01.03.2008

• I know most of you would have followed the budget on TV, radio … what not. I was also engrossed in reading the budget speech.
• But first, for many of us it might not have been possible finishing a read of all the voluminous material that the Budget presents. Hence we need a place where we can look frequently for budget related information. It is in India Budget which has the present and previous economic surveys and budgets. Here it is:
• http://indiabudget.nic.in/
• For those of you who don’t have the time / patience / inclination and want to get done with budget, here goes an excellent 14 page Adobe Acrobat document prepared by the Government. This is the Budget Highlights document. For many of you, a single read of this is enough to give you the most required information from the budget. Here it is. Download and enjoy. Hindi enthusiasts are not left in the lurch; here is the document in Hindi.
• For getting the full economic survey for 2007-08 which was present a day prior to the budget day follow this link. It is a zip file containing all the chapters.
• This year, we will take a look at the Budget at a Glance:

(In Crore of Rupees)

	2006-2007 Actuals	2007-2008 Budget Estimates	2007-2008 Revised Estimates	2008-2009 Budget Estimates
1. Revenue Receipts	434387	486422	525098	602935
2. Tax Revenue (net to Centre)	351182	403872	431773	507150
3. Non-tax Revenue	83205	82550	93325	95785
4. Capital Receipts (5+6+7)$	149000	194099	184275	147949
5. Recoveries of Loans	5893	1500	4497	4497
6. Other Receipts	534	41651	36125	10165
7. Borrowings and other Liabilities$	142573	150948	143653	133287
8. Total Receipts (1+4)$	583387	680521	709373	750884
9. Non-plan Expenditure	413527	475421	501849	507498
10. On Revenue Account of which,	372191	383546	412975	448352
11. Interest Payments	150272	158995	171971	190807
12. On Capital Account	41336	91875	88874	59146
13. Plan Expenditure	169860	205100	207524	243386
14. On Revenue Account	142418	174354	175611	209767
15. On Capital Account	27442	30746	31913	33619
16. Total Expenditure (9+13)	583387	680521	709373	750884
17. Revenue Expenditure (10+14)	514609	557900	588586	658119
18. Capital Expenditure (12+15)	68778	122621	120787	92765
19. Revenue Deficit (17-1)	80222 (1.9)	71478 (1.5)	63488 (1.4)	55184 (1.0)
20. Fiscal Deficit {16-(1+5+6)}	142573 (3.5)	150948 (3.3)	143653 (3.1)	133287 (2.5)
21. Primary Deficit (20-11)	-7699 - (0.2)	-8047 - (0.2)	-28318 - (0.6)	-57520 - (1.1)

o GDP for BE 2008-2009 has been projected at Rs.5303770 crore assuming 13% growth over the advance estimate of 2007-2008 (Rs.4693602 crore) released by CSO.

$ Does not include receipts in respect of Market Stabilization Scheme, which will remain in the cash balance of the Central Government and will not be used for expenditure.

o I would strongly suggest that you look at the last three rows of the above table. Many of you have asked me questions about these deficits at one time or the other. A look at them will make the concepts so clear. Very difficult to keep track of finer nuances during the course of the year. Budget presentation time is the best for it.

• Lost in the din of the budget and our expectations about it is a very interesting development of perhaps far reaching import. It is the meeting of Muslim clerics at Deoband.
• Noted their declaration? They denounced terrorism and said terrorism and violence have no sanction from Islam.
• This could possibly present a dramatic shift in Islamic thinking in India, provided we rework our mindsets on two counts, feels Harish Khare, the noted columnist in The Hindu.
• First, the polity needs to generate the sufficient moral courage and intellectual rigour to reassert that our republican compact involves a fair deal for the minorities. Those who are in the business of presiding over the Indian state — or have a desire to preside over it one day — owe it to themselves to make this a real and vibrant commitment, not because it would fetch votes but because we have a constitutional obligation to produce a just and fair political order. Without an honourable and equal place for the minorities, there will be neither justness nor civic peace. Nor national prosperity or national security.
• Secondly, the Muslim community will need to move away from the victimhood refrain. It has to disengage from those theologians and politicians who harp on historic wrongs and imaginary insults. The experience of the last two decades should have by now made the community wise up on how to use its civic and political rights in its own interests, how to integrate with the mainstream of the political process, and how to demand a share in national prosperity.
• Read the full article once. It is worth it. Do so here.