The Finance Minister has presented an and insipid Budget, which lacks any bold vision. Several of the new schemes are populist in nature, drawing upon the announcements made by Modi during the campaign. The FM has been prudent in retaining the targets of fiscal deficit as part of the Fiscal Consolidation Plan prepared by the UPA Government. He made a clear acknowledgement that given the precarious global economic situation, the UPA Government left behind an economy which is healthy.
Most of the announcements are a mere repackaging of schemes initiated by the UPA. The FM was silent on the allocations for MGNREGA, health and education allocations.
Anand Sharma was Commerce Minister in the UPA Government.