Article
Suyash Rai, Anirudh Burman
{
"authors": [
"Suyash Rai"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie India"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie India",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [
"Political Economy"
],
"regions": [
"India"
],
"topics": [
"Domestic Politics",
"Economy"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
Budget 2019: India Has a Law to Cap Fiscal Deficit but UPA and NDA Couldn’t Care Less
The Indian budget is such a big deal because it combines the exercise of many powers. Among them, the power to run deficits is special.
By Suyash Rai
Published on Jul 4, 2019
Source: Print
The budget is such a big deal because it combines the exercise of many powers. Among them, the power to run deficits is special. In a competitive democracy, the pressures to spend always exceed the willingness to tax. This creates a fertile ground for excessive deficits, whose consequences are suffered by future generations.
The legal framework for fiscal discipline is provided under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act. Passed in 2003 when the NDA was in power, and notified in 2004 by the UPA government, the FRBM law sets deficit caps (fiscal deficit of 3 per cent of the GDP and elimination of revenue deficit) and limits on debt and guarantees, among other requirements.
About the Author
Suyash Rai
Former Fellow, Carnegie India
Suyash Rai was a fellow at Carnegie India. His research focuses on the political economy of economic reforms, and the performance of public institutions in India.
- The Best of Ideas and Institutions, 2023
- Global Technology Summit 2022 Action PointsOther
- +4
Shruti Sharma, Suyash Rai, Konark Bhandari, …
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Why MAGA’s Far-Right European Ties Will EndureCommentary
In supporting Europe’s far-right, MAGA and Russia both want the same thing: a weaker EU. Europe must defend itself without abandoning the openness these forces exploit.
Armida van Rij
- Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European OrderReport
As the EU confronts profound challenges, several leaders have called for fundamental reform to the union’s model—but only modest, superficial changes have resulted. What if Europe really could be reimagined from zero today: What should such a redesigned European order look like?
Richard Youngs, ed.
- From Trade Dependence to Geopolitical Leverage: The EU in an Era of Weaponized InterdependencePaper
As geopolitical rivalry weaponizes global supply chains, the EU’s true vulnerability lies in emerging-risk imports. For these goods, suppliers are growing more concentrated, substitution more difficult, and political risk is looming.
Sinan Ülgen
- European Security Strategy: In Search of a New AmbitionCommentary
The EU is putting together a new security strategy to meet today’s myriad challenges. But for any proposal to be effective, the union needs to grapple with its identity and ambitions.
Pierre Vimont
- Can Europe Compete with the United States and China?Commentary
Between the United States’ market-driven approach and China's state-led industrial strategy, Europe is reckoning with how it can remain competitive in the global economy. But is Europe in danger of becoming a U.S. or China colony?
Noah Barkin, Anu Bradford
