As the burgeoning budget deficit goes out of control and the quality gets more suspect, boosing revenue is going to be a difficult task.
In a scenario where growth is slowing, the only way to set the fiscal numbers right is to control expenditure. Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist, Crisil, believes, you have to start with cutting oil subsidies - with diesel deregulation taking the prime spot in reforms.
He also explained that tackling issues of land acquisition and the Mining Bill will be the two other major issues the government must handle around budget time.
Joshi also feels the government needs to relook at its flagship programme NREGA and use it to boost productivity and not just consumption.
Watch excerpts of the interview below:
See more Budget 2012 videos and expert views on Firstpost: Ajay Shah , Rupa Rege-Nitsure , Indranil Pan , Ashima Goyal , Jim Walker , DK Joshi , Ajit Ranade , Art Woo .
See more Budget 2012 issue based videos on Firstpost: Subsidies , Fiscal Deficit , Inflation , Taxation .