Constants & Variables

For the Indian middle class, the announcement of the Budget is a personal event. Many big and small decisions depend on how this event affects household budgets. Families ponder over several issues: will they be able to squeeze out enough from their savings to afford a better education for their children? Will they be able to afford a good hospital in case one of the strains of Covid, nature forbid, does enter their household? Will they be able to increase their protection by keeping aside a little extra every month? The past few years have been rough, and we were looking up to the Budget to ease some of the pain. The list of expectations was long, from expansion of various tax deductions to Covid-related healthcare incentives, including reduction in the GST rates on health insurance premiums. But to the taxpayers’ dismay, the Budget poured cold water on all such expectations. The...