Covid-19: why budget must be starting point for picking up pieces

This budget, economists and experts say, will be the starting point for picking up the pieces after the economic destruction caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Most economist say it has to be a vision statement, a roadmap to get the world's fastest-growing major economy back on track. And it must go beyond being just a 'bahi khata' or a ledger of accounts, as well as canning old schemes in a new bottle. There is a larger consensus among economists that the annual GDP for FY21 will decline by 7-8 per cent, one of the weakest performances among the developing nations. There are two primary objectives before the government at this stage – reignite the growth engine in the economy while committing itself to a medium-term fiscal consolidation path.