Later this week, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present what will be only her second Union budget. The big choice the finance minister, and for that matter the prime minister, will have to make is on how much can they come clean on the economy. At the moment Prime Minister Modi enjoys an enviable compact with the electoral populace on social issues. Like in politics, the finance minister will need to be seen to be doing the right thing. And if Sitharaman does pull it off she would not only have slayed the economic demons that have bedevilled this government but also addressed her critics.

Source: Mint January 26, 2020 17:03 UTC