Another Budget is upon us, and it’s time to take a look at the fate of promises made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the last edition. While the Finance Minister has been successful in implementing most of the schemes announced, he has been less so in pushing through the legislative agenda.

Apart from the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill for the Goods and Services Tax, the Centre is yet to take up the other proposed pieces of legislation, including amendments to the RBI Act for setting up a Monetary Policy Committee, the draft Public Contracts (Resolution of Disputes) Bill, and amendments to the EPF and the ESIC Acts for portability to the National Pension System and private insurance plans. While the Centre has drafted these Bills, they are yet to be taken to the Union Cabinet for approval and tabling in Parliament.

Similarly, the proposed Indian Financial Code that Jaitley hoped to table in Parliament “sooner than later” to revamp the regulatory architecture for the financial sector, remained mired in controversy for much of the year, and is yet to be finalised. In yet another delay to the government’s plans to improve the ease of doing business, the Insolvency Code was referred to a Parliament joint committee, which is expected to submit its report only next month.

The Finance Minister is, however, optimistic that the Code as well as the Constitution Amendment Bill for the Goods and Services Tax will be passed in the Budget Session, which starts Tuesday.

The government’s efforts to check black money too have met with limited success. While the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015, which will check stashing abroad of illicit money, was passed by Parliament, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2015 to curb black money at home is still pending with Parliament.

However, the government managed to get the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill enacted on the last day of the Winter Session.

Schemes fare better In contrast, most of the schemes announced by Jaitley have seen the light of day. Flagship schemes, including the MUDRA Bank, Skill India and Pradhan Mantri Jan Suraksha Yojana, were launched last year to much public acclaim and active participation.

Similarly, definite measures have been taken to cut down the subsidy bill with plans to start cash transfers for fertiliser subsidy and for giving a larger role to the Direct Benefit Transfer Mission.

Gold monetisation schemes have taken off, as also the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. The plan to make it mandatory to quote PAN (Permanent Account Number) for transactions above ₹1 lakh kicked in from January 1.

However, big-ticket announcements for port corporatisation and new ultra mega power projects are still in the works. So also a proposal to incentivise plastic money.

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