FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to strike a fine balance between being fiscally prudent and growth supportive when she presents her fourth straight Budget on Tuesday, which is expected to have plans to boost spending to revive investment and create jobs. The Budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2022 is likely to raise spending on infrastructure to set the economy on a firmer footing.

The stage for the Budget presentation was set by the Economic Survey stating that the Government has the fiscal space to do more to support the economy that is forecast to grow at a healthy 8-8.5 per cent growth in the 2022-23 fiscal.

The Budget comes days before the first phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh, which along with four other States is going to the polls to elect a new State Government. And naturally, it is expected to contain measures for higher rural and agriculture spending.

Asia’s third-largest economy is estimated to expand 9.2 per cent in the fiscal year that ends in March, following a contraction of 7.3 per cent in the previous fiscal. Analysts said the Finance Minister will have to strike a fine balance while keeping up the momentum of the country’s promising but fledgling economic recovery and tax collections, but at the same time look at bringing in measures to spur demand, create jobs and tackle inflation as the country deals with the ongoing third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While being ‘fiscally prudent’ as well as ‘growth supportive, she is widely expected to continue growth agenda via higher capex allocation, which will accelerate the investment cycle and employment while at the same time taking a fiscal conservatism approach.

With a goal to reach a USD 5-trillion economy by FY25, capital expenditure allocation is expected to continue to remain higher while healthy tax revenues and mega disinvestment pipeline may help contain the fiscal deficit to 5 per cent in FY23.

Govt not to bring any legislative business in RS during 1st part of Budget Session: Sources: THE Government told an all-party meeting on Monday that it does not intend to bring any legislative business in Rajya Sabha during the first part of the Budget Session which is till February 11, sources said. The meeting was convened by Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu through virtual mode to discuss the agenda for the Budget Session that started on Monday.

The sources said Union Minister and Leader of the House Piyush Goyal informed the meeting that since the duration of the first part is small, no legislative business will be brought by the Government, the sources said.

The Budget Session began on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on April 8 with a recess in-between from February 12 to March 13.