NEW DELHI — India's new budget for 2008-2009 says less about the country's current financial health than it does about the irresistible tendency of Indian governments to use the national budget as a pre-election cudgel. Every year, India struggles to reconcile the irreconcilable: stimulate economic growth and investment, alleviate endemic poverty and feed a ravenous military appetite.
The government must be seen to care about aam aadmi, the common man (who votes), while satisfying the needs of businessmen (who keep the economy humming).
Indeed, the new budget is a pre-election bonanza for key constituencies: tax cuts for the middle class and perks for the country's big corporations. There's a little something for everyone, including a stunning $15 billion in loan waivers for small farmers.