Budget 2022: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Lays Long-term Blueprint for Amrit Kal
News 18This is the second Budget in the midst of a pandemic that warranted careful manoeuvring between growth, inflation and expenditure. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has done a fine job by laying a long-term blueprint for the ‘Amrit Kal’ and has announced various short-term measures that will maintain the growth momentum or K-shaped recovery of the economy. The focus on the use of IT delivery mechanisms to promote transparency and ease of living while reducing leakages across the government system will hopefully allow for better use of scarce resources. For instance, e-passport, digital rupee, using blockchain technology for efficient use of land resources by the adoption or linkage with National Generic Document Registration System with the ‘One-Nation One-Registration Software’ for a uniform process for registration and ‘anywhere registration’ of deeds and documents will facilitate ease of doing business. Indeed, it was not an easy task to carefully draft the Budget amidst the current situation – the Budget and the Economic Survey have almost completely ignored the international situation that may severely jeopardise our growth prospects in the coming months.