Budget 2022 may be work of restoration, but challenges for FM no less steep

Touch services like hospitality, leisure, tourism in desperate need of support

If the last Budget was about reviving India’s economy after the contraction of 2020-21, the upcoming one in 2022-23 is all about restoring its health to pre-pandemic levels. And, the challenges facing finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman are no less steep.

Recovery has taken place in 2021-22 (FY22). The first advance estimates for FY22 project real GDP growth at 9.2 per cent compared with a contraction of 7.3 per cent in FY21. Corporate results have been strong and the Centre’s revenue from direct and indirect taxes will easily exceed the budgeted targets.

The formal economy has broadly bounced back from the two