Budget today: Will FM deliver a boom or bust?

New Delhi, NT Bureau: Ahead of the much anticipated presentation of the first Budget of the Modi 3.0 government by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the government's pre-Budget Economic Survey on Monday set a conservative growth forecast of 6.5 to 7 per cent for the current fiscal and flagged the need for creating more jobs in the economy while also backing more Chinese direct investments to boost exports.

The report favoured considering targeting inflation that excludes food, the prices of which are influenced more by supply than demand.

It sounded a bell of caution on the soaring stock markets, saying retail investor participation has increased significantly and there are chances of speculations due to overconfidence and expectations of greater returns.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on whether Ms Sitharaman will offer some relief to the middle-class, already reeling under food inflation because of the soaring prices of essential commodities, by way of Income Tax relief.

'Hope she addresses realities'

A day before the Budget, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government had "crushed the aspirations" of 140 crore Indians in the last 10 years.

"Today the future of the youth is in limbo. The unemployment rate is at 9.2 per cent. There is a stampede for jobs. The back-breaking inflation has pushed the savings of the country's families to the lowest level in 50 years. Food inflation is at 9.4 per cent, grain inflation is at 8.75 per cent, pulses inflation is at 16.07 per cent and vegetable inflation is at 29.32 per cent," the Congress chief said.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, said, "India is in its most precarious and difficult economic situation in many years. The Economic Survey might present a cherry-picked view of the economy, but we hope that tomorrow's Budget faces up to the country's realities."