Core sector, digital drive get priority

This year’s budget was presented against the backdrop of the elections of 2024 and there were a lot of discussions on how will the finance minister in her fifth budget balance the priorities of the immediate-term challenges and the long-term pathway of development.

To her credit, the priorities she articulated during her speech were targeted to address the needs of the economy both in the short- and long-term with a sharp focus on execution.

The consistent common themes of this budget were modernising and investing in hard infrastructure, enhancing the coverage of social inclusion including the indigenous tribal population in the formal economy, expanding the coverage of digital infrastructure across all verticals of the economy to improve the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of all sectors and ensuring sustainability in all programmes.