Budget season is upon us again. The breathless conversation about magic bullets continues unabated even though it has been a long time since budget speeches have led to any significant change in India’s economic speed or direction. Rather than getting worked up about one budget gimmick or another, it will be more useful to focus on structural priorities in the context of a global regime shift. This new global regime means that countries are more inward-focused, with a political promise to protect jobs, reduce imports and substitute fiscal for monetary tools. In such a regime, India needs to focus more on itself and use the opportunity to restructure and reform even as the world regards India as a (relative) beacon of hope. Here is a non-exhaustive set of priorities: Macroeconomic stability; Skilling, employability and jobs; Infrastructure and Institutions.

(Live Mint)