Union budget unremarkable in content: Manpreet Badal

Punjab finance and planning minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Saturday said the Union budget was remarkable in length but unremarkable in its content.

Punjab finance and planning minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Saturday said the Union budget was remarkable in length but unremarkable in its content.

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Expressing concern over “unreliable numbers,” Badal said the Union finance minister’s projection of nominal GDP growth rate of 10 per cent is ludicrous, when all parameters are to its contrary. It is pertinent to mention that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected country’s GDP growth rate for next fiscal to be around 4.8 per cent.

“An economy functions on four broad parameters—private consumption, government spending, exports and corporate investment. Consumer spending is down as is visible in deceleration in automobile, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), real estate and retail sectors. Exports have declined for five consecutive months and government’s insular attitude would only exacerbate it.”