It is easy to find fault with Nitish Kumar for his fickle loyalties and variable commitment to all things other than his own political well-being. This is facile, and implicitly forgives the voters and allies who take defections in their stride and keep voting for or befriending individual leaders and parties, regardless of what company they keep and what policies they, thereby, foster.
The IMPRI Center for the Study of Finance and Economics (CSFE), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, hosted an interactive panel discussion on the topic “Cities, Local Governance, and Interim Union Budget 2024-25” on 3 February 2024, under the IMPRI 4th Annual Series of Thematic Deliberations and Analysis of Union Budget 2024-25, as part of IMPRI #WebPolicyTalk.
The finance minister delivered a rousing speech trying to match the prime minister’s address at the consecration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22.
The Interim Budget shows this government lays more emphasis on showering schemes on people.
The Interim Budget has served as a platform to highlight the outgoing government's achievements and present a glorious vision for its next term. Nirmala Sitharaman did not disappoint on either count.
This year's budget was an election speech by the Finance Minister, praising her government, having done marvelous achievements in various walks of life by unabashedly using unsubstantiated data and falsehoods.