiscal prudence and welfare of the less well-off are mutually exclusive is misplaced

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that —John Stuart Mill, 1860

Fiscal doves are absolutely right in emphasising on more money in the hands of the poor in the last one year. They are right that the public debt at even 90 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in India is still significantly less than that in many developed countries. Fiscal doves are also right that the cap on the ratio of public debt-to-GDP needs to be revised upward, if interest rates are low. And, they are not wrong in saying that