The government’s fiscal consolidation targets, while commendable in principle, appear to have come at the cost of growth-oriented spending. The fiscal deficit has been pegged at 4.4% of GDP for FY26, a reduction that seems more focused on meeting numerical targets than on fostering economic resilience.
On the surface, the question seems absurd. After all, he’s just one man. But Trump’s rhetoric, policies, and unpredictable foreign dealings have positioned him as more than just an isolated political figure.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for the financial year 2025-26 today, marking a historic milestone as the only finance minister to deliver the budget for eight consecutive years. While this sets a new record for consecutive budget presentations, the overall record for the most Union Budgets in India still belongs to former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Desai presented a total of ten budgets—six as finance minister between 1959 and 1964, and four more from 1967 to 1969.
India needs an average 8% real GDP growth over the next couple of decades for achieving ‘developed nation’ status by 2047
The survey also notes a rise in self-employment, which now accounts for 58.4% of the total workforce in 2023-24, up from 52.2% in 2017-18. A particularly encouraging trend is the near doubling of female labour force participation, which has surged from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24.
The move, AIBEA asserted, would allow commercial banks to retain more capital, improve profitability, and enhance their capacity to support economic growth.
Goldman Sachs on 8 July said the general government is likely to stick to the announced fiscal deficit target of