Budget2012video

Shift from consumption to investment spends: Goyal

Dr Ashima Goyal of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Mumbai told Firstpost's R Jagannathan that it is not the raw numbers that matter to fiscal consolidation, but the quality of the adjustment.

Who must the government tax this Budget 2012?

If Pranab Mukherjee must tax, where must he go looking for additional revenue?

It's going to be a one way street for inflation - upwards

No matter what the finance minister does in his budget, he will end up stoking some kind of inflation.

Budget 2012 must strike a balance between revenue and expenditure

Making ends meet is the biggest challenge facing the finance minister today.

The Frankenstein called subsidies

Whether it is food, or fuel or fertilisers - the 3Fs for the FM - the subsidy bill has, through benign political neglect, burgeoned into something frightening over the last eight years.

We need a tax signal more than a fiscal one

Ajit Ranade, chief economist of the Aditya Birla Group, he would prefer to avoid being seen as a fiscal hawk - where the first priority of the finance minister would be to balance his books.

Land acquisition, diesel deregulation must be tackled

Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist, Crisil, believes, you have to start with cutting oil subsidies - with diesel deregulation taking the prime spot in reforms.

RBI growth stimulus not possible without fiscal consolidation

If fiscal consolidation is not No. 1 priority in this budget, the RBI will be unable to deliver the growth stimulus that is required.

Pranab must act to plug budget hole

Rupa Rege-Nisture, chief economist and general manager of the Bank of Baroda, speaks to Firstpost's Rajanya Bose in an exclusive video interview.

Budget 2012 needs a top-quality policy effort

Manika Premsingh spoke to Ajay Shah of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy for Firstpost.