Lalvani, Mala and Karnik, Ajit creator text Economic & Political Weekly monographic eng

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61(15), Apr 11, 2026: p.13-18 Despite apprehensions about deficit targets, the finance minister sprung a surprise in adhering to the targets for 2025–26. We examine how this was achieved and find that many kinds of expenditures had to be compressed. A new set of ideas, labelled as kartavyas (duties), was presented in the Union Budget 2026–27. The seven priorities of the previous budget have been consigned to the past and are ignored in the budget speech of 2026–27. Given the lower projected tax revenue/GDP ratio for 2026–27, and the excessive dependence on the surplus from RBI and other financial institutions, it would not be surprising if the kartavyas meet the same fate of cutbacks, as happened in the case of the “seven priorities” of the previous budget. –Reproduced https://www.epw.in/journal/2026/15/budget-2026-27/are-kartavyas-any-different-priorities-2025-26.html Economic & Political Weekly 260430