FM inches closer to fiscal targets, bold moves on political transparency

He decided to do no harm to economy at a time when he can't give it a big push on expenditure

A fiscally strapped finance minister has been most reluctant in offering sops to the Indian citizens expecting payback from their patience in standing in queues to change or deposit high value currency notes. In Budget 2017-18, placed in Parliament, finance minister Arun Jaitley has put his emphasis on inching as close as possible to the fiscal targets, changing the norms for recognition of capital expenditure to show the government has delivered on socially necessary targets and expanded the powers of the tax officials to go after unaccounted income. He has expectations that the GST will come in but cannot even